Mitzvah Inspire: Life Is EZ

Evoke Events located in Washington, DC. had an EZ time putting this Bar Mitzvah together for a young man named Ezra with the nickname EZ!

This Bar Mitzvah boy has a laid back personality which gave Jodi Moreau and her team the ability to create a fun and exciting atmosphere for his family and friends.

EZ & his friends started the night off with airbrush tattoos and “Shakie” a lemonade expert, and then danced the night away with Lance from Washington Talent.

The other vendor used were: Capital Decor and Events, Frost Lighting, Sugarplum Tents, The Write Image, Small Wonders Gifts, Design Cuisine and Geoff Chesman Visuals.

Guests enjoyed “Shakie” the lemonade expert!

The Life Is EZ logo and theme was used on decals…

…and napkins

In keeping with the theme, the kids area was comfy with bean bag chairs and lots of pillows

This laid back area went perfectly with the theme

Guests could grab a snack at the trail mix bar

The Asian Station with delicious food from Design Cuisine

The EZ Cantina

Young guests received sweatshirt favors which were stored in cubbies

Little stickers were on the cubbies with each child’s name!

Check out these cool flip flops

We would like to thank Evoke Events for sharing Ezra’s creative EZ celebration with our readers!

The Koch Bat Mitzvah Family Spotlight

Eleanor Koch celebrated her Bat Mitzvah on September 10, 2011 (that’s 9/10/11) at Congregation Micah in Nashville, Tennessee.

She was more interested in the religious aspect of her Bat Mitzvah than her party. When her parents offered to take her to Israel in honor of her momentous occasion she responded, “I am the only Jewish student in my grade of 54 children. I represent my faith, my ancestors, and all that Judaism stands for. If I don’t have my Bat Mitzvah here in Nashville, my friends might never experience or understand the importance and holiness of this life cycle event.”

Needless to say, they moved ahead with her Bat Mitzvah party in Nashville! Her Mom reports: “Great news, a new Jewish student has since moved to her school from Boston and DOUBLED the Jewish population in her grade!”

Pictured left (L-R) Mom Rachel, Bat Mitzvah girl Eleanor, Dad Jack and younger brother Carter

All party photography was by friend of the family, Lori Landsberg and the rest of the vendors are listed at the bottom of this spotlight.

Although Nashville has many wonderful options for exciting party venues, they chose to hold Eleanor’s Kiddush luncheon and dance in their synagogue’s social hall. Mom Rachel tells Mitzvah Market, “We hoped that by keeping the entire celebration within our synagogue, all of our ‘life cycle’ experiences, from our most celebratory to our deepest moments of sadness, have and will continue to happen within these walls. It all comes together to create a strong feeling of a Jewish “home” and a deep connection to our community.”

Eleanor at her service

As reported by her Mom, one of the most beautiful and truly amazing aspects of Eleanor’s Bat Mitzvah was the support she received from those both near and far and the diversity within that range! Eleanor’s Mom is the chairperson of Nashville’s ‘Partnership 2Gether’ program (a program that focuses on creating bonds of friendship and connection between the United States and Israel) and they have many friends in Israel. Some friends traveled from Israel and others were able to watch Eleanor’s Bat Mitzvah by Web Stream! Also, one of Eleanor’s dearest school friend is Muslim. She and her family attended, along with their extended family visiting from Turkey. Her Mom says, “To see so many people of different faiths come together to support and celebrate with Eleanor was extremely heartwarming and inspirational!”

Once her Bat Mitzvah service was over, a very fun and successful party ensued!

As guests moved from the service to the party, they found a Picture This Nashville photo “booth.” This also served as her sign-in book/board. Above was her customized screen

Eleanor and her Mom pose for a special picture

Eleanor’s friends have fun taking their picture in a frame!

Friends put on the props and have fun!

Louis Lee Entertainment provided the music with Louis as the MC. There was also a visit from Nashville’s Israeli Folk Dancers.

Louis (far left) got all the kids dancing!

