January 12th, 2013
Balloon Artistry, established in 1987, is a full service party design company famous for transforming parties into magical unforgettable memories.
They will make your party room feel fun, festive and youthful creating an environment for your party that will put a smile on your face and make your guests excited to celebrate with you and your family.
Recently, Balloon Artistry created the decor for a Bat Mitzvah girl who wanted her theme to revolve around all her favorite television shows. They used custom designed TV centerpieces for her celebration at Rockleigh in a color combination of black, gold and turqoise blue.
Emily’s “Emmy” theme!
Guests were greeted by a blow-up of Emily and seating cards
Each guest received a nominee place card
Table sparkle balloons add to the decor
Table numbers in the shape of a television
The black, turquoise blue and gold balloons looked beautiful on the ceiling
Emily loves The X Factor and for each centerpiece, she was included in the photo!
The Voice was represented
Glee is another favorite!
Here’s Emily starring in Modern Family
We thank Balloon Artistry for sharing this theme with our readers. For more information, visit their Website or Facebook page.
January 9th, 2013
100 Percent Fun Entertainment is your direct source for photo favors, flip books, virtual graffiti walls, photo booths, pop noggins, cell phone covers, air brushing, canvas art, table games, basketball games, interactive games, video game trusses, casino games, sign in boards, canvas art, karaoke & DJ setups, license plates, lounge setup and much more!!!
Just ask…they can package anything you’d like and can save you money.
Here’s some of what they offer:
New Bobbly Heads
Pop Noggins’
Airbrushing
Photobooth
Graffiti Wall
Fun game tables
For more information, visit their extended profile page in our Vendor Directory.
Mention Mitzvah Market and save $100 off a package of $1,500 or more.
January 9th, 2013
By Molly Alexander
Hi! My name is Mölly. I’ve recently started going to Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and I’m so excited to start writing about them. I love attending Bar/Bat Mitzvah parties because I feel like each celebration has a unique touch, and I love finding out what it is! I’m excited to bring my perspective to MitzvahMarket.com.
I hope you enjoy my first post:
I went to a Bat Mitzvah on January 5th, 2013. It was the celebration of my first friend, and we’ve known each other since we were kids. Her theme was New York City, and I loved everything about it. The unique thing I found at Chelsea’s Bat Mitzvah was her sign-in board. I loved it! It went perfectly with her theme, and it was super cool.
On the table, guests found two racks containing postcards. Some were of NYC that read, “Chelsea” and many others. The guest would select a postcard, fill it out with a sweet message for Chelsea and drop it in a plastic blue mailbox in between the two racks. It was so creative and well fit for her theme!
I was so excited to be celebrating Chelsea’s special day with her, and I know she had a fabulous time!
About Molly Alexander
I’m in 7th grade at Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua and I love to write. Every summer since 2010, I’ve been writing a summer column in my local newspaper. I also do Bat/Bar Mitzvah reports on Instagram. Follow me @mitzvahgirl!
I will mostly likely attend 60-80 Bat/Bar Mitzvah celebrations before I finish eighth grade. I am so excited to be writing for Mitzvah Market!
January 8th, 2013
Mitzvah Market brings you, our readers, the newest products and services for Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations.
We recently learned about Tablums and couldn’t wait to share this just released product with our readers.
The Tablum is an innovative and unique album that combines High Definition Video with a traditional photo album. They are available in many sizes and shapes and tablet choices.
Although they look like your usual photo album, it has a place for a tablet computer! On the above album, it’s in the center
Tablet choices are the iPAD 2, iPAD mini and the Blackberry Playbook. They all can be placed on the front cover, inside front cover (as shown above) or inside back cover depending on your preference
Pricing starts at $905. The Tablum enables the viewer to watch video of your event from start to finish or by segments of your event simply by touching a descriptive icon. You can also view photographs that haven’t been included in your photo album by using the photo icon on the tablet.
