We are Greek Orthodox, and our baptismal ceremonies are both profoundly spiritual and meaningful (and lengthy- especially for not-so-interested preschool siblings). Our priest is an amazing man, just the type of person who you would want to introduce your children to your religious beliefs. In fact, we sometimes find ourselves wondering how kind, patient, forgiving Father John would react with levity in some of our more precarious household situations!
To digress, before the ceremony, we had a list of items to gather. I, the one who MUST seek out "the best" at the "best price" (i.e. quality for as little money possible) was on a mission. Some of the items needed for an orthodox baptism were:
- a cross with a chain
- a white baptismal gown (with undergarment, hat, socks, shoes and undershirt)
- a special outfit to wear for the beginning of the ceremony (as well as to the reception after)
- a large white bath towel along with 2 white hand towels
- Olive oil
- A bar of white soap
- 2 large white church candles
Since this was our 3rd such occasion, I had some ideas where to begin... When the boys were baptized, I searched everywhere for unique, "little boy" type crosses. It seemed like I could find the more average, nice but nothing that would catch the eye, type crosses easily. Could I be happy with this- nope, 'course not! Eventually my husband and I found a wonderful on-line jeweler, Gallery Byzantium. As soon as we saw these crosses, we knew that they were perfect for our little guys- not too big, not too small (but just right...). And, they were unique, but traditional- gold trefoil with a striking blue enamel inlay. They did not come with chains, but we easily found reasonably priced chains at Macy's ( we found them on clearance, and were able to use one of their 20% off coupons). The chains were gold-plated, but since the boys are so rough and tumble right now, we decided to start inexpensively for now, and upgrade the chains as they mature.
We had hoped that finding the cross for our baby girl would just be a click away... However, I knew that I wanted something pretty specific for her, something extra special and dainty. I wanted diamonds, but not a diamond price tag. We searched and searched, and did find some pretty ones, but nothing in our budget (under $200.00) that wowed me to submission. And then, weirdly enough, my husband was watching a CNBC special about Warren Buffet.... Now, I won't go into detail here about Mr. Buffet, and my husband's love for him and his business genius, but let's just say that if a company is owned by Warren Buffet, that company has integrity. He spoke of his acquired company, Borsheim's, and the value and quality of the jewelery that they offered. I was (like always) a bit skeptical... but, as I reluctantly looked at their website with my husband, I had to admit that I liked the cross that we found. It, like the boys', was a trefoil cross, roughly the same size as theirs; however, this one was white gold, and inlaid with sparkly diamonds. And, it came with a chain, and, it was under budget (around $175.00 shipped!) It came in just 2 days, and (I love it when this happens) it was more beautiful in "real life" than pictured on the website. It is beautiful, absolutely perfect.
The dresses were really easy finds for me, because they came from 2 of my favorite places. The baptismal dress (and accessories) came from Talbot Kids. Although they weren't inexpensive, they were absolutely gorgeous, and sewn of beautiful silk doupioni . For something so special, I had to have them. And, just because something isn't on sale, don't think that you have to pay full-price... I was able to use a 15% off coupon that I got in the mail. Incidentally, Talbot's also carries a linen baptismal suit (for a boy) and an less expensive, gender neutral gown made of linen. We had gotten those for the boys, and guests were as impressed with those as the fancier one. I always find that, if you can get your hands on a coupon, or go to their end-of-season clearance, Talbot's gives you great quality at a reasonable price.
As for the regular dress, it was a no-brainer. I am in love with Gymboree. In the future I will get into all of my money saving strategies for this merchant, but for now I will just say that if you receive e-mails from them, or just check their website frequently, you can find massive markdowns (since they have such a high turnover rate on their clothing lines). I was easily able to find a coordinated (down to the tiny rosebuds on the tights) outfit at a deep discount.
As for the other items, I perused TJ Maxx and Tuesday Morning stores and was able to find, again, nice quality items at a discount.
Well, shopping aside, the ceremony went beautifully, without a hitch. The baby loved her "church bath", and our boys loved seeing her get dunked in church! We had a reception afterward at our local Max and Erma's- we like it there, they have a special "party room" in the back, and it is a relaxing, comfortable environment for all ages. Something that we found out this time was that some restaurants will offer you a buffet type meal (off of their menu) and the you can better control your cost that way. Also, we bought a cake from an elegant French bakery, and were able to take it to the restaurant, saving expenses on lesser quality desserts. By the way, this French bakery used organic and all natural ingredients with low sugar for our cake (as well as their other pastries). I don't know if this is customary for French bakeries everywhere, but it's something to look into in your area.
Well, that was our weekend (along with a few meals, tantrums, and sleepless teething baby nights thrown in).... We're starting the work week tired, but content.
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