June 12th, 2012
Samantha Pearlstein and Joey Fradkin (pictured left) are 13 years old and best friends who met in Kindergarten. Although Joey’s Bat Mitzvah took place in March 2012 and Samantha’s in June 2012, they decided to work on their Mitzvah Project together.
They created Dress It Up, a project devoted to helping middle school girls from diverse backgrounds have a fun night which includes dancing and dinner. In addition, they will learn about good nutrition and healthy choices. All of the girls will also receive a fancy hairdo and a new dress, which they can wear to the dance and then take home with them afterwards.
How did they come up with this idea? Says Samantha, “We get a new dress for every single Bar/Bat Mitzvah we go to- they’re really nice dresses that we grow out of after only wearing them a few times.”
Joey adds, “We had all this great stuff that our parents provide for us,” and they decided to do the same for other girls who weren’t as fortunate and could not afford a new dress.
The first Dress It Up party was held on May 11, 2012 at a middle school in San Francisco. Samantha and Joey worked with a few of the girls from the school in planning the Mardi Gras themed event for approximately 100 students (boys and girls).
Samantha and Joey were able to collect approximately 80 dresses for the 50 girls to choose from. Their Website has a list of drop-off locations.
The dresses, including two Vera Wang donated dresses were displayed out on a table and organized by size. After the girls made their selection, they had their hair done.
The event was a huge success and although this started as a Mitzvah Project, they plan to continue donating dresses to the George Mark Children’s House, a hospice for children in San Leandro, and throw additional events a few times a year.
To learn more, visit their Website.
June 12th, 2012
Samantha and Eliza Paradise celebrated their B’not Mitzvah on March 10, 2012 with a service at Congregation Rodeph Sholom followed by an afternoon party at The Edison Ballroom in New York City.
Their theme was “Dubble Trubble” using an adorable logo that was a take off of “Dubble Bubble” gum.
As Mom Stacey explains, “We did as much as we could to make both girls feel special on their milestone day.”
JoVon Photography provided all the pictures and the rest of the vendors are listed at the bottom of this spotlight.
This family is quite unusual due to second marriages by both Mom Stacey and Dad Steven. These lucky twin girls have 2 step siblings, 4 half siblings, a stepmother and a stepfather!
Pictured above L-R: Half brother Nate Kushlefsky, Stepfather Noah Kushlefsky, Mom Stacey, Bat Mitzvah girls Samantha and Eliza, stepsister Zoe Kushlefsky, Dad Steven, Stepmother Joslin and half sister Marielle Paradise
Mitzvah Invitation & B’not Mitzvah Service
Their Checkerboard invitation was created by Maria Pappas-McKenzie of Sealed with a Kiss.
Their Checkerboard invitation was created by Maria Pappas-McKenzie of Sealed with a Kiss
Their service took place at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City
All the siblings, both half and step, are pictured:
L-R: Nate (4), Jaden (13), Eliza, Zoe (15), Sophia (1) on her lap, Samantha, Caroline (2) and Marielle (5)
Yarmulkes were from www.mazeltops.com with an inscription that read, “I had double the fun at the B'not Mitzvah of Samantha and Eliza Paradise"
Mitzvah Style & Venue
The Edison Ballroom, with its art deco design and large dance floor provided the dance club atmosphere that this family was looking for.
The girls' matching dresses were from Nikki's Dressing Room in Huntington, New York. Samantha is in pink and Eliza is in blue
Their red carpet entrance
They used their "dubble trubble" logo throughout the party including two giant billboards on either side of the red carpet entrance
Mitzvah Details
Lighter Than Air created lamp shades with a hot pink background and the "dubble trubble" logo
They also provided giant feather centerpieces
Mom Stacey created their sign-in books using Shutterfly
The pages inside featured their school logos, their camp logos and pages that said “family” and “friends” etc., so guests could sign on the page that reflected their relationship with the girls
Music & Entertainment
Maximum Entertainment with owner/MC Joey M. and co-MCs Deano and Evan provided the music entertainment for their celebration.
Samantha and Eliza make their entrance!
The spacious dance floor allows all guests to have a great time
Everyone enjoying!
The Maximum Entertainment crew in their “Dubble Trubble” t-shirts
The girls singing with co-MC Evan
Trivia Expert Gene Jones of Gimme A Hint! wowed the guests
The Bumbys performed
Guests could make fun photo flipbooks...