Bat Mitzvah girl Eleanor is up in the chair for the horah

Here is the crowd participating in the Israeli dance

Their Events Coordinator/Decorator Diane Kimbrough has known Eleanor her entire life and met with her several times to discuss what she wanted for her celebration. Much of that discussion included Eleanor’s love of nature and other ideas that would capture her passions and bring the outside indoors!

She used natural materials such as logs, lichen, and moss to make the centerpieces for the Kiddush luncheon and dance

Every centerpiece was unique, even down to tiny woodland animals and aged pages from old botanical field guides

The dessert table was the highlight of the décor:

Friends and family made all the desserts, keeping in mind what they knew Eleanor would love!

Realistic chocolate rocks filled hand-turned wooden bowls (made by a member of the family) and nuts and seeds filled small antique birdbaths!

There were candy raccoons, mice, and hedgehogs, and a cake shaped as a log that was adorned with cocoa dusted meringue mushrooms

An edible camp fire featuring chocolate kisses, pretzel rods and logs!

Here’s some Mom-to-Mom advice from Rachel:
“Let people help you! I loved planning my children’s events when they were younger, but now I work full-time. I had hoped to be fully involved with my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah but as the big event crept up, I realized I needed help…a LOT of help! I hired an event planner who happened to be a dear friend. She knew my daughter very well. I loved that she checked in with my daughter often and showed us what she had purchased/collected periodically. That way we knew we all had the same vision. She was great at calming me when I felt panicked and could gently nudge me when it was time to make big decisions. Elaine, from Picture This Nashville, was also wonderful at assuring me we were on schedule and that everything would be okay. She told me when to wait and when to act.”

She adds, “Another aspect of the Bat Mitzvah for which I wasn’t prepared, was the time commitment of my child’s thank you notes! I would recommend allocating the time your child is/was already using to study for the B’nai Mitzvah, and have them continue to use that daily/weekly block of time after the event to write thank you notes. In other words, if they are on a study schedule (daily or weekly), continue to block off that time slot in their calendars to use for the work that begins AFTER the event.”

As mentioned, Eleanor LOVES animals and nature. She began volunteering at Warner Park Nature Center well over a year in advance of her Bat Mitzvah. She spent every Saturday morning taking care of the bird feeding stations and bird blind within the park…no matter the weather. She spent innumerable hours cleaning and refilling bird feeders and birdbaths and assisting with nature park events such as hummingbird banding and Junior Naturalist programs. In addition to her volunteer hours, she donated enough money to begin an “Eleanor Koch B’nai Tzedek” fund at the Jewish Federation of Nashville. She will also be donating a percentage of her Bat Mitzvah monetary gifts to the Warner Park Nature Center in Nashville and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Here is a list of vendors who helped to make Eleanor’s Bat Mitzvah special. If you call any of them, please make sure you let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.

Venue: Congregation Micah
Event Planner: Diane Kimbrough, dianekimbrough.ideas@gmail.com
Photo booth: Elaine Pardo, Picture This Nashville
Sign-In board: Picture This Nashville
Music Entertainment: DJ Louis, Louis Lee Entertainment
Party Entertainment: Nashville Israeli Folk Dancers
Caterer: Kevin Alexandroni, SOVA Catering
Photography: friend of the family, Lori Landsberg
Slideshow: Jack Koch, Bokeh Tov Photography
Invitations: Marla Love with Zazzle.com

Mitzvah Project: Hugs Across America

Virtual Dancer from Entertainment Tonite

Virtual Dancer, from Entertainment Tonite is a fun, interactive hologram of the guest of honor that is displayed on a light, translucent screen.

Here’s how it works:

Prior to the guest of honor’s big day, ET asks him/her to bring a variety of outfits, i.e. formal, nightclub and sporty attire, to their studios and then videotapes him/her in front of a giant green screen as they follow along with one of the Entertainment Tonite dancers.

They always encourage friends and family to be involved in this new cool attraction.

At your celebration, the hologram screen is displayed next to the dance floor so your guests can interact with your own virtual dancer.

