Jackson's Naming Ceremony

Chris and I thought of having a Christening for Jackson but after a lot of discussion and research we thought we’d go for a Naming Ceremony instead.

Many people asked us the question, 'what is a Naming Ceremony?'. Well, in summary, it’s basically a non-religious version of a Christening, leaving Jackson free to choose his own way in life. As soon as we read about this type of celebration, we knew it was perfect for us.

One of the first things on the agenda of organising his Naming Ceremony, was to choose the venue. Again, this took a lot of research as it had to be a place big enough to have the ceremony as well as a little after party. In the end, we chose the Crowne Plaza in Marlow. We went for an afternoon tea package for our guests after the ceremony.

Next was the guest list. This was so difficult as we wanted to invite so many people!!! But due to space (and money) limitations, we had to be quite strict on who would and wouldn't be invited.

Like a Christening, we had to choose special people who would play a big part in Jackson's life as he grows and starts to learn his own way. We chose Laurence (Chris' brother), Chloe (my sister) and Lucy (one of my oldest friends) and we called them Jackson's Guide Parents.

Of course, Jackson had to look the part for his special day, so we took a trip to Next and bought him the cutest 3 piece suit. His Guide Parent, Lucy, bought him some adorable shoes to go with his outfit. On the sole's they had his name on one shoe and the date of the Naming Ceremony on the other.

For the formal part, we hired a celebrant from the British Humanist Association to conduct the ceremony and she did a fantastic job. We loved how personal it was and how every sentence was directed at and relevant to Jackson. She also gave us a lovely idea to have a 'Guest Book' for everyone to write a little note in for him to read when he is older, which will be a beautiful keep sake for him.

Chris' Mum also made us an amazing Cake for the day, with Jackson's name and the date of the special day displayed on top. This went down a treat and I was secretly quite happy that there was some leftover to bring home with us! 

As well as everyone honouring Jackson with their presence on his big day, they also gave him some lovely gifts, which we had lots of fun opening all together once we got home after a long but amazing day!

We want to thank everyone for coming and for all of your kind gifts. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as the three of us did!

Love Sophia xx