...and photo candy boxes!
There were many special moments during this celebration, like Mom Stacey’s speech
Samantha and Eliza's friends gather around the cake for a group photo
All smiles as Mom Stacey and Stepfather Noah light a candle with Eliza and Samantha
Mitzvah Video
Mom Stacey found Carl Hartman from Green Cheese Media Group on Mitzvah Market. Their montage included many celebrity shout outs.
Watch the montage here
Mitzvah Cake & Favor
Their cake, complete with the “dubble trubble” logo was created by Jane Kantor. The girls’ Uncle, Marshall Goodman, president of Firehouse clothing, created the favor and their aunt, Sabra Waxman designed the logo.
The top and bottom layers of the cake matched the invitation and the middle layer featured their logo
The girls received white zip-up hooded sweatshirts with the logo on the back and the boys received dark grey hoodie pullovers with the logo
The sweatshirts were given out in these bright blue bags with lots of dubble bubble gum thrown in! Name tags with the Dubble Trubble logo were created on www.vistaprint.com saving lots of time and money!
Mom to Mom
Mom Stacey who was also the party planner has this advice:
“Organization is the key. Make file folders for each aspect of the party – a folder for dresses, for invitations, for DJ, for entertainment, for party favors, for décor, etc. Put all your notes, receipts, price quotes from vendors and so on in those separate folders. Excel spreadsheets are great for keeping track of RSVPs and adding up the number of people attending! Get a “support group” together of other Moms who have already planned a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or who are also in the process of planning one. At a certain point, your husband will tune out and will just refuse to tell you whether the candles should go on the cake or on the table around the cake! Lastly, a big glass of wine certainly helps!”
Mitzvah Project
Samantha did a drive for The Colored Pencil Project, a non-profit organization created to increase the access of art supplies to children in developing countries by distributing art supplies, specifically colored pencils and paper, and providing art curriculum to children in various orphanages, schools and rural villages in those developing countries.
Through the generous donations of family and friends, Samantha was able to donate dozens and dozens of pencil sharpeners and packages of pencils to The Colored Pencil Project.
Eliza participated in the Gift of Literacy Program, through the JCC in Manhattan, an early intervention program for struggling readers who are performing significantly below grade level. She tutors a 2nd grade student at an upper west side public school one after afternoon every week throughout the school year. The experience has been incredibly rewarding for her.
Vendor Directory
The following vendors helped to make Eliza and Samantha’s celebration special. If you give any a call, let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Edison Ballroom, 212-201-7650
Party Planner: Mom, Stacey
Music Entertainment: Owner/MC Joey M, Maximum Entertainment, 516-826-8632
Invitations: Maria Pappas-McKenzie, Sealed with a Kiss, 631-697-998
Photographer: JoVon Photography, 516 922-3535
Party Entertainment: Trivia Expert, Gene Jones of Gimme A Hint!
Performance Artists: The Bumbys, vtantula@gmail.com
Flip Books: Richard Lincoln, Fun Flips, 508-786-2989
Photo Station: Maximum Entertainment, 516-826-8632
Montage: Carl Hartman, Green Cheese Media Group, 818-934-8990
Cake: Jane Kantor, 917-750-5903, jkantor@gmail.com
Décor: Richie, Lighter Than Air, 516-933-3210
Sign-In books: Shutterfly
Logo’d cocktail napkins and bathroom paper towels: www.foryourparty.com
Yarmulkes: www.mazeltops.com
Dresses for girls: Pat, Nikki’s Dressing Room, 631-659-3622
Make up: Brittney from Scott J. Aveda salon, Brittney@scottj.com
Videographer: Maximum Entertainment, 516-826-8632
June 7th, 2012
Macen Lantzman of Livingston, New Jersey celebrated her Bat Mitzvah on December 3, 2011 at Temple Beth Shalom, in Livingston, New Jersey. This party combined many traditional as well as modern elements for a beautiful service and fun reception.
Macen’s clever theme was based on Facebook which was converted into “Macebook!”
All event photography was done by Timothy Glenn Photographers and the rest of the vendor information is at the bottom of the spotlight.
Pictured above back row: Dad Scott, Bat Mitzvah girl Macen, Brother Zane and Mom Zanna
Front row: Brother Kai, Sister Hunter
Macen led the entire Mincha, Ma’ariv, Havdalah service by herself. During the service, the Lantzmans handed out mini organza spice bags and glow sticks to their guests so they were able to join in the Havdalah part of the service when the lights were turned off in the sanctuary.