You provide the photos and video, they create your Tablum! For more information, visit www.Tablums.com.
January 8th, 2013
Hannah Geeser celebrated her Bat Mitzvah on May 26, 2012 at the MGM Grand Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Her celebration was themed “Hannah’s Sweet Shoppe,” and it was indeed an extra sweet party because it was not only her Bat Mitzvah, but also her 13th birthday!
All photography was provided by Kimberly Zatezalo of KZ Portraits and the rest of the vendors are listed at the bottom.
Pictured left, L-R: Dad Michael, Bat Mitzvah girl Hannah, Mom Jordana and Brother Noah
Tangible Color designed the fun invitations and the adorable stickers that acted as a seal for the envelope.
Sealed with a candy
The invitation included everything a guest needed to know, all neatly folded into one place
Hannah’s dress was from Patty’s Closet and her shoes were from JC Penny (with small alterations done by Mom!).
Purple and green are Hannah’s favorite colors
The original shoes had a fabric that didn’t match the dress, so Mom Jordana took fabric from Hannah’s shawl and re-threaded the sandals to match
Hannah’s Mom Jordana, was the party planner, and she used purple and green balloons to create a fun vibe for the party.
Hannah entered through this sign, with balloons from Balloon Utopia
Throughout the room were balloons that looked like lollipops to tie in the candy theme
The area also had 20 foot floor to ceiling windows that faced the MGM pool area — a beautiful backdrop once the sun set
Colorful letters spelled out Hannah’s name in purple and lime green
High Flyin’ Entertainment provided the music entertainment for Hannah’s event with Britni as the MC.
After the Horah, Hannah’s grandparents said the prayer over the challah and the wine
Hannah wasn’t scared to be lifted in the chair — she had a ball
At the conclusion of dinner, Hannah’s cake was wheeled onto the dance floor and everyone gathered to sing “Happy Birthday.”
The cake was decorated like candy dot paper in three layers, with a handmade swirl lollipop with Hannah’s picture on top
Jordana used Design A Mosaic to create Hannah’s sign-in board.
She used more than 600 photos of Hannah from birth to present, and tried to include everyone who was at the event in at least one photo
There was a twenty foot candy table with more than 25 different types of candy.
As a party planner herself, Mom Jordana has a lot of advice about organizing a stress-free event:
“My biggest piece of advice is plan ahead. I started planning for Hannah’s event the day we booked her Bat Mitzvah at our synagogue – over a year ahead of the date. I started searching the internet and Pinterest for ideas. Once we picked out the colors and the theme, I started making the centerpieces, investigating the right vendors, making a lot of lists. By planning early, I was able to find candy themed items after Christmas (found colored lights and decorations), Valentine’s Day (candy and decorations) and Easter (candy) at a discounted rate – some even 80% off. I even found a candy warehouse in Los Angeles that had candy at a huge discount. I had a trip planned ahead of time and brought back all the candy in our car. The candy warehouse (Jack’s Candy Warehouse) saved me over $300 in just the candy alone. By staying organized and having the time you can save money and be ready ahead of time which lets you have a better time at your child’s event with less stress!
Hannah with her parents
Hannah collected money by making duct tape wallets and purses to give to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She also started a team that walked in the annual walk-a-thon in Las Vegas. She collected over $800.