To learn more about Entertainment Tonite, visit their extended profile page in our Vendor Directory.

Bar Mitzvah Blackout!

One of our most popular stories from 2009 was Bari’s Bat Mitzvah Blizzard.

It was a great lesson about celebrating what’s truly important – being together.

Once again, severe weather was to hit the tri-state area. This time the forecast was for snow, over a weekend in October, when the weather is not usually an issue.

The Zinn family from Montclair, New Jersey was excited to celebrate their son Jonah’s Bar Mitzvah on October 29, 2011 with a morning service followed by a daytime celebration at the Glen Ridge Country Club.

Snow had started to fall by 11am, but the service and party went on as scheduled.

Here’s what happened next as told to us by Mitzvah Mom Nancy Friedman Zinn:

We were lucky that our synagogue for the service and the Country Club where we were holding our party were very close to each other.

Our guests made it safely to the Country Club and our cocktail hour went on as planned.

The blackout occurred during our candle lighting ceremony. The funny thing is that I didn’t even realize we had lost power at first because the room has such big windows.

For our son’s candle lighting, we assigned friends and families a word (for example: kindness, community, creativity, individuality, family) and asked them to come up to light a candle and say a few words based on their assigned word about Jonah.

My husband and I had spent my hours struggling to find the perfect song for each guest who would be lighting a candle.

Once the power went out, so did the DJ’s ability to play these songs. So my husband and I started singing them ourselves, and an impromptu sing-a-long ensued. It was great!

The Zinn family

We got through the candle lighting and it was time for the Horah. Again our guests played along and sang Hava Nagila and other Jewish songs. We were all lifted in the chairs as usual. The dancing continued due to our fantastic guests singing the Hustle, Macarena and other popular songs.

The power must have been out for about 1½ hours before the Club was able to get a generator. Although the power at the Country Club did not go back on, we did have music and they were able to serve food.

The party was fantastic both in spite of and because of the storm!

We thank Nancy for sharing her son’s Bar Mitzvah Blackout story with our readers. If you have a story from this past snow storm, let us know at info@MitzvahMarket.com.

The Siegel Bar Mitzvah Family Spotlight

Parker Siegel always knew his Bar Mitzvah theme would involve the world of entertainment. He’s been exposed to movies and TV shows through his Mom and Dad most of his life.

He and his Dad both love movies and his Mom has worked in the entertainment industry for the last 20 years. She was even able to have some of her famous friends wish Parker a “Happy Bar Mitzvah” at the end of his very creative montage.

We thank them for sharing Parker’s celebration with our readers.

Pictured L-R: Younger brother Owen, Dad Eric, Bar Mitzvah boy Parker and Mom Jennifer

All party photography was done by Ira Rosen and the rest of the vendor information is at the bottom of this spotlight.

Mom Jenn found her dress at Cami Boutique in Roslyn and got to wear it again at this year’s Emmy Awards!

Jenn wore the ultimate red carpet dress – a full red beaded gown down to the floor with a mermaid bottom

Parker’s invitations were created by Marjorie Berrant of Invitations Plus.

The invitation was a metallic color

The direction and response cards along with the stamp let guests know the theme would be Parker Productions!

The theme of this Bar Mitzvah was “Parker Productions” with many unique touches as you will see below. The flowers and room decor were by Scarcella’s.

The entrance to his party included a red carpet, step n repeat signage by EJ The DJ, and star decals on the floor from Stumps Party. Parker’s logo was by logotournament.com, a logo contest site where designers all around the country compete to come up with an exclusive design for a winning fee paid by you

Many of the “production” decor came from Stumps Party which was recommended by Mitzvah Market!

Parker Productions signage above and below

Mom Jenn used Photofetti for a personal touch

Red roses, black and white trumpets and lamp shades provided elegance for the adult tables

CL from EJ The DJ provided the music entertainment for Parker’s celebration.

