Rainbow Themed LDS Baptism Ideas

I dreamt of a rainbow themed LDS baptism since my daughter was born. My favorite children's hymn is “When I am Baptized” and the first line reads….”I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain”. It'a beautiful song about the beauty of Earth being cleaned after rainfall, like we are cleansed after baptism. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we invite our children to be baptized at age 8 and knew this year would be very special. Read on for LDS Baptism ideas for planning your own, or just to see what the fuss is all about!

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LDS Baptism Photoshoot Location

I love the idea of documenting milestone birthdays and this seemed like a great time for a quick photoshoot. Since we live in Salt Lake City, Utah we are in close proximity to the Salt Lake LDS Temple and that seemed a fitting location. The temple is a very special place where I hope she will want to get married someday. Getting baptized is the first big step in finding her own path to Jesus Christ and I couldn't be more happy with her decision.

Faith has been a huge part of my life, filling in gaps and bringing light to dark times. I hope all my children are able to find the same peace I have found knowing I am a daughter of God.

Photoshoot Props

The Book of Mormon is a great photo prop as this book sets us apart from the rest of the Christian world. We love and revere the Holy Bible, and are lucky to have this record of ancient peoples, who traveled from Jerusalem to the North American continent, as another testimony of Jesus Christ. This happens to be a VERY old copy but love the bright blue cover and golden trumpeting angel on the cover. You can learn more about the Restored Church of Jesus Christ here.

This is a fabulous location to take in the whole temple background. Other great props include CTR rings, 8 balloons, rainbow balloon, Great to be 8 signs, etc. We chose to keep it sweet and simple.

LDS Baptism Attire 

As is tradition, like most, we wear white to symbolize purity and cleanliness. I loved this dress with the delicate sleeves and she felt so beautiful. I knew it was a special event when she left me curl her pretty red hair. To add to the moment, I even let her wear the necklace from my Senior Prom! {Cue tears!} So glad I held onto it. And so grateful to have captured this photo, preserving this look of pure joy.

We took photos in front of this olive tree at my wedding 14 years ago. {cue more tears!!} Including details like that made it feel even more special. You can no longer sit on the branch but it's located in the South West corner, inside the fence, if you're interested in the “bridal tree” as I've always called it.

The flower crown was a fun addition, just make sure to pin an accessories on tight. Also be prepared for weather. It's COLD here in February so a lovely white faux fur coat was nice to have on hand to warm up between the shots. It's also very HOT in the summer so bring water and an umbrella if you're taking photos then.

Let Their Personality Shine

If you have an independent strong willed child, it can be tough to take the images YOU want. I recommend giving in and capturing the moment so you both aren't frustrated. I love these candid shots I captured of her being totally HER. Always one to stop and smell the roses.

When I Am Baptized Invitations

As I mentioned before, I knew rainbows would be the inspiration for my daughter's baptism day years before the actual event! This lovely invitation was just perfect with the raindrops and subdued rainbow. This invitation is available in the shop for a Rainbow Baptism or Rainbow Birthday party.

Baptism Memory Book

I had visions of creating my own memory book for the event when grandparents gave her this one. Problem solved! It's a great book that allows you to fill in important information, personal thoughts, a guest list, and photos – in addition to some lovely inspiring content. It'll be fun for her to look back and remember all the details from the day.

My Favorite Prophet

The actual baptism is a simple affair but I wanted to make it personal. In gathering ideas across the web we used SEVERAL from Party Like A Cherry. {thanks Alia!} My daughter chose Joseph Smith as her favorite prophet because he was brave and never gave up on his faith.

My First Scriptures

Another fabulous ideas I stole, I mean borrowed, from Alia is this invitation for guests to mark their favorite verse in her brand new set of scriptures. She's so excited to have her own set but the words are odd and can sometimes be hard to understand for an 8 year old. I'm hoping that having some guidance from her loved ones will help her become more familiar with the stories and less intimidated to read on her own.

Rainbow Themed LDS Baptism Program

If you want your event to run smoothly I highly recommend creating a program for your guests. I didn't snap a photo of it before I stuck it in the book so here you are.? Including song lyrics on the back makes for a smoother program.

She chose her favorite songs then invited people to speak, and pray. Being asked to speak is an honor, but a warning to other Mamas…..you are going to cry through the whole thing! I'm so glad I was able to share my thoughts with her and our loved ones that day, but man! I was a mess.

I used the Kit Kat analogy to explain the promised we make during baptism:

• Keep his Commandments
• Always remember Him
• Take His name upon us

But instead of handing out Kit Kat bars, I assembled Twizzler rainbows with marshmallow “clouds” as a favor for all the guests. You can see how easy it is to put the rainbow party favors together and download the free printable favor topper here.

As is also customary, we invited everyone back to our house for food and family time.

It's Great to be 8

Returning home we placed the guest book front and center so everyone had the opportunity to sign. We also had small sheets of paper for people to write notes. They ranged from simple congratulations to words of pure wisdom and are a treasure for my little girl to have and reread any time life gets tough.

This photo of my daughter at age 3 with the same bright eyes and mischievous smile made me nostalgic but was a fun contrast to see how much she's grown.

Rainbow Themed LDS Baptism Decor 

Because I am a party planner through and through we made sure to bring the rainbow theme into our home as well. As my daughter's 8th birthday party had an art theme, I repurposed several items like the happy birthday banner and paintbrush garland. I also tried my hand at melted crayon art! It was a little tricky but turned out fun, albeit a little lumpy!

We then created a fun little streamer rainbow as a welcome sign with the number 8 everywhere! Because it really is “Great to be 8”!

Rainbow Themed LDS Baptism Brunch

When your event is early it calls for BRUNCH! And it's tough to beat a good ol' fashioned waffle bar! I've broken down the whole Rainbow Party in this post here if you're looking for more rainbow inspiration.

But I can say that it all started with these plates! Aren't they fabulous!? We had so much fun with all the colors and it felt so bright and cheery.

And as a final take away, my talented cousin created these custom 8 sugar cookies with rainbow frosting and sprinkles. The perfect way to end a very sweet day!

Pin it for Later

I hope these rainbow themed LDS baptism ideas are helpful for your own baptism planning. But if this was all new, I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me and a few things I hold dear to my heart!

Additional Rainbow Reading:

• Colorful Over the Rainbow Party Ideas
• Candy Rainbow Favor DIY
• Melted Crayon Rainbow Art
• Let's Party Like Picasso Art Party
• DIY Art Party Decor Ideas

Until next time my friend,