July 29th, 2015
Once your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah date comes and goes, all that planning will be behind you.
BUT, there is one other task you will need to accomplish that might be the toughest one of all – getting your son or daughter to write their thank you notes!
Many families choose to order their “thank you” cards at the time they are placing their order for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah invitation. This is a great way to get it off your to-do list and match your invite.
We want to share another option with our readers. It’s an idea from a Bat Mitzvah girl herself. Tara Silberg, our 13 year old reporter celebrated her own Bat Mitzvah in October of 2011 and thought it would be fun to create her own thank you card.
She selected a picture from her Bat Mitzvah and created fold-over cards on Snapfish.com.
Not only is our 13 year old guest blogger a talented writer, but she also comes up with great ideas!
Check out her other posts here.
July 25th, 2015
A Promos USA, aka The ImageMaker, wants to create the newest fashion apparel for your upcoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebration. Your kids will love being one of the first to present these NEW fashion favors to their friends and your family.
Owner Mindy Younger, whose knowledge in design stems from previously owning one of the largest kids’ accessories companies, along with her team of artists, will create a favor that kids will be proud to present to their friends & family.
They will make it easy for you, providing you with art for your decorators and planners at no additional cost. Simple & easy!
NOW THEY HAVE TWO LOCATIONS: NORTH SHORE AND SOUTH SHORE OF LONG ISLAND
They are pleased to announce the opening of their new North Shore Showroom in Plainview, directly off the LIE exit 46 South, Sunnyside Blvd. exit
Visit by appointment only and check out the hundreds of items to choose from
If you would prefer to visit them at their South Shore Freeport Factory & Showroom location, please give them a call at 800-987-8766 to set up an appointment. Live outside the NY area? No problem, they ship anywhere!
To learn more about A Promos USA/The ImageMaker, visit their extended profile page in our Vendor Directory.
July 22nd, 2015
The Engler family celebrated their daughter Victoria’s Bat Mitzvah at Woodfield Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida.
With Mitzvah Mom Stephanie in the invitation/favor business, this celebration was filled with terrific ideas!
As you will see below, Victoria’s Secret was the theme complete with comfy Pajamas for all the young guests!
We thank them for sharing their daughter’s special celebration with our readers.
New Image Photography took all of the pictures and the rest of the vendor information is listed at the bottom of this spotlight.
Pictured above: L-R: Dad Robert, Bat Mitzvah girl Victoria, brother Jake and Mom Stephanie
Mitzvah Mom Stephanie owns Pretty in Paper and was very clever and creative with her daughter’s “save the date” and invitation. The save the date was a Key to Victoria’s Bat Mitzvah. The invitation itself was a Diary that needed the save the date key in order to open it.
Guests were asked to “save the key”
The invitation arrived as “Victoria’s Secret Diary” and said “Secret Celebration” following services. Everyone wondered what the surprise could be!
All of Victoria’s friends in their comfy PJs and ready to party!
When the young guests arrived, the secret was revealed! They were directed to locker rooms and given overnight bags to store their clothes. They made a quick change into lounge pants and t-shirts. Victoria’s Secret Pajama Party could begin!
An adult lounge was set up on the stage of the ballroom. Victoria showing off the adult area!
Victoria made her entrance to her party in a large clear bubble. Since her theme was a pajama party her entrance video featured Victoria blowing bubbles and dreaming about her party.
Her entrance video was produced by Timeline Video Productions Inc.
Watch it here
Victoria rolled into her party in a large bubble!
The guests were entertained by Nikko Entertainment with Nikko as the MC. The DJ platform was in the center of the room and guests partied in the round.
Dad Robert singing Motown!
Nikko brought out Motown jackets and wigs and guests ham it up!
Victoria’s brother Jake being lifted during the Horah
Another surprise for all the guests and even for Victoria, was a Justin Bieber impersonator.
Watch the video here.