Parker “makes his entrance” with the EJ The DJ dancers

Some fun moments from this celebration included:

Towards the end of the celebration, Bravo’s Andy Cohen Mazel T-shirts were handed out to the Moms and were a big hit!

The T-shirts were given to the Moms in these silver tote bags

Mentalist Matthew Furman amazed and entertained the kids during the cocktail hour

Ping pong tables and Pop A Shot were provided by EJ The DJ

Guests “signed-in” on Parker’s actual closet door.

Mom Jenn tells us she got this idea to use Parker’s closet door as the sign-in board from Mitzvah Market!

Parker shares a special moment with both Mom and Dad.

Parker’s celebration fell on Mom Jenn’s actual birthday making it even more special!

Parker with his Dad Eric

Young guests received shorts or a T-shirt created by Aarrow Productions.

Parker shows off the gym bag (by USA Marketing) containing a pair of shorts for his male friends

Shorts for the boys

T-shirts for the girls

The girls received this silver tote bag with a T-shirt by Aarow Productions

With the theme of Parker Productions, it’s no surprise his entrance video and montage were uber creative! Check them out below:

Parker became very fond of rock climbing at a young age. With this in mind, John Braile produced an entrance video showing that no mission is impossible!

Watch the entrance video here

Parker had many celebrity friends who made surprise cameos throughout his montage. Check out what Spot On Pictures can do!

Enjoy and watch here

Guests were served lots of delicious treats on their way out of Parker’s celebration.

Some advice from Mitzvah Mom Jenn:
“Don’t lose sight of who this party is really for. Remember that you want to have an event in which both the kids and the adults have a great night, so be balanced with your plans. And most importantly, make sure you and your family enjoy this special celebration, because there are no better words than when you hear your own child say… it was the best night of their life. Especially when you feel that same way.”

The following vendors helped to make Parker’s celebration special. If you give any of them a call, please be sure to tell them you heard about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.

Venue: Temple Beth Torah, Melville
Caterer: Morrell Caterers
Music Entertainment: MC CL, EJ the DJ
Favors (Shorts, T-shirts, Metallic bags): Aarrow Promotions, Mitch Zimmerman, 516-623-0244
Sports Duffle Bag: Paul Yeomans, USA Marketing, 510-251-8500
Photographer: Ira Rosen
Mom’s Dress: Cami Boutique, Roslyn, 516-621-6906
Mazel T-shirts: Bravo online store
Invitations: Majorie Berrant, Invitations Plus, 516-484-1858
Florist: Scarcella’s, Carolyn, 516-692-6222
Entrance Video: John Braile, 631-796-9315
Videographer: John Braile,  631-796-9315
Montage – Spot On Pictures
Step-n-Repeat/Gobo/Red Carpet: EJ The DJ
Special Touch: Photofetti
Production Signage: Stumps Party
Logo Design: Logotournament.com
Mentalist: Matthew Furman

On The Circuit…With Tara

By Tara Silberg

I’m in 7th grade and I’m excited to be telling YOU what’s happening on the Bar/Bat Mitzvah circuit today with my first post for MitzvahMarket.com.

Every weekend, I travel with my carpool to yet another party all over the tri-state area. Between my school friends, family friends and camp friends, I can have 2-3 invitations a weekend! This keeps me very busy.

And do you want to know the best part for my friends and me? The original things. We love to see things we haven’t seen before. Because really, even though we just started “on the circuit,” we would be tired of all the parties by now if there was never anything new.

For example, in mid-September I attended my friend, Lexi Knee’s Bat Mitzvah celebration. Lexi had something I had never seen before, belly dancing. She made her entrance into the party on a carpet swaying and shaking to the Indian music.

My friend Lexi makes her entrance

Lexi shows off her belly dancing moves

If you have a talent, you might want to think about incorporating it somehow into your party.

That’s all for this time. More to come on the circuit soon!