This is just one of many adorable designs Hannah created
The following vendors helped to make Hannah’s celebration special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Carlos Collado, Executive Director of Catering, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino – Convention Center, 702-891-1265
Party Planner: Mom Jordana Geeser, 702-480-2255
Music Entertainment: Mike Susara, High Flyin’ Entertainment, 702-354-3831
Favors (Mini Candy Dispensers): Beau Coup
Photobooth: Todd, Shutterbooth, 888-780-8837
Photographer: Kimberly Zatezalo, KZ Portraits, 702-463-2200
Invitations and Printing: Scott Wellington, Tangible Color, 702-948-8948
Stickers: Scott Wellington, Tangible Color, 702-948-8948
Life-sized banners: Scott Wellington, Tangible Color, 702-948-8948
Cake: Carlos Collado, Executive Director of Catering, MGM Grand Hotel, 702-891-1265
Balloons: Anthony Cooper, Balloon Utopia, 702-456-8688
Sign-In board: Design A Mosaic, Michaels Craft Store
Transportation: Belltrans, 702-739-7990
Videographer: Michael Geeser, Poppy Productions, 702-480-2256
January 6th, 2013
This Willy Wonka themed Bat Mitzvah was done by the team from Rafanelli Events. It was held at the Four Seasons Boston and decorated deliciously!
The decor and attention to detail is amazing and as Willy Wonka said, “There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination.”
There is some wonderful use of imagination here as celebrity event planner Bryan Rafanelli transformed this ballroom.
Photography by Michael Blanchard.
The bar was embellished with candy dots
The candy factory
The chocolate fountain
A craft favor station with a beautiful color palette
Actual gumballs filled the long kids tables!
The dance floor was wrapped in candy images
Here is a closer look, makes you want to eat right off the floor!
Fizzy drinks were served to wash down all that candy and chocolate
The photo backdrop
Great Wonka photo props by Prop Mama
Great use of color for this candy bar
The 4 tiered cake topped with bubbles, the golden ticket and Wonka’s hat
A wonderful way to end the night with each guest receiving a tzedakah box with a note “Be the giver of dreams”
We thank Rafanelli Events for sharing this Bat Mitzvah celebration with our readers.
January 3rd, 2013
This past August, the Klein family from New Jersey held their daughter Sydney’s Bat Mitzvah in Israel.
Friends and family joined them in Israel for a week of touring and parties. Each day they toured in different areas, and at night they had dinner in a special location.
This was orchestrated beautifully with many unique touches and we know you will enjoy reading about this special celebration.
We have written about this creative family in the past. You might remember that their last celebration was a Mitzvah Hoedown!
Emunah of America which specializes in family celebrations in Israel planned the week-long trip for the Klein’s family and friends.
Photography by Studio A Images.
Penny Rabinowitz of Save the Day Events designed and created all décor for the week long event and surrounding parties in addition to the invitations and giveaways.
Check it all out below:
It all started with this custom-made “save the date” which had all trip information included on a Website
Each guest received this beautiful embellished suitcase containing the invitation
Travel goodies were also included in the mini suitcases
Everyone received these custom luggage tags
Once in Israel, there was a private service with friends and family to mark the end of the Shabbat
Everyone sat together for a Shabbat dinner at this beautiful, long table
This day’s agenda featured an archeological dig at Tel Maresha
In the Northern Golan Heights, there was a stop at Moshav Shaar Yashuv for off-road jeeping
A day on the rapids on Lake Kinert
Then a beautiful beach side BBQ
There was even a flash mob surprise dance for the Bat Mitzvah girl!
For the main celebration, the Klein family and their guests rode to the party on camels and then arrived at the tent which overlooked the desert
Dinner was in a bedouin style tent
Some of the fun that evening included a fire entertainer
A beautiful custom made flag banner in the boho Moroccan look which all the décor was based around
Beautiful bohemian lines adorned the tables
A nice group shot
This was a really special celebration and we want to thank the Klein Family for sharing Sydney’s Bat Mitzvah with our readers.
January 2nd, 2013
As the founder of MitzvahMarket.com, I’ve written over 100 family spotlight stories for this Website including my daughter Carly’s Bat Mitzvah in 2010.
Now it’s time for me to share our family’s celebration for my son Evan which took place on Saturday, November 17, 2012 at Temple Avodah in Oceanside, New York.
His favorite sport is basketball and he came up with the theme. He coined a new term and wanted a “Bar Knicksvah,” in honor of his favorite New York team!