Victoria and her new BFF Justin Bieber (the impersonator)
Victoria spends her summers at Camp Robindel in New Hampshire. Fourteen of her summer camp friends came to South Florida to celebrate
In keeping with her theme, a sign-in book was created by New Image Photography.
Instead of a traditional candle lighting ceremony during the pajama party, they decided to make it part of their Friday night dinner. At the conclusion of the candle lighting ceremony, they left one candle unlit. The next night at the pajama party, the candle display was rolled into the room with 12 lit candles and then all of Victoria’s friends came up to light the last candle and take a group shot.
Their photographer and videographer were present Friday night to catch all the fun!
Many creative touches went into Victoria’s celebration. When guests left they not only were given the items below, but warm chocolate chip cookies and milk too!
Here is the back of the sweatshirt with her logo for the young guests
Guests were given sleeping masks to continue the pajama party theme
Door hangers were also given to young guests
Timeline Video Productions has put together a highlight reel from Victoria’s celebration.
Watch it here
Victoria and her Mom Stephanie
We asked Mitzvah Mom Stephanie for some advice, “Just have fun, do your homework, research and find the best prices and ideas before committing. Most importantly, start early.”
The following Mitzvah vendors made Victoria’s Bat Mitzvah celebration special. If you call any of them, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Woodfield Country Club, 561-994-1000
Party Planner: Angela Spera Event Studio Productions, 561-443-5553
Music Entertainment: DJ/MC Nikko Entertainment, 561-443-5553
Favors: Pretty in Paper, LLC, 561-998-3777
Party entertainment: Event Studio Productions, Matt LaVore Magician, Knuckleheads
Celeb Look-A-Like: Besser Entertainment for Justin Bieber
Save The Date/Invitations: Pretty in Paper, LLC, 561-998-3777
Décor/florist: Party Perfect, 561-994-8833
Sign-In board/Sign-in book: Rich Radice New Image Photography, 954-461-0084
Suits for family members: Jonathan Reed
Hair/makeup: Peter Coppola Salon, Angie Mamo, makeup 561-929-8567
Photographer: Rich Radice New Image Photography, 954-461-0084
Videographer: Chad Ehret Timeline Video Productions Inc. 561-998-3755
July 21st, 2015
Have you heard about MitzvahOrganizer.com created by the team at Mitzvah Market?
Mitzvah Organizer enables you to organize all the details of your celebration, guest lists, seating arrangements, invitations, favors, transportation, honors, candle lighting and more. Since it is in the cloud, you can use it from your office, tablet or phone. Your whole team can collaborate: party planners, grandparents, even your spouse.
This new tool truly Simplifies Your Simcha!
Everything you need is here! In one, well-organized planner, you will have access to a budget planner, guest list management system and your celebration details plus much more!
The team behind MitzvahMarket.com knows what’s involved when it comes to planning your child’s Bar Bat Mitzvah celebration. Many of us have been through it more than once or are in the throws of planning.
READ WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH
MITZVAH ORGANZIER:
“Thank you so much for creating this much needed service. It is helping me immensely. I love how it is assisting me in the organization and planning of our daughter’s upcoming Bat Mitzvah. I really appreciate that I can access it anywhere I go. It is very easy to use. I can toss out most of my notes and lists on paper I have been accumulating which is great. I am so impressed with the outstanding level of customer service. I had a few questions that your staff answered quickly and in a way that was so easy to understand and apply. Overall, I am truly enjoying using the organizer. Thank you!”
— Tracy Jankowitz, Chicago
“Having never planned a Bat Mitzvah before, your software was a true life saver. It helped me stay organized, generate lists for all of my vendors as well as monitor my budget. Our Bat Mitzvah was this past Saturday and I’m now onto the last stage with organizing the gifts for the thank you cards. Thank you, your program helped me stay sane!”
