How do you choose your Naming Ceremony congregation?

How do you choose your Naming Ceremony congregation? The joy of a Naming Ceremony is that it is 100% personal to your unique story, and so your choice of congregation will also be entirely defined by you!

You have the opportunity to choose your Naming Ceremony congregation based on the people that mean the most to you in the world. These are the ones who you want to stand witness to this important moment, and join you in celebrating the arrival of your child; be that born, a step child or an adopted child.

Who should be in the Naming Ceremony congregation?

If there are Godparents/ Guideparents/ Supporting Adults involved it is important to make sure they and other people with a key role on the day are available before confirming the date and inviting other members of the congregation. We have written a detailed guide about Godparents and Naming Ceremonies if you want to find out more about their role on the day.

As every child is unique, so too will be the celebration you create for them. There is no blueprint for the people you should and should not invite to the service; but, if it is something you are unsure about, you can always ask your celebrant for their thoughts and advice.

What size should the Naming Ceremony congregation be?

The size of the Naming Ceremony celebration depends on how many people you would like to be involved.

It can be just the immediate family celebrating the new addition to the family, or it could be a much bigger celebration with wider family and friends. The size of the congregation will need to be kept in mind when choosing the venue. Also, your celebrant will consider the number of people involved when creating the ceremony with you. If there is a larger congregation, they may allow more time for people arriving and may suggest ideas for the ceremony to include everyone.

How can I involve the Naming Ceremony congregation to personalise the service?

It is common for members of the congregation to be involved in readings; this could be through writing the piece for the reading, or performing it (or both!).

If you are including a special piece of music in the service, you could also ask a loved one to sing the song for the rest of the congregation, or have the entire congregation come together to sing it.

You may want to let your guests know if there is a dress code for the ceremony. If you would like the ceremony to be formal, then you can tell your guests that this is a great time to get dressed up. However, if you are looking for a more casual style then let everyone know so they can come feeling relaxed.