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I mentioned this to my dear husband responded, "Do we really need one???" !!! ( Good man was just trying to be practical and thrifty. You can't blame a guy for not understand the importance of clothes.)
Does a bride need a wedding gown? No. But, this is a SACRAMENT people! Its an outward sign of an inward truth. It must be celebrated! We want people to recognize through the symbolism the powerful truth of what is taking place!!!
And, heck yeah, I want my baby to look cute!!!
My siblings and I were baptized in the same baptismal gown that my mom and her siblings were baptized in. A thin white gown that was cut from my Grandmother's wedding dress. Beautiful, huh??? I called my mom to ask about using it and she told me that it is so old and delicate that it really is no longer wearable.
I was heartbroken, but decided that we would just have to start a new tradition for our new little family. I wanted something lovely, so I did a quick google search to see what is out there. OH MY GOODNESS! Sweet and lovely is available, but it comes with a serious price tag (some 3x more costly than my wedding dress!)! There were a few less expensive options, but none that seemed right. And I really don't care for buying clothing online. I need to feel the fabric. That's just the way I am. Sadly, there aren't any shops around (that I could find) carrying what I needed. I was told that the closest religious gift shop that might have any was in Minnesota!!!
I was feeling desperate.
One of the moms in my mom's group at church has a children's consignment shop here in town. I messaged here asking if she had any baptismal gowns. She did not, but yesterday she told me she had gotten some in that were brand new and from Ireland! Paul and I love our Irish heritage and I just swoon over anything Irish (especially my husband!)!!!
I raced over this afternoon and found the perfect gown to start a new family tradition with. It is Irish linen, so it has that antique/family heirloom quality that I really wanted. It is beautiful, but is traditional enough that we can have both our boys and our girls wear it.
Isn't it lovely and old fashioned?
The Collar
The Sleeve
The Hem
And (drum roll, please) the beautiful Celtic cross on the skirt that is spotted with shamrocks!
Friends of mine have embroidered the initials and dates, on the inside hem, of each child in their family who has been baptized in their family gown. I think it is a wonderful idea and I hope to do the same.
I'm so happy that I found a gown I love, purchased it at a great price from a friend and have one more thing checked off of my list of things to do before baby arrives! I'm just so excited and happy that the new tradition of wearing this gown in our family will have special meaning because of its Irish beauty!
Did (or will) your children use a family gown? One you purchased? What do you love about it? Does your family have any special baptism traditions?
3 comments:
Oh my goodness it is so fun to think about all this stuff:) I think we are going to go for the Baptismal gown that all of us/my mom was Baptized in. It is HUGE and itchy but beautiful:) But, like you, we have to make sure it will 'hold up' for a 3rd generation. I cannot wait to meet my little guy and witness his entering the Church and I am SO excited to meet your little guy (as you know, I am thinking boy! lol). Love you and miss you
Love and miss you, too! I love huge, itchy, beautiful gowns because they have so much meaning in a family! Our babies are going to love each other and have so much fun together!
Oh, Annie, it's GORGEOUS! And I'm a little jealous :) I had the same desire to establish a tradition, but didn't make it happen for a couple reasons: couldn't decide on what tradition I wanted to establish (i.e. have all my kids wear the same gown OR get each one an individual gown that they could keep and baptize their children in); plus, I was pretty intimidated by costs of baptismal gowns, so I ended up buying one of the cheapest, simplest ones I could find and each of the girls have worn it...but I did recently find at a yard sale a beautiful, hand-crocheted gown to go over the top of the simple gown - looks much more traditional and distinct. Gabs is the only one who's gotten a chance to wear it, but any others that come along will carry on the tradition :) P.S. you don't happen to have any cute pics of Katelyn wearing her baptism gown on her baptism day, do you? All the ones i have are blurry, distant...or not wearing her gown! (I took several cute pics of her sleeping in a chair at home before we left for the baptism, and she has on a white onesie, tights, bloomers, cute little white shoes - everything but the dress, as I didn't want to put it on until we got to the church in case she threw up :()
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