Christ emphasized, baptism is necessary! It's in the Bible (See John 3:5).
There are a number of similarities between a marriage ceremony and baptism. Baptism is the entrance into the Christian family. One takes the name of Christ (Christian). God designs that this is to be a life-time experience in which one's personal relationship with Him is ever improving and very personal. Salvation through the shed blood of Jesus on Calvary is the theme of the gospel (Romans 3:25; 5:9; Ephesians. 1:7; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:22; Revelation 1:5; etc.). You can depend upon it by faith through His grace.