— Ellen L, Fairfield, Connecticut
“Mitzvah organizer was a huge help! The overall best feature is that I was able to access it from anywhere. I didn’t have to carry around papers with lists. The table seating feature was awesome. It helped me to make adult tables and move people around easily. I loved that I could print out lists of adults and kids that I was able to use for so many things. It kept an easy record of responses. I was surprised at the end when I entered in the gifts that it actually totaled the money as we entered. The budget planning and expense features were also really helpful. With all the money spent planning a Bar Mitzvah, this is a definite no brainer. Everyone should be using Mitzvah Organizer!”
— Heather H, – Jericho, New York
“I’ve just started using the Mitzvah Organizer for my sons bar mitzvah in May, 2015. Let me first tell you that this is not my first time hosting a Bar Mitzvah! Having done the first one the traditional way (3-ring binder and spreadsheets), the Mitzvah Organizer is great!! My favorite part is the guest coordination tools. I love that I can look at who is invited to what events!! It makes it so easy!! I’m looking forward to using it to manage my invitations and rsvp’s!”
— Lisa B, Doylestown, PA
“The Mitzvah Organizer has been such a great help in planning my son’s Bar Mitzvah. The reports have made it so easy to order everything from invitations to party favors. I love that the organizer asks what size party favors to order for each guest and also keeps track of the amount of each size party favor I need to order. Being able to access the organizer on the Web allows me to update what I need through my cell phone. Using the Mitzvah Organizer has kept me organized!”
— Robin G. Old Tappan, New Jersey
“When planning our older daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, I actually posted on Facebook asking if anyone knew of a Bat Mitzvah planning website. Most people laughed. Fast forward one year and I am enjoying using your Mitzvah Organizer for our younger daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. Thank you.”
— Dara C, Hollywood, FL
“Great system to get our event running smoothly.”
— Andy H, Chattanooga, Tennessee
“I couldn’t get through my planning without Mitzvah Organizer, I’m obsessed!”
— Carolyn S, New Rochelle, NY
Based on all the terrific feedback from MitzvahOrganizer.com users, here are some improvements we have made to our system:
– Improved table assignments so now when you hover over a name it will show up fully in a bubble, allowing you to get a complete sense of who is sitting where.
– Improved labels for invitations. Line them up however you like. Whether it’s left justified, centered or all the way right.
– Added Canadian provinces to the “State” selection dropdown on all pages.
– Speed improvements for Invitations, RSVP, and Gifts worksheet pages.
– Added addresses to Thank You Owed report.
– Added total breakdown by guest type to RSVP Who is coming for each event report.
– Added ability to select Children, Adults, or all guests to the RSVP Who is coming for each event report.
– Added total breakdown by guest type to the Who has not RSVP’d yet report.
– Revised Password Reset process for easier resets.
– Added internal security enhancements.
– Fixed other minor bugs.
Check out MitzvahOrganizer.com, get your $10 off coupon and order today!
July 18th, 2015
Hi Tech Photography Events is a family business dedicated to making your child’s Bar Bat Mitzvah unique and memorable. They offer a wide variety of services including photography/videography, montages, photo favors, party décor, entertainment, and everything in-between.
Hi Tech will be there for you from the moment you create your invitations, until the time you design your keepsake album to reflect on your event; treating every client’s party as if it was their own family occasion.
Hi Tech Photography Events – For All Your Bar & Bat Mitzvah Needs
Hi Tech is continually evolving as a family-owned and operated business since 1984. They pride themselves on their elite and creative team of professionals that produce unique, one-of-a-kind Bar Bat Mitzvah celebrations.
They recreated the Nike Store for this Bar Mitzvah celebration
A cool vibe for a Basketball themed Bar Mitzvah celebration
Elegant floral decor graced the tables for a B’nai Mitzvah in NYC
Rest assured, their staff of talented and artistic photographers and videographers will capture the special moments and preserve the memories, of your family’s special day, for years to come.
