When Emma & her Mother first spoke to Melisa Imberman of The Event of a Lifetime, Inc., they couldn’t decide on a theme. They were deciding between Broadway, Taylor Swift and dance. As they spoke more, Melisa learned that the family recently moved from NYC to Connecticut, and Emma loves NYC, so a NYC-themed Bat Mitzvah just felt right. EMpire State of Mind was going to be a tribute to all of Em’s favorite NYC places. Instead of painting the town Red, we were going to recolor the city Pink (Emma’s favorite color) and Gold (a nod to her last name, Goldstein). Check out The Loading Dock before and after.
A beautiful onsite Havdalah service led the evening.
As guests made their way to the cocktail hour, they couldn’t help but admire the large mural that featured Emma in all of her favorite NYC spots. We had commissioned this illustration, which was truly a work of art and a great memento. Throughout the hallway, there were photos suspended from the ceiling from Emma’s pre-Bat Mitzvah shoot in NYC.
The escort card display was a show-stopper, featuring an illuminated bridge, Times Square billboards, and Pink Metro cards as the escort cards.
The cocktail hour featured foods typical of NYC food stands, including a pretzel cart with a Pink umbrella. When guests entered the main room, it felt like a Pink & Gold version of the NYC streets. The EMpire State of Mind backdrop was a collage of NYC landmarks and lit up like Times Square. There were logoed pillows and NYC touches everywhere. The kids’ bar was a Pink Starbucks kiosk.
Adult tables were each named for one of Emma’s favorite places in NYC, with low floral arrangements and a custom logo chandelier suspended from the ceiling on half of the tables, and the other half of the tables had high, dramatic floral arrangements.
The dance floor was the NYC skyline in hot Pink and Black with Emma’s name in lights.
The photobooth looked like an actual subway car, but with Pink seats and Emma’s logos as the ads. There were even poles to hold on to and a screen with images that made it seem as if you were moving.
Adults as well as kids enjoyed the oversized Pink basketball court reminiscent of NYC pick-up games, except in Pink. The photobooth and basketball were amazing, but Emma wanted to incorporate her mitzvah project into her day. She volunteers with kids with Crohn’s disease and really wanted to do something to cheer them up. Melisa came up with the idea to create a blanket station where each kid decorated two blankets with iron-on patches, one to keep and one to donate. The kids wrote a personal note to send with the blanket that was being donated.
The favors were I ❤️ EM sweatshirt in I ❤️ NY Lululemon style totes. On the dance floor, kids danced for t-shirts, trucker hats, pajama pants, Statue of Liberty crowns, Statue of Liberty glasses, and lots of NYC souvenirs.
The cake had a NYC skyline, Emma’s logo, and some of Emma’s favorite things.
The sign-in board was a mirror with a NYC skyline and Emma’s name lit up in Pink neon.
As guests left, they stopped by the newsstand for a snack and drink to go. There were black-and-white cookies, of course, in Pink and White, packaged with the logo, IEM, and a note saying, “We hope you had an EMazing time,” along with custom-label water bottles and coffee.
The Event Of A Lifetime and her team brought the city that never sleeps to Connecticut and it was an EMazing Pink & Gold tribute to NYC through Emma’s eyes!
Photos by Kari Otero Photography
Psst… Check Out Bar/Bat Mitzvah Expo Presented by Mitzvah Market