About Tara Silberg
I’m in 7th grade at Jericho Middle School and I love art. When I say art, I’m talking about photography, painting, and drawing. I also love music. When I feel stressed, I listen to my iPod to calm down. I will most likely attend between 60-70 Bar/Bat Mitzvahs before I finish 8th grade. I’m excited to be reporting from “The Bar/Bat Mitzvah Circuit” for Mitzvah Market.com.

Mitzvah Find: My Own Labels

Are you looking to create your own custom labels for your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah? We caught this Mitzvah Find on The Today Show and wanted to share it with our readers.

My Own Labels specializes in personalized labels, place cards and favor tags perfect for giveaways, water bottles labels and labels for CDs.

Oh, and did we mention favor packaging? Yep, they have that too!

What we  loved most about My Own Labels is that not only do they allow you to customize your design but they make it easy to shop by color. Simply click on the design to see all of the colors available. They now have a Bar/Bat Mitzvah section:

At pennies per label, they are very affordable and you can even upload a picture of your child as part of your design.

Labels, stickers and seals are pre-cut and come on peel-and-stick sheets with 6-48 per sheet; small return address labels come 100 on a sheet for a special price of $3. What are you waiting for, go get your own labels!

For more information, visit their Website.

Mitzvah Inspire: Just ChillLAXing

The team from Party Perfect Orlando threw a creative lacrosse themed Bar Mitzvah and we had to share.

They wanted to incorporate the theme but not make it the main focus of the party. Using lots of orange and black, they accomplished what they set out to do!

The Lacrosse theme was known to guests as soon as their invitations arrived!

The traditional Bar Mitzvah invitation also included a fun LAX theme RSVP card below

The decor of the room had a “South Beach” feel with draping on the walls and lighting

A seating chart, with a lacrosse silhouette, let guests know where they were seated

Guests could drop off their gifts into the cool gift box

Clear acetate menus informed their guests of the delicious food being served

Cool throw pillows were used in the lounge area with modern white furniture

A cool black and white dance floor

Young guests received these logo’d backpacks filled with delicious treats

Some of the orange treats inside

Cookie box favors were created with a custom image from Cookie Cousins. They were all elegantly displayed in their own window boxes, tied with black grosgrain ribbon

Mazel Tov to Brandon. Thank you to Party Perfect Orlando for sharing this ChillLAXing party with our readers!

Mitzvah Diaries: On A Wing And A Prayer

By Stephanie Kepke Kaplan, Boys, Dogs And Chaos

Two weeks post Bar Mitzvah, I am happy to report that everything got done, despite my anxiety that it wouldn’t. My last minute dress was ready, though not until late Friday afternoon before the party. In fact, as I suspected would be the case, quite a few things were last minute. Three months ago when I started writing this blog, I decided to focus on how to plan a great party at the last minute, while staying on a budget. I could not have known how fitting that theme would turn out to be. Every day the week of the party I was out running errands – completing my hospitality bags; buying more DJ give aways (which I provided, rather than the DJ, to save some money); buying new bags for the favors, because the seventy five bags I bought were too small and my son thought they looked purple, not blue; ordering food for Shabbat dinner; buying about six different undergarments for my very clingy dress – (which was sure to show panty lines without the perfect pair). You get the picture.

But, it wasn’t just little things that were resolved at the eleventh hour – I wore my husband, Jeff, down and he agreed to a second dancer four days before the party. Three days before the party, we completely changed the décor. We kept the baseball theme (in my last blog, I shared that I changed the centerpieces for the kids’ tables a week and a half before the Bar Mitzvah – thankfully Angela of Party Excellence was very flexible and the centerpieces – for which I provided the base – looked amazing). But, in addition to the baseball theme, my son had been begging me for lounge décor for at least a year. It simply was not in the budget. Imagine our surprise and delight when we found out on the Thursday before the party, that Paul from Party Interiors & My Glow Party was able leave the lounge furniture from a synagogue party the night before for an incredibly affordable price. The stars suddenly all aligned for one fantastic party. The centerpieces combined with the fabulous lounge furniture left more than one guest gushing that the ballroom at North Shore Synagogue looked “magnificent.” (Our guests also raved that the food was delicious, which meant just as much to me, if not more, than the decor.)

