Ariana's Baptism - Part II - The details

I found these personalised stickers on Etsy some time ago and I knew I wanted to use them.  I considered chocolates, cookies etc etc - something edible, not a junky knick knack.  I decided to go the fun route and use multicoloured jelly beans. 

By the time I found the jars on eBay and received them I realised they were too small!!! There was no time to start again so I had to improvise and cut the stickers to size and squeeze 9 jelly beans into the jars - one of each colour.

I also decided to get the beautiful Martha Stewart card box.  Terribly marked up in Australia but so beautiful.

The place cards were simple and ivory with pearls - which had to be individually stuck to the cards (at about 1am the night before they were due at the venue.  Best work is done under pressure.

As I had previously written, I decided to take on the task of making the cake myself.  As we had a beautiful dessert for one of the courses, the cake was always just going to be a token cut up on platters with coffee.  My decorating skills are non existent, so I opted to decorate with fresh flowers and give the icing a rough finish.  Fortunately one of my girlfriends was on annual leave to popped over for a few hours to look after the baby.  I had planned to bake the sponges the night before and ice the cake the following day, however one of the sponges fell apart as I was removing it from the tin at about 11pm and I called it quits.  I managed the calm down the following morning and rescue the mission.

 

The cake certainly wasn't perfect.  I would have benefited from a little bit more icing.  The rough look wasn't rough enough, but I loved the idea of having made it myself and having that memory.

Ariana's Baptism - Part I - The venue

When you're from an ethnic family that moves to the other side of the world, your parents tend to hold really tight onto old traditions. Things they never cared about suddenly begin to define them. Nostalgia takes hold and archaic traditions bubble to the surface. You wonder where this newfound passion for tradition comes from. All these things come to a head for a wedding. I often say that the only things I wouldn't change about my wedding is my dress and my groom. Everything else was a circus of epic proportions.

So I knew when I had my own child I would not force them to endure the torment.

I had begun to plan Ari's baptism in my head months in advance. I wanted it to be very intimate, warm and at a gorgeous venue. Everything my wedding didn't turn out to be.

I have always loved Quat Quatta and had made up my mind that it was the only venue I would consider. It suited my taste and plans for the event unlike any other. I knew that it would be my only chance in a long, long time to hold an event there and I did not relent.

Every nook and cranny is wonderful. The marble bar, the fireplaces, the furniture and the incredible grounds. The service was impeccable and the food was beautifully presented, plentiful and delicious. 

And everyone seemed to be in awe of the bathrooms with the chandeliers and matching door knobs.

I absolutely adore planning events. Trawling for little details and personal touches. I am not very detail oriented, but I seem to sweat the small stuff when I'm putting together events.  After weeks of pulling out my hair to find a date to suit various family members travels,  I was finally able to firm up a date and pay the deposit when Ariana was 6 weeks old.  I had 4 weeks to put it all together. From the guest list and invitations, to the fiddly place cards and the cake. 

But it was all worth it. Instead of sleeping when the baby slept my mind was racing all day and all night.