Homemade spice bags
Macen’s Kippot were a puzzle design with silver writing. They were ordered from www.skullcap.com through the sisterhood gift shop
The Lanztman girls all looked great for their families celebration.
Little sister Hunter’s dress was bought off the rack, Bat Mitzvah girl Macen got her dress from Jacqueline’s and Mom Zanna is in a Helen Morley design from Hartley’s
To tie the “Macebook” theme into her invitation without actually giving it away, the Lantzman family created a custom Website through www.MyEvent.com. Her formal invitation gave the basic details and then directed everyone to this Website to RSVP.
Macen’s party took place at Temple Beth Shalom and was catered by The Crystal Plaza of Livingston, New Jersey. Party Art LLC created the centerpieces and other signage using pink, silver and black.
Party Art designed the seating cards for Macen’s friends with a “macebook” design
Dad Scott did the adult seating cards that were also the adult party favors. They were USB memory sticks that were pink and silver and said “macebook” on one side and the date of her party on the other side. On each USB memory stick, they uploaded educational materials for the adults on internet safety and a copy of the montage that was shown at the celebration
The pink up lighting around the room along with the pink tablecloths set the mood
For a special touch, the Lantzmans used Photofetti on the tables with pictures of Macen at different ages
The centerpieces were set on top of a pink lighted pole and were a double sided computer screen shot resembling Macen’s “macebook” page
Each table had a different theme (as shown above) that she “liked” (i.e., Macen Lantzman likes The Proposal). The template provided personalized details, such as her family member names, place and date of event, sponsored by Zanna & Scott Lantzman, and specifics on Macen’s life in general
To set the mood, there were pink tablecloths with a pop of black
The Crystal Plaza also provided an ice sculpture with the macebook logo
There were many special moments during their celebration.
Before guests were served their dinner, Macen’s four Grandparents said the hamotsi and watched a video clip of Macen, at age 3, singing the hamotsi while she was dressed up
Macen and her Dad share a special dance
Powerhouse Entertainment provided the music with Jude as the MC.
A friend of Macen’s Dad named Cricket Snearing gave Macen a very special gift. A custom painted, personalized Horah chair for Macen and her siblings to use at her Bat Mitzvah celebration.
The chair was designed with words meaningful to Macen
The entire chair was covered with special wording
Little sister Hunter enjoyed her time in the chair
Macen isn’t letting go!
In addition to the music, they had other types of entertainment for their guests to enjoy.
Picture This Nashville photo “booth” also served as her sign-in book/board. Above was her customized screen. Mom Zanna found them on Mitzvah Market!
There was also a Coney Island photo booth
Jason Loeffler showed everyone his myachi moves. He gave out the personalized myachi bags to the young guests
Macen’s theme inspired cake was created by The Crystal Plaza caterers.
Mom and Dad designed the kids favors. They were pink sweatshirts for the girls and black sweatshirts for the boys with the macebook logo on the back and the shorter “m” logo with the date of the event on the front.
The girls sweatshirt
The boys version
Here’s some advice from Mom Zanna:
“Stay organized and plan as much as you can in advance, but when the party starts, let go of all the details and enjoy the party as if you were a guest at your own event.”
For her Mitzvah Project, Macen raised over $1,000 for the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. This organization was founded by Dr. Jane Aronson, an adoption medical specialist, and they provide educational and medical services to orphans in many different countries including Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Vietnam.
Macen and her brother Kai who was adopted
Dr. Aronson (pictured with Macen) was Kai’s doctor when he first arrived in the U.S.
The following vendors helped to make Macen’s Bat Mitzvah special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Service/Venue: Temple Beth Shalom Livingston, NJ
Party Planners: Zanna and Scott Lantzman
Caterer/Cake: The Crystal Plaza, 973-992-8100
Music Entertainment: MC Jude, Powerhouse Entertainment, 973-243-1025
Custom Website: www.MyEvent.com
Coney Island Photo booth: Mike Premier Digital, 718-477-5200
Sign-in book booth: Elaine Pardo, Picture This Nashville
Myachi: Jason Loeffler, Myachi, 516-801-4949
Invitation: Peter, All The Best Invitations, 866-992-4033 or 973-992-4033
Kippah: www.skullcap.com
Décor/florist: Carol Berman, Party Art LLC, 973-216-8067
Zanna’s Dress: Hartly’s, Westwood, NJ
Macen’s Dress: Jacqueline’s, Livingston, NJ
Suits for family members: Tuxes rented from Men’s Wearhouse, Livingston, NJ
Hair/makeup: Mid-Town Salon, 973-994-1800
Photographer: Tim Camuso, Timothy Glenn Photographers, 973-887-0625
Videographer: Powerhouse Studios, East Hanover, NJ
Chair for the horah: Cricket Snearing, 610-715-5438
Special Touch: Photofetti.com
June 5th, 2012
Many families struggle to come up with a theme, but sometimes one symbol can tie all your decor elements together. In this case, it was the Jewish symbol of the Star of David.