The best part though was seeing my son’s face when he saw the room. Somehow we kept it a secret from him in the days leading up to the party – one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Every time he complained about not having a lounge, I wanted to yell, “But you’ll have one! You’ll have a whole room of lounge furniture – not even just the kids’ area.” But, I didn’t and when those doors opened, his jaw dropped. It was an amazing moment knowing I made his dream party come true.

Another amazing moment was when my son played the drums for all of the guests at the party. Yes, it was difficult for Jeff to bring his whole drum kit to the synagogue the morning of the party and set it up. And yes, he was late for the pictures because of it, but boy was it worth it to see my son doing what he loves for all of the people that we love. Everyone raved about his musical talent – most people had never heard him play and were astounded by his skills. After his initial performance of an original musical piece he had composed, he played along with a few of the DJ spun tunes, as well. My husband is an incredible drummer and my son showed everyone that he’s following in his footsteps. If your child plays an instrument, sings or even dances, I highly recommend encouraging him or her to perform for your Mitzvah guests. It puts a personal stamp on the day and makes it truly special.

I also put a personal stamp on the day by creating the place card display (of course Jeff and I were up until 12:30 am the night before gluing artificial turf on foam board, but it was worth it). I also made all of the place cards (a challenge, because I didn’t decide on the final seating arrangements until two days before the party) and the stickers for the favor bags. I have to admit that it felt pretty wonderful when our guests commented on how great everything looked. In fact, Jeff (and more than one guest) encouraged me to start a new business addressing invitation envelopes and providing place cards, stickers and other custom items. I used to have a business creating Bar and Bat Mitzvah sign in books (of course one for this party), so it seemed a natural progression. I christened the business Wishes, Ink and just launched a facebook page. So, you never know where your Mitzvah journey may take you. In creating a special day for your child and family, you may discover hidden talents that will take you on a new career path.

You also will likely discover many attributes you didn’t know you had – the ability to organize and keep track of all the vendor information; multitasking skills supreme; haggling skills and more. You may also discover a strength you didn’t know you had if your Mitzvah is in the aftermath of a loss. If you read my previous blog posts, you know that my father passed away just shy of six months before my son’s Bar Mitzvah. I really didn’t know how I would make it through what was supposed to be a joyous occasion without shedding tears. Watching my father-in-law make the motzi over the challah was particularly difficult and watching the amazing montage my niece created was heartbreaking. So, I turned away as my eyes welled up. I had watched it enough times to know each picture, each note, so I felt that I didn’t need to watch it that day. Of course I cried anyway, but when the time came for me to make my speech just a few moments after the montage ended, I managed to gather myself and speak from the heart to Drew, even though I hadn’t written anything down on paper, only in my head. That thread of bittersweet joy wove its way through the day and made it one we will all remember.

Thank you for sharing my Mitzvah journey. I have two and a half years before the next Bar Mitzvah – my middle son’s in May 2014. It was supposed to be in January, but with lots of out of town guests, I couldn’t risk a blizzard, plus I needed a bit more of a break! I’m sure the next two years will whiz by and I’ll be back here sharing my experiences, but with a bit more wisdom under my belt next time. Until then, Mazel Tov and enjoy your Mitzvahs!

About Stephanie Kepke Kaplan
Stephanie Kepke Kaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. Before kids she was an arts reporter, covering the Boston music and cultural scene (even though she is a born and bred Long Islander, she lived in Boston for nine years and her first son was born there). Now, she blogs at Boys, Dogs and Chaos (about life with – you guessed it – three boys and two dogs) and Mitzvah Mom. She is also working on a novel about a PTA mom. She has also written for Long Island Parent magazine.

Catch up on Stephanie’s previous posts:
Post 1
Post 2
Post 3
Post 4
Post 5
Post 6

Editor’s Note: Mazel Tov to the Kaplan family. Read The Kaplan Bar Mitzvah Family Spotlight story here.