The two weeks leading up to his celebration were filled with additional stress due to hurricane Sandy. We didn’t have power, we weren’t sure our party venue would have power in time and we didn’t get to meet with most of our vendors until the week of the celebration, but everything turned out great! As I tell our readers, when you use professional Bar Bat Mitzvah vendors, you can’t go wrong!
As we did with my daughter’s celebration, we tried to create a fun weekend for family and friends, filled with unique special touches honoring this milestone event. We hope you enjoy reading all about it.
Simon Elliot Events was the photographer and the rest of the vendors are listed at the bottom of this spotlight.
Pictured above (L-R): My husband Roy, Bar Mitzvah boy Evan, mom Sheri, and my daughter Carly
The left side shows Evan’s logo and the outside of the pop-up invitation. The right side is the inside pop-up. If you look closely you will see my immediate family in the crowd!
In the end, the invitation was a collaboration between 3 companies. Simon Elliot Events shot pictures for us in front of a green screen and created the design. Evan’s Aunt Amy from FabuDesigns.com created the logo, RSVP and direction cards and added a pocket to the back and Snowflake Gift Company who printed the invitations. We were thrilled with the results!
Evan’s Bar Mitzvah service was held at Temple Or Elohim in Jericho, New York
Our basketball yarmulkes were from kippah.com
Both my daughter Carly and I found dresses off the rack at Runway Couture. Carly’s gown was long, but she decided she wanted the hi-low look. My dress was one shoulder with a long sleeve which we decided to cut-off. Runway Couture easily took care of these adjustments
When hosting your second Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration at the same venue as your first, you hope to create a different look for your guests. United Floral literally created a slam dunk for the ballroom at Temple Avodah in Oceanside creating the perfect basketball decor
Evan shows off the spacious ballroom at Temple Avodah filled with basketball decor
To keep with our theme, United Floral brought in two basketball hoops for each side of the dance floor. They were covered in vines of orange roses
Some tables featured a large spray of beautiful orange roses
Three of our tables had life sized mannequins dressed in Knicks uniforms
The third type of centerpiece featured trees with basketballs wired on. Aunt Amy/Fabu Designs created our matching table numbers
Kombert Caterers provided comfy brown couches and stainless steel high boy tables for the kids lounge area
Evan was hoping to have an entrance video with a basketball storyline involving many of his friends. Again, the hurricane affected our plans, but on a Sunday when most didn’t have power, we were able to film Evan’s entrance with the help of many including Simon Miller from Simon Elliot Events, Carl our MC from Entertainment Tonite, Evan’s real basketball coach Warren Wagner and about 18 of his friends!
Guests enjoyed the results and loved that Carl, our MC, along with Evan had key roles in the video!
Watch the results here
We wanted to involve Evan’s friends in the entrance, so before bringing Evan in, Carl announced the starting team – all of his friends
Adult guests were given game clappers to wave as everyone entered the room – just like what happens at a real basketball game
Evan makes his entrance followed by his own group of cheerleaders, “female camp friends”
Entertainment Tonite provided the music entertainment for the celebration and once again rocked the house with Carl as our MC. Evan poses with the Entertainment Tonite crew
The young guests were on the dance floor most of the night!
Carl having fun with our guests
Some of you might remember my daughter’s Karaoke Candle Lighting. My son didn’t want to be as involved, so my husband came up with an NBA draft candle lighting ceremony. With the help of Simon Elliot Events, we pre-taped our “commentator comments” for each candle and then Evan announced his picks
See example here
Marios Bakery created a terrific and delicious “Jersey” cake with Evan’s favorite number 44
At my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, we surprised our guests with a Rock The Reception dance. For Evan’s party, we also surprised our guests, this time during my Mother/Son dance. Halfway through my special dance with Evan, an Extreme Break Dancing Troupe “crashed” our party and surprised our guests
Evan poses with the troupe
After their performance, they stayed and danced with our guests, including my husband Roy
As guests entered the lobby of Temple Avodah, they were greeted by two large cut-outs of Evan created by Simon Elliot Events. These were very similar to the photos used on his invitation
Kombert Caterers thinks of everything, including a custom menu card with Evan’s logo
Simon Elliot Events provided a Superstar photo booth which our guests loved
We also had basketball photo favors from Par-T Shots
The kids enjoyed the Fit Challenge booth from Simon Elliot Events
A few days before the party, I realized I hadn’t thought of the ladies room basket. That One Special Touch came through with a perfect basket of items!