Here are a few subtle ways this family reminded everyone why they were gathered together – to celebrate their child’s Jewish milestone event.
This Bar Mitzvah comes from the Santa Barbara area and was coordinated by Felici Events.
Photography by Halberg Photographers.
For the invitation, the Star of David logo was created by Lazaro Press who did an amazing job of bringing out the star shape amidst the existing circular pattern
The menu and the table numbers featured that same great logo
Place cards for guests
There were many cool accents like the neon napkin rings and tall glowing votive candles
Christine Dahl Pastries paired the offset yellow Star of David with blue fondant on the outer layers of the cake
Between each layer of the three-tiered cake sat a transparent box filled with lights and shimmering sparkles
You can see the Star of David on the floor and wall
The guests received a CD of the Bar Mitzvah boy’s favorite songs – check out the great cover
We thank Felici Events for sharing this Bar Mitzvah celebration with our readers.
June 5th, 2012
When thinking about the decor for your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration, don’t overlook the bar!
It’s one of the places that many of your adult guests will spend time at when they are not eating or dancing. We found many creative ways to incorporate your theme and/or colors onto the bar.
The sports theme quilted bar to the left is from Jersey Street Furniture.
Party Planner Terri Bergman created an Andy Warhol effect on the bar at this Bat Mitzvah
Party Interiors can customize any color and create a glow bar
From the DelAngelo Mitzvah Family spotlight with a “Sweet Caroline” theme, the bar is filled with appetizers for the kids with big candy/ice cream displays
Great Neck Games used a monogram on a white bar along with some pretty floral arrangements for an elegant but simple touch
This bar from Atmosphere Lounge Dezinz has a section with old fashioned soda bottles for the young guests
Jersey Street Furniture used this Bat Mitzvah girl’s logo on the front of a circular bar
You know you are at a New York City themed Bat Mitzvah when looking at this bar from Party Perfect Orlando
From Michael Jurick Photography, Diana Gould Events decorated the bar with hip neon colors
Did you dress-up your Bar/Bat Mitzvah bar at your child’s celebration? Let us know at info@MitzvahMarket.com.
June 2nd, 2012
Lindsay Silverman celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in March 2012 at Temple Or Elohim in Jericho, New York.
This was the third and final Bat Mitzvah celebration for this family of three girls. Lindsay’s initial and bright pink was the theme for this fun celebration.
Neal Bloom was the photographer and the rest of the vendor information is listed at the bottom of this spotlight.
Pictured above L-R: Dad Andy, Mom Lisa, Bat Mitzvah girl Lindsay, Sisters Rachel and Sammi
This past August, the Silverman family, along with close friends and their families took a trip to Israel. There were 12 adults and 9 kids in all. Three of the kids shared a Bat Mitzvah on Masada together. The Rabbi who officiated at the Bnai Mitzvah was a cousin of someone from the group.
Lindsay at her Israel Bat Mitzvah
The entire group planned to wear white for this photo
Lindsay’s fun, hot pink invitation was created by Ellen Futterman of Proper Notice.
All three of the Silverman girls found their unique dresses at It’s Simply For You.
L-R: Sammi’s Sherri Hill short beaded dress was full of sparkles, Lindsay is wearing a Morilee ivory/gold full ball gown, Rachel’s Sherri Hill dress was also worn by Paula Abdul. They changed the look by removing the sleeve. All three girls looked elegantly coordinated!
Barbara Becker of Dazzling Parties created the striking decor using Lindsay’s initial with black and pink.
A large lamp shade with dangling “L’s” greeted guests upon arrival
The ballroom at Temple Or Elohim looks pretty with pink up lighting and is ready for guests.
