Baby Blessings and Baptisms
Baptisms
Joy! Happiness! Elation! Hopefulness! Expectation! These are the emotions that we experience with a newborn! To capture these emotions and commemorate the miracle of a newborn nowadays, many families wish to celebrate by hosting a baby blessing or naming ceremony. There is, after all, hardly a more joyous occasion than a new baby!!
If you are interested in having your child baptized as a Christian, I can perform this ceremony in my capacity as an Orthodox priest. Although traditional baptism follows specific rituals, I’m happy to include other elements to enrich the ceremony and ensure that cultural and religious backgrounds are acknowledged and included in the blessings. I’m happy to discuss this option to anyone seeking baptism, not just infant baptism.
My Fees:
Baptisms: Depending on the date, time and location, fees range from $300 - $400*.
(*) Additional Fees
Travel Fees:
• Travel charges depend on distance traveled your event location. Other than tolls, there are no travel fees for ceremonies or rehearsals within NYC. Ceremonies or rehearsals beyond that area will incur an additional fee including trip, plus tolls, mileage, etc. These costs are usually minimal and will be provided to you well in advance of the ceremony and must be paid before the ceremony.
• Depending upon the driving time, date of rehearsal or date of the ceremony, overnight accommodations may also be required and must be paid in advance by the couple or their representatives.
Tolls and Parking:
• All anticipated tolls and parking fees encountered will be added as travel fees.
In-Person Consultation:
• Generally, there no travel fee is associated with an in-person consultation if it is in the City of New York. Requests for longer travel will incur a fee to be agreed upon and paid before the in-person meeting.
Ceremonial Specific Fees:
• The cost of and obtaining items specific to the ceremony such as candles, wine, audio equipment, music equipment and speakers etc. will be the responsibility of the couple.
Holidays and Weekends:
• A holiday premium of $150.00 will apply to ceremonies performed on all US holidays/holiday weekends including but not limited to Martin Luther King Day, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day Weekend, July 3rd, 4th and 5th, Labor Day Weekend. Generally, I will not perform ceremonies on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (of course, in some cases exceptions can be made).
Other Fees:
• In rare instances, other fees are required. All fees, however, including anything out of the ordinary, are disclosed well in advance so that there are no budgeting surprises.