Baptism dress for four year old

[marywarfield]

Ok my daughter, who is married in the Church to
a non Catholic, feels her husband is now comfortable
with baptising their
daughter in the Church. My granddaughter is now
three and a half.
So off we went to look for gowns but they are all
for babies!!!
My daughter has decided that together we will make
the dress ourselves. Her patterns she is coming up
with are so elaborate they seem appropriate for First
Communion and a quinceanara lol!

So here are my questions:
Is it acceptable to dress the child as a little bride
for her baptism or should she stay
with the more plain nightgown look?
Would people be okay with the child having a veil?
My daughter and I normally have scarves or mantillas
But what about the child in baptism?
The dress she is making is more like a very very
formal flower girl dress. Is that offensive?
I guess I am asking" can the baptism dress be
TOO fancy"?

She also wants to know can she use a slight hint
Of pink rosebuds along the hem or must it be entirely
white?

 

[Christy_Beth]

For baptisim, I’d skip anything for the head since it might come off. For the dress, at her age, I don’t think it has to be pure white. Although that might not be a bad idea. The rose thing around the hem might look nice. If you go that route, maybe use the same along the sleeves and around the neck. The only way it could be too fancy would be if you added a ton of stuff to it, or got some really expensive material for it. Yes, this is a special occasion, so it should be celebrated as such.

 

[tawny]

For baptisim, I’d skip anything for the head since it might come off. For the dress, at her age, I don’t think it has to be pure white. Although that might not be a bad idea. The rose thing around the hem might look nice. If you go that route, maybe use the same along the sleeves and around the neck. The only way it could be too fancy would be if you added a ton of stuff to it, or got some really expensive material for it. Yes, this is a special occasion, so it should be celebrated as such.

 

[pianistclare]

White is good. I normally tell people to go to the bridal shop…they have oodles of simple options for flower girls. If you want to make it yourself, a simple empire waited dress with a ribbon band is lovely. Or, the band can be more decorative. It’s important that it fairly comfortable, as 3-4 yr. olds get wiggly.
No veil, as there will be water poured over her head.
It does not have to look like a nightgown, it can look any way you wish or that is customary for your culture.
We have this all the time with the Hispanic culture. They wear fairly elaborate dresses. It’s fine.
Congratulations!

 

[marywarfield]

White is good. I normally tell people to go to the bridal shop…they have oodles of simple options for flower girls. If you want to make it yourself, a simple empire waited dress with a ribbon band is lovely. Or, the band can be more decorative. It’s important that it fairly comfortable, as 3-4 yr. olds get wiggly.
No veil, as there will be water poured over her head.
It does not have to look like a nightgown, it can look any way you wish or that is customary for your culture.
We have this all the time with the Hispanic culture. They wear fairly elaborate dresses. It’s fine.
Congratulations!

I think that’s what the daughter is looking for as she
went to catholic school in an all Hispanic neighborhood
so we are all used to the dresses being very elaborate.
Here where we are now it is just not quite the norm.

I am also looking rather than the rosebuds for an
embroidery of the Holy Mother we can sew on. Not the
very colorful Our Lady of Guadalupe but something
white with gold and silver thread.

Also maybe a mantilla as they are easily removed.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

At this time of year you might be able to find a relatively simple dress aimed at girls making their First Communion. That’s what we did for the child of a friend who was being baptized at age 5. She looked very sweet.

And I agree with those who said to skip the veil. You’ll need to remove it for the baptism and anointing anyway.

 

[pianistclare]

I think that’s what the daughter is looking for as she
went to catholic school in an all Hispanic neighborhood
so we are all used to the dresses being very elaborate.
Here where we are now it is just not quite the norm.

I am also looking rather than the rosebuds for an
embroidery of the Holy Mother we can sew on. Not the
very colorful Our Lady of Guadalupe but something
white with gold and silver thread.

Also maybe a mantilla as they are easily removed.

She will likely NOT keep the mantilla on…and Father will ask you to remove it completely. You’ll end up holding it the whole time.
I’m sure she’ll look adorable. The Sacrament is the most important thing, don’t worry…she will look sweet in the pictures. All children do.

 

[27lw]

I had a similar situation for my 5-y-o when she got baptized. I think one thing to consider is, is it with a group of infants, or a private ceremony? I ended up just finding a pretty summer dress that was all white, and I think she looked very appropriate.
Also, I realized I also had this for my 8-y-o daughter. She actually got baptized during a school Mass and it was very memorable and special. I ended up finding a nice cream-colored dress, which clashed a little bit with the big purple cast on her leg.
I think you could do whatever you think is beautiful, and will fit in if others are being baptized at the same ceremony.