Francesca Dominique's Christening..

The original plan was to wait for the grandfather (my  Dad)  before we have Chingching baptized but since I wanted to have everything done before I get back to work, we decided to make the christening 2 weeks in advance,  since my little girl turned one month.


Leih and I decided on the list of godfathers & godmothers even before our baby was born. We made sure we chose the closest friends & family, people whom Chingching could look up to as second parents.

our little angel fast asleep...

Planning this event had been a tough challenge especially since my child is solely dependent on my  milk supply... Organizing the ceremony itself was a breeze. I had all the documents prepared a few weeks after we left the hospital. Arranging the  details of  the celebration that followed next was a different story however..
 

Since I rarely had the chance to go out and scout for suppliers,  I did everything online. Being an events planner has honed me to execute events even in the middle of pressure.. Who would ever think that I started my planning while we were in the hospital when Chingching got admitted for phototherapy, three weeks after she was born. I secured a deal with the venue after we confirmed the schedule with the church and the balloon designer, then, dropped the downpayment as soon as we got home from the hospital two days after.

My  theme for the party was something close to my heart.. I chose Hello Kitty, something that my little one would have wanted if she were old enough to choose... It was inspired by the sleeping Hello Kitty she has on her crib...

The main entrance to the Grand Comedor..

the venue from inside...

 Given the theme, ideas started pouring in. I coordinated with my good friend Bernadette  and explained to her what set-up I had in mind. I had my full trust in her, knowing her to be very artistic with balloons and designing. My mind was set, she was making Chingching's Hello Kitty Balloons. This is probably one of the best things I decided early on with the planning. I got what I wanted, and I loved it.. Hence, the pictures...

Of course, the cake had to be special.. In between feedings & Leihson's day off, I scouted for cake designs with my good friend, Aann Dela Cruz (of the Wedding Village) but found nothing that tickled my fancy. The cake was one of the highlights of the event and I couldn't just pick any other cake... It had to be "the one"....

 I then called up Ms. Charina Sunio of Sugar Artist and decided to give her the hand in designing what she thought would turn out perfectly suitable for our Hello Kitty theme... Yesterday, Leih picked up our beautiful Hello Kitty cake at Mall Of Asia, the design was amazingly beautiful, ~ Hello Kitty lying down on her princess bed... Something I would never have thought of, Ms. Charina is indeed a great Sugar Artist...

The cupcakes were another story... Chingching's godmother, Aaan Dela Cruz, who also happens to be my coordinating partner, offered to shoulder the cupcakes as her gift to my little one, and guess where she ordered it from, FROSTINGS.... I couldn't be any happier... Aann, despite her limping foot, went all the way to Mall of Asia to place the order and got us a 5-tier cake tower for the double dutch & chocolate cupcakes whose designs I was able to choose freely... Just looking at this picture is enough to  make me salivate, literally... They were all gone by the end of the reception, selling like hotcakes...

Of course, there had to be give-aways.. Being a n@wie myself, I had my own list of suppliers for these kinds of things.. Upon browsing the net, I chanced upon these very cute giveaways from a fellow n@wie sister, Rhea.. I placed the order for 100 pieces of booties and flip-flops and chose to do the stuffing and packing myself.
                                                          We picked them up on the very day Ching had to go back to Makati Med for her monthly check up. The stuffing of chocolates though proved a little tedious as I had to squeeze in doing this in between nursing my fussy baby.

Thankfully, I finished all 100. I personally did the table set up this morning, surrounding the Hello Kitty Bed Cake with all these creatively-done paper booties... It turned out absolutely lovely... Same goes for the intricate pastillas wrappers which bore Chingching's name on it, specially done by my grandmother, Nanay Luz. She wrapped original pastillas de leche candies with it and it was an instant hit.


             For the pictures, a good friend recommended Mr. Roy Salud to do the honor of capturing Chingching's special day... When I checked his albums, both Leih and I liked his shots instantly, not to mention, this guy was very easy to talk to, young yet very skilled and has a keen eye for details.. And yes, it was Roy Salud who became the official photographer of our little one, him and his beautiful girlfriend Amber... (wink) He will also be the one to do Chingching's portraits on Thursday, another thing to look forward to this week.


Everything was all set for Francesca's big day. Luckily, I was able to chance upon the smallest dress at TwiLo after almost giving up hope of finding one that would suit my girl's very petite frame and it fit her nicely. She had to change into something more comfortable at the reception so I altered the straps of her Hello Kitty dress.

All throughout the ceremony, my little girl was asleep. She would wake up from time to time but Francesca behaved very well today. Almost all the godmothers and god fathers were present, save for some who were indisposed due to unavoidable circumstances, but just as much, everything went on perfectly.

I will be posting pictures as soon as the official photos are out, courtesy of Roy Salud.