A moment with this beautiful Bat Mitzvah girl on the streets of NYC
Their clientele continues to return time after time to celebrate life’s important family milestones
From designing your invitations to your personalized keepsake album, Hi Tech’s in-house departments and state-of-the-art equipment allow them to take care of all your party needs without any elements of your event leaving their hands. Hi Tech understands that every family is exceptional and they treat every affair with the personalized and individual attention it deserves.
Your priorities are important to them. Choose all of their services or just select the most important ones to you. This allows Hi Tech to work with any budget and any size party; no event is too big or too small! Share your dreams and visions with Hi Tech Photography Events and they will bring to life a day you will never forget!
For more information about Hi Tech Photography Events, visit their extended profile page in our Vendor Directory.
July 11th, 2015
By Carrie Berk
I had a ball (pun intended!) recently at Gaby Hirsch’s Bat Mitzvah. Besides being a great dancer, my BFF from Triple Arts theater intensive is unstoppable on a basketball court. Her party at New York City’s Copacabana (like the Barry Manilow song!) had a cool city vibe (like the Bat Mitzvah girl herself).
Gaby in a dress from All Dressed Up
Only a few weeks before her big day, her original venue on the Upper West Side unexpectedly closed down. Gab never even panicked—she just rolled with it!
The Copa was happy to help out and made sure the event was everything she envisioned. There were hoops and table hockey—the competition was fun and fierce!
The theme was “Gaby’s Graffiti,” since she has always loved the city’s cool street art. All the guests were able to get our own graffiti hats and shirts at a graffiti bar, choosing our colors and designs as an artist painted them
Gaby looked gorge in a silver studded dress and high top sneakers (all the better for playing b-ball!)
The sign in board had Gaby’s logo and let guests add their own personal, colorful signatures to it
Gaby wanted her friends and family to share her fave foods from NYC: authentic pizza, yummy pasta, and a 16 Handles DIY Ice Cream Bar. I, of course, got my fave flavor and topping: chocolate with cookie dough bites!
Carrie and her friend Gaby
I am so proud of Gaby and how she put together an amazing Bat Mitzvah after her first one was canceled! But that’s Gaby: total grace under pressure, on and off the court.
VENDORS: Dress: All Dressed Up; Ice Cream: 16 Handles; Photo Booth/Food/DJ: Party Up Productions; Photographer: Frank Padrone
ABOUT CARRIE
I am a 7th grader in Manhattan who loves ballet, blogging and writing my own bestselling children’s book series, The Cupcake Club (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky). In my spare time, I take Soul Cycle classes, sing, model, and hang with my friends in the city and the Hamptons. Follow me on Facebook, www.fashionacademybook.com and on Instagram @cbgirliegirl.
Read Carrie’s 1st blog post here.
July 1st, 2015
Crowd Control Entertainment has a team of experienced DJs, MCs, photographers, musicians and support staff who are waiting to take your party to the NEXT LEVEL! They are a trusted name in upscale entertainment with a track record and long list of corporate and private clients, which speaks volumes for their capabilities with any type of event. Contact them for a free quote and you will be pleasantly surprised at the value of entertainment your budget can buy!
Crowd Control Entertainment provided us with a list of top songs from the all-important key categories for your child’s Bar Bat Mitzvah celebration.
The Top 5 Bar Bat Mitzvah Montage songs are:
1. American Authors “The Best Day of My Life”
2. One Direction “Story Of My Life”
3. Pharrell “Happy”
4. Rascall Flatts “My Wish”
5. Flo Rida “Right Round”
The Top 5 Bar Bat Mitzvah Entrance songs are:
1. Jay-Z & TI “Bring Em Out”
2. Walk The Moon, “Shut Up and Dance”
3. Steve Aoki and Laid Back Luke “Turbulence”
4. I Got A Feeling “The Black Eyed Peas”
5. Calvin Harris & Ne-yo “Let’s Go”
The Top 5 Bar Bat Mitzvah Candle Lighting songs are:
1. Randy Newman “You’ve Got A Friend In Me”
2. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk”
3. Celine Dion “Because You Loved Me”
4. Club Nouveau “Lean On Me”
5. LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”
To learn more about Crowd Control Entertainment, visit their extended profile page in our Vendor Directory.