After much thought and debate over Evan’s sign-in board, Roy suggested using a piece of a basketball floor. Not sure where to find something like that, we decided to make it ourselves! We bought a box of adhesive wood-like floor boards and created a 30 x 36 inch floor. It was glued to a piece of plywood.
Total cost = $46.00
We loved the idea of having a “live” Event Painter to capture the feel of the room and a permanent memory of the evening. Joan Zyklin did a great job and guests enjoyed watching the progress of the oil painting during the night. Joan was positioned so she could see the entire room and painted “live” non-stop during our 5 hour celebration. This painting has since been framed and is now hanging in our house
Aunt Amy created fold-over cards using an image of the finished painting, and Evan used these as his “thank you” notes
Even though A Promos USA/Imagemaker is located in Freeport and was very affected by the hurricane, they came through with our favors! We used basketball drawstring bags with name labels created by Aunt Amy
The boys received personalized basketball jerseys with their last name and Evan’s logo on the back
The girls received cropped sweatshirts with a vintage look
Since it was only five days until Thanksgiving, we had mini apple pies from the Jericho Cider Mill for everyone, along with custom labeled water bottles. The label read:
“We’re glad you survived that horrific storm,
And were here to watch Evan perform.
Since Thanksgiving is less than a week away,
Please take home a pie for that “feasting” day.
Thanks so much for coming – we hope you had fun,
Now be on your way – the party is done.”
Love, The LaPIEdus family
Water bottles with custom labels
Advice from Mom Sheri:
“We had a terrific celebration that was over in the blink of an eye. My advice is to realize that you have hired professionals, so let them do their jobs so you can enjoy your child’s big day. From the service to the horah, you will find yourself with a permanent smile.”
The following vendors helped to make Evan’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 Avodah
Caterer: Kenny Kombert, Kombert Caterers, 516-678-6161
Photographer/Videographer: Simon Miller, Simon Elliot Events, 516-586-6822
Entrance Video/Montage/Candle Lighting Draft: Simon Miller
Decor/Florist: Charles, United Floral Events, 516-829-8890
Music Entertainment: Carl MC, Entertainment Tonite, 516-826-6900 x:115
Favors: Mindy Younger, A Promos USA/Imagemaker, 800-987-8766
Invitation: SnowFlake Company
Logo/Favor Tags/Table Numbers: Amy Wohl, Fabu Designs, 312-513-1698
Cake: Linda, Marios Bakery, 516-766-0891
Yarmulke: kippah.com, 718-435-3288
Ladies Room Basket: Randi Lehman, That One Special Touch, 516-496-1025
Fit Challenge/Superstar photo booth: Simon Elliot Events
Basketball photo favors: Bob, Par-T Shots, 516-766-4666
Dance Troupe: Tom Kaufman Productions, 212-223-0962
Live Event Painter: Joan Zylkin, 302-475-0990
Apple Pie: Jericho Cider Mill, 516-433-3360
Dresses: Kimberly, Runway Couture, 516-308-4639
Evan’s Suit/Shirt/Tie: Kenny’s Mens & Boys Wear, 516-921-2660
Transportation/Buses: First Student
Security: Party Police, 516-697-7206
Hair: Alysha, Salon at 230 West, 516-367-8000
Make up: Nicole Gallo, About Face, 516-348-5292