Black table cloths with pink napkins create a striking look
Large “L” lamp shades tie the look together
The kids lounge area
White lounge furniture, cubbies and matching pillows in the lounge area
Blow-ups of Lindsay from Serengeti Studio surround the room
Entertainment Tonite provided the music entertainment with Matt as the MC.
Hasson Caterers provided the pretty cake with Lindsay’s initial.
The talented Silverman family created their own sign-in book using Snap Fish.
And That created sweatpants for the young guests and the shirts for the dancers.
Lindsay showing off the pants that the girls received
The boys received a different design
Lindsay’s favor bags had custom labels created by her sister Rachel
For her Mitzvah Project, Lindsay baked and sold chocolate chip cookies in memory of her grandfather Stan who passed away from a brain tumor. All the money was donated to the National Brain Tumor Society.
Now that Mom Lisa has successfully planned her third daughter’s Bat Mitzvah celebration, we thought she could share some advice:
“I definitely got more creative and better at doing things myself with each celebration. I recommend looking at other families parties for ideas. I used two ideas that I saw at a friend’s Bat Mitzvah. We made table numbers using photos of Lindsay growing up and we made our own photo sign-in book on Snap Fish. I saw both of those ideas in the Karen Mitzvah Family Spotlight story.
Lindsay’s sister Sammi created the table numbers featuring Lindsay at different ages and Dazzling Parties turned them into easel photos
The following vendors helped to make Lindsay’s celebration special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Temple Or Elohim
Caterer: Hasson Caterers
Music Entertainment: MC Matt, Entertainment Tonite, 516-826-6900
Decor: Barbara Becker, Dazzling Parties
Invitation: Ellen Futterman, Proper Notice, 516-621-9523
Cake: Hasson Caterers
Favors/Dancers shirts: Jen Stoler, And That
Photographer/Videographer: Neal Bloom, 631-754-7442
Blow-ups of Lindsay: Femi, Serengeti Studios, 516-623-2828
Dresses for Lindsay and Sister: Rachel, It’s Simply For You
Mom’s Dress: Talass in Great Neck
Hair and Make-up: Linda, Ambiance, 516-625-3647, 516-484-0704
June 2nd, 2012
By Tara Silberg
It’s Tara, telling YOU what’s happening on the Bar/Bat Mitzvah circuit today. Last time I wrote about dresses and what’s in for this coming season, this time it’s all about cakes!
I have done some fun reporting for this blog and my recent trip to attend The Cake Boss Show at Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, New York was no different.
I went with Mitzvah Market’s Sheri Lapidus, and a few others including one of my closest friends, Julia. Now this wasn’t any ordinary show, it was an interactive, upbeat, all-around enjoyable performance.
The best part? The star, Buddy Valastro.
Yes, the Cake Boss himself. If you don’t know already, Buddy stars in TLC’s The Cake Boss and has showed his baking and cake decorating talent from an early age. He owns multiple bakeries and is often asked to teach his craft all around the country.
In this show, Buddy called upon many volunteers from the audience. They ranged from young girls to men in their 40’s. These volunteers demonstrated their skills by decorating all-ready baked cupcakes and cookies. Of course, the best cupcake in the end was Buddy’s.
Buddy made an exciting announcement at the show. Carlos’ Bakery will now deliver to a 60 mile radius. So those readers in the metropolitan area can get a specialty cake delivered to their Bar/Bat Mitzvah!
This Carlo’s Bakery cake is from the Reisman Family Spotlight
This Carlos’ Bakery creation is from the Erica Levy Mitzvah Family Spotlight
This was really a great trip because I got to know a little bit more about the man behind the cakes, and I had a blast. They also have quite a few stores in New Jersey, if you live close enough.
I just want to say thank you to Sheri and my friends that let me come along with them to this great show.
Till next time…On The Circuit With Tara.
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.
May 29th, 2012
When planning your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration, many families not only have to come up with a theme, but also a logo!
This piece of original artwork can be used on many elements at your child’s celebration. Everything from the cocktail napkins, favors, favor tags, place cards, gobos, pillows, party decor and much more!
It can be hard to come up with a logo if your child doesn’t want a theme, or just doesn’t know what they want. It helps to look at other children’s party logos for inspiration.
Many are using initials and some get lucky and their name or initials fit into the perfect design!
Here are some we rounded up, we hope you get inspired!
