Christening Invitation Checklist: 7 Details to Check

The invitation goes out on a Tuesday evening. By Thursday you have three messages: what time does it start, and is Luis a godparent or not? You wrote 14/06 in a hurry, and now two people are asking which number is the month.

None of that is a disaster. It's a christening invitation with gaps in it, and gaps get filled with guesses. Run this christening invitation checklist before you press send and the questions stop arriving.

Godparents belong on the christening invitation

If your sister is the godmother, her name goes next to the child's. If you're not naming godparents, write 'No godparents' or leave the line out. Don't leave a blank space where a name should be. On a digital invitation that line is a text field, so you can add or change a name after sending and the link stays the same.

• Full name of the child and the parents: 'Maria and Javier invite you to the christening of Luca Martin Perez'. No initials, no family nickname.
• Godparents by name, or a decision not to name them: 'Godparents: Ana and Luis'.
• Date with the weekday, the time and the full address: 'Saturday 14 June, 12:30, St John's Church, 3 Calle Mayor, Madrid'.
• Dress code and the reply deadline: 'Smart, like a family lunch. Please confirm by 5 May'.

Date, time and place: write it so nobody has to ask

Write 'Saturday 14 June, 12:30' instead of '14/06 at 12:30'. Nobody has to work out which number is the month, and anyone reading it on a phone gets it in one pass. Add the city and say where the rest of the day happens: 'Reception in the same garden, from 14:00'. If the ceremony is outdoors, say what people need: 'The garden has no shade, bring a hat'.

If the ceremony moves to 13:00, you edit the invitation and the link updates. Nothing to resend, no new message for the group chat. Guests open the same link and see the correct version, even the ones who saved it weeks ago.

A christening invitation works when the godparent, the hour and the full name are right the first time.

The child's name and the dress code

Spell the full name out: 'Luca Martin Perez', not 'L.' or 'Luci'. Guests who haven't met the baby yet need the whole thing, and anyone reading the invitation aloud on the phone will thank you. If the christening is in another language, the invitation can be set in that language. For the dress code, skip the colour wheel: 'smart, like a family lunch' tells people more than a palette. In summer, add 'light colours, no head-to-toe white'.

RSVP: ask once, with a deadline

Ask two questions and give a date: 'Are you coming?' and 'How many of you?', with 'Please confirm by 5 May'. Replies arrive in a list inside the invitation, so you're not scrolling through WhatsApp looking for answers, and you can change the deadline after sending. Then you publish: 29.99 EUR, one payment, no subscription. If the godfather changes or the ceremony moves, you edit the link and everyone sees the version that's true.