Cati's Baptism

I got our pictures from the baptism recently and I wanted to share them with you. Remember how I said this invite was my inspiration for the baptism?

Well, I tried to pull elements from it and use it throughout the event. I wanted things to be simple but elegant. The baptism was held at our church and then we had a lunch at Bottega Grill. The day went on without a hitch. The biggest surprise was Cati. I was ready for her to meltdown at some point but she didn't. The only time she cried was when she was ready for a nap. She was in a happy mood the rest of the time and was even passed around to complete strangers (strangers to her). While there were a few things that didn't go as planned and as expected, it was still a memorable day. The fact that Cati was on her best behavior really made the day for me. Here are some of the pictures courtesy of our event photography Anthony W. Photography.

The baptism: I had the biggest scare before the actual baptism. I called the Father who was going to do the ceremony 10 days before the baptism to discuss the baptism and he told me someone canceled our event! I nearly died. I cried out of frustration. Luckily, everything worked itself out but we ended up having the ceremony in Spanish because another Father had to do it (the original Father agreed to go to Rome the day before our baptism because he thought our event was canceled). My sister and Alex's brother are Cati's godparents.

My mother-in-law actually found Cati's baptism dress
at an antique store. It's a dress made in Cuba in the 1950s and
it has the most beautiful needlework.

I adore Cati's headband. I bought it from
Etsy seller Petite Fleurs by Bellasma

Hands down my favorite picture from that day.

Cati loves water so I figured I'd let her
play with it before she got wet.

If I would have known how great of a mood Cati was
going to be in, I would have dunked her completely.

Funniest Baptism Moment: Cati cried when the
Father took the candle away from her.

Baptism Success Secret: Give baby finger
to suck on during ceremony.

The decorations: I wanted a pink, white, and gold color scheme to match the invitation. It was in the decorations where things didn't go exactly as planned.

I wanted all the arrangements to be white carnations
but we ran out of carnations making the flower balls.

Gerbera daisies were a good substitute and added a splash of color.

THIS was the inspiration for the cake. My cake inspired me to want to
take fondant classes. I figure there are lots of birthdays in my
future so there will be a need for cool cakes.

For the sign in book, we went with pictures from Cati's 3 month
shoot (we had pictures taken of her with a cross) on scrapbook paper.

The luncheon: We invited only super close family and friends and yet we still took up most of the restaurant. I wanted the baptism to be intimate, but it's hard to do intimate when you are married to a Cuban man.

Cati arrived to the luncheon in style: Sleeping in her car seat.

How cool is this shot?

The family shots: These are some of the most formal family pictures we've gotten EVER. I am so thankful for the family I was born into and the family I married into. Cati is one lucky girl to be surrounded by such great people.

My daughter is a goofball.

Alex's family plus the Godparents.

My itty bitty family.

Four Generations: Cati, her daddy, her daddy's mommy,
and her daddy's mommy's mommy (you got that?)

Four Generations: Cati, me, and you know the rest (see above)

Cati with her dad, Abuelo, and Uncle/Godfather

My side of the family. That's my dad.
Remember THIS post? LONG story.

My rocks. These two people make me feel less
crazy when it comes to my family.

My girl. You see that hair pin? That's not there to
keep my hair in place. It's there to prevent me from exploding with love.
Because really? I think me blowing up would have ruined the event. Just a little.