Some logos do a great job of incorporating the child’s name. This “outRACHous” logo was designed for Rachel by FabuDesigns.com. See how it was incorporated into their party elements in their Mitzvah Family Spotlight
Lisa Schneider from PartyFavorites.com designed a bicycle logo using the child’s initials and date
A fresh take on a candy theme using initials from A Promos USA ImageMaker
A Rock n Roll themed logo from Gotham T-shirts
Peace, Love, Mallory by Balloon Artistry
Holly Green created a logo that was used on custom pillows and the sweatshirt favors. To see more visit the Silberfein Mitzvah Family Spotlight
From thecoolestgiveaways.com this logo featured all things Becca loves
Some families ask about logos for twins. Here’s a logo from an upcoming B’not Family Spotlight designed by a friend of the family
Camp is a popular theme, here’s a logo from Jaylor Party Favors
A roller coaster logo from Themes & Dreams
Mazel Tov Gear puts logos on all type of wearables like the pinny shown above
East 7th Street Promotions created this fishing theme party logo
From an upcoming spotlight story, “Lauren In The Spotlight” was the perfect logo from Balloon Artistry
From FabuDesigns.com, a line drawing was created from a photograph of Emily for her “Emily’s Eatery” logo. The 4 stars represented a 4 star restaurant for this food loving Bat Mitzvah girl
From Promos LLC this “Think Big” logo was created for the Shulman family
The Dictrow Family celebrated with “an exJORDANary Evening” from Extraordinary Productions
We have many more great logos within our Mitzvah Family Spotlight stories archives on Mitzvah Market.
Did your child have a terrific logo to tie together your party elements? Let us know at info@MitzvahMarket.com.
May 27th, 2012
Benjamin Cole Berliner celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on December 3, 2011 at Colonial Terrace in Cortlandt Manor, New York.
The theme was “It’s all about Ben,” with colors lime green and royal blue. Their clever logo, “ben.i.am” was on various signage and favors. This fun celebration was all about friends, family and of course Ben!
All event photography was by EJ The DJ.
Pictured L-R: Dad Mitch, Brother Dylan, Bar Mitzvah boy Ben and Mom Lisa
Fine Lines designed the invitation which included their decor colors of lime green and royal blue.
Brian William Event Decorators created the decor using centerpieces featuring all the things Ben loves.
The room at the Colonial Terrace
The spacious lounge area
Custom pillows and white lounge furniture
ben.i.am signage
Adult guests enjoyed the vodka ice slide
Some centerpieces have a clothing theme…
Some were sports…
And skiing, all of Ben’s favorites
The place cards were chinese food containers with custom fortune cookies inside. Guests knew where they were sitting based on the sticker on the outside of the container which matched their tables centerpiece.
Their custom fortune cookies were from myluckyfortune.com. The cookies were royal blue and the fortune said, “Thank you for sharing my special day!” on one side and the other side said, “Your lucky numbers…12-3-11” (Ben’s party date).
EJ The DJ provided the music entertainment with Hakim as the MC.
Ben with MC Hakim
Ben’s friends having fun
Ben with the girls
Ben’s closet door from home was brought to the venue and used as his sign-in board. It was airbrushed on site by The Main Event.
His closet door was used as the sign-in board
Colonial Terrace provided the cake for Ben’s candle lighting ceremony.
Rockwood Promotions created the gray sweatshirt favors for the young guests.
Lisa learned a lot while planning Ben’s celebration and has some Mom to Mom advice for all of us!:
“We all want our children’s event to be special and different. My son Ben is one of the youngest kids in his grade and the last of his friends to have a Bar Mitzvah. I was so stressed out about the kids having been to at least 12 parties before his, what could our theme be, what could we do that would be “different.” The more I read, the more parties I saw on Mitzvah Market, the more stressed I became. Then it just came to me…THIS IS ALL ABOUT BEN! If this party is about Ben, everyone will have a great time. About one year before the party, I started reading Mitzvah Market. I went to the Celebrate! Party Showcase and met some vendors, got magazines and flyers. I kept a folder with all my information from the vendors, magazines and a Bar Mitzvah file on my laptop with items and ideas that I would find. Then when it came time I referred back to all those great ideas.”
“Just keep in mind that you don’t really have to go crazy. I am a control freak and planner. If you do all your “research” up front and gather ideas, it will be much easier when you get to the point when you have to actually get it all done. MOST IMPORTANT: When your event rolls around you need to feel secure about the trust you put in the vendors you hired so you can enjoy your party. It goes so fast, don’t blow it by trying to control the details. Relax, enjoy and let the event happen.”
