BABY NAMING CEREMONY

Iwork with you to personally design your child’s naming ceremony. Generally it will start with an introduction, and a brief explanation on the reasons that a naming ceremony has been chosen, the family can have as much or as little information here as they wish. Before anything is delivered to the guests and the public every detail would be checked with the family.

The parents may choose to acknowledge the role of others in the life of their child – grandparents, older siblings, other relatives, or friends. Perhaps one of those people will be asked to present a reading to the guests. A naming ceremony is very much a time at which the involvement of different people in the life of the child is recognised, both currently and in the future.

If Godparents, Guardians or Mentors are to be appointed this is formally done within the ceremony, and those people receive a certificate of appointment, one of the keys to the success of the day is to make everyone involved feel special.

The names will be officially bestowed upon the child and in the main I like to give a reason for the use of such a name. This explanation can where possible cover where the name originated from, the history and so on. In some cases the family may wish to have some kind of ritual – this could reflect perhaps the family values, standards and, attitudes of the family. Examples of this could include

• The use of flowers
• The Sprinkling of water
• The use of fragrant oils
• The use of candles
• The use of something significant to the family
• The planting of a tree
• Sand blending
• Candle lighting
• Time capsule
• Balloon release

Another reading may follow or a song and at completion of the ceremony, the celebrant, the parents, and godparents (or guardians or mentors) will sign the naming certificate.