“One more thing I wish I had been told before Ben’s party. Be sure to get cash before the party for all the tips and put them in envelopes BEFORE you go to the event. Bring some extra cash in case anyone does an extra amazing job and you want to give them more money. Otherwise after a “few trips to the vodka slide”…I had no idea what I was doing at the very end of the party or who I was giving what to.”
Ben was very taken by the devastation that occurred in Haiti. He saw the benefit that George Clooney and other celebrities put together and wanted to find a way to help. At the time, the yellow LIVESTRONG rubber bracelets were very popular. He went online and found a supplier, 24HourWristbands.com that would custom make the bracelets.
He chose orange and turquoise as the two colors he would offer and decided he wanted the bracelets to say “HELP FOR HAITI.” He ordered 200 bracelets and sold all of them. He sold them at school to teachers and friends, he also sold them at Hebrew School and to family members near and far. Ben wanted to be sure that 100% of that money got to the people of Haiti, so together we did the research and found George Clooney’s organization that said 100% of the donations would go to Haiti. Ben sent them a check for $600. An article was written in the local paper about Ben’s “Mitzvah” and President Clinton even sent him a letter of congratulations for his good deed!
Since Ben’s celebration, Mom Lisa did something with his centerpieces that she wanted to share. “I dismantled all of Ben’s centerpieces and created two giant collages out of them. They look really cool and are a great way to remember an awesome night.”
The following vendors helped to make Ben’s celebration special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Leon Drogy, Colonial Terrace, 914-737-0400
Music Entertainment: MC, Hakim, EJ The DJ, 631-348-7848
Favors: Amy Fein, Rockwood Promotions, 203-246-4659
Photo booth & airbrush artists: Alison, The Main Event, 800-839-0918
Invitations: Laura, Fine Lines, 914-232-4856
Cake: Colonial Terrace, 914-737-0400
Décor/Centerpieces: Billy, Brian William Event Decorators, 845-628-0614
Sign-In board: Ben’s closet door
Custom fortune cookies: Ashley Tsao, www.myluckyfortune.com, 410-690-4463
Custom pillows: www.CafePress.com
Mom’s Dress: Nordstrom
Clothing for Ben: Lime green shirt Express, Lime green sneakers, Journeys
Hair: Hudson Paul Salon, 914-481-1300
Photographer: Zapshots by EJ the DJ
Videographer: Andrew Stein Videography, 914-788-4678
Mitzvah Project: 24HourWristbands.com
May 23rd, 2012
Celebrations at Home founder and event planner Chris Nease sent us this great casual Bar Mitzvah backyard picnic she created for a client. They wanted a backyard-style party on a budget.
The backyard was covered with a tent so Chris didn’t need to worry too much about the weather. She did have one challenge that she shared with us, “I had planned on 4 tabletops but when I got there, there were 5! I had to spread out the centerpieces in order to cover the 5 tables.” As Chris put it so well “Gotta roll with the punches when working on real events!”
As the pictures below will show, everything worked out great!
All the printed items are found at on the DIY Etsy site Paper & Pigtails.
Guests were greeted by simple flower arrangements along with a DIY sign welcoming them to Larson’s Bar Mitzvah
Napkin pockets were made out of various fabrics. On the right is a picture of their votive candles in mason jars with with rocks and moss
Casual seating for some of the young guests on hay stacks with blankets
Mason jars with fun straws held drinks and Chris used burlap runners across the tables
Fabric wrapped cans and pretty bottles holding flowers added to the charm
Simple decorations give it a homey feel!
Near the photo booth set up area props were provided to add to the picture taking fun!
The guest book area was set up with 2 large canvas boards and paint pens so guests could write messages to Larson on his special day
The pie pops from Cakewalk Desserts, displayed in mini bales of hay were a hit with the guests. Chris covered a paper mache “L”(the Bar Mitzvah boy’s initial) with moss and hung photos of the guest of honor on the backdrop with clothespins for a personal but inexpensive touch
The mini spoons are from Think Garnish with ”eat cake” stamped on them. The jars from Walmart are exactly the size of a cupcake
With good weather, a backyard celebration is a great idea! Thanks to Celebrations At Home for sharing this party with our readers.