July 1st, 2015
By Chloe Cornell
I’m a 7th grader and live in Westchester, NY. I love tennis, soul cycle, fashion, hanging with my friends, and traveling around the world. Camp Vega is my summer home and my favorite place on earth! I founded the company #Kindnessistherealcool for my Mitzvah Project, and invite everyone to visit us on Instagram @kindnessistherealcool and join the movement. I celebrated my Bat Mitzvah in March, 2015.
Last weekend, I attended my friend Max’s Bar Mitzvah in a tent in his backyard. His color scheme was neon yellow and silver-gray.
Everything at his party reflected this color scheme, and his logo was “Take It To The Max”
During the cocktail hour, there was a basketball station, a photo booth, a family feud trivia game, a magician walking around doing tricks, a four-player pac man game, and a large table that was a giant iPad.
We all loved the Pac Man game
Here is the iPad table
After cocktail hour, we were led to the dance floor where we stayed the entire night! Guests were given neon yellow tank tops, t-shirts and hats on the dance floor, all featuring the “Take It To The Max” logo.
Here’s all our neon swag!
The adults were seated at one long table with a unique sculpture of neon lights hanging above it
Kids, when they weren’t dancing, could hang out in a lounge area featuring gray couches, neon yellow pillows with Max’s initials, and chic modern glass tables
In the middle of the party, some dancers changed into neon costumes. Special lights were turned on and everyone in the room “glowed” in their neon gear, along with the dancers. It was so cool!
A glowing Neon dancer!
Near the end of the party, a giant dessert table was presented. There was an insane amount of dessert! There were 7 different kinds of cupcakes, cakes, huge chocolate covered strawberries, shopping carts filled with candy, pop tarts and more!
As party favors, kids received cool mesh, neon drawstring bags, and gray Alternative Apparel waffle shirts, along with the neon gear they got on the dance floor.
Max’s party was amazing – everyone had the best time. Mazel Tov Max!
The following vendors made Max’s celebration special: Party Planner, Catering and Decor: Lawrence Scott Events 516-933-7535; Games and Party Favors: Just Rebecca 516-933-0911; Lighting and DJ: Marcus at Fusion Lighting 516-729-6231; Photographer: Michael Jurick 917-544-1871
Read more of Chloe’s blog posts:
Blog #1 here
Blog #2 here
Blog #3 here
Blog #4 here
Blog #5 here
June 24th, 2015
We have seen Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations at all budget levels. Families get creative with their theme, decor, favors and more.
Sometimes families want to take their celebration to the next level and pay (sometimes more than you can imagine) to surprise their child with a famous singer, actor or sports celebrity.
See some celebrity appearances below:
At a celebration with Crowd Control Entertainment, Dwight Gooden made an appearnace for this Baseball themed Bar Mitzvah and took pictures with all the guests including the happy Bar Mitzvah boy
From Kombert Caterers, looks like Bat Mitzvah girl Jolie is thrilled to meet Jarvis Landry from the Miami Dolphins
Simon Elliot Events was the photographer at the Fierman family Bat Mitzvah. This family celebrated with celebrity guest Cher Llyod
The NY Giants rocked AJ’s Bar Mitzvah with EK Productions
Hi-Tech Photography Events captured the excitement as Jared Glicksman makes his entrance with his Knicks City Dancers entourage!
Todd Yahney Music & Entertainment dancers with Larry Johnson from the NY Knicks at a recent Bar Mitzvah
Mr. Met made an appearance and posed for a picture with Bar Mitzvah boy Eli shot by The Portrait Shoppe
Todd Shapera Photography shot photos of New York Giants Reuben Randle with this Bar Mitzvah family and all their guests
Nicki Minaj attended Matt’s Bar Mitzvah at the Pierre Hotel and performed 7 songs
She wasn’t the only celebrity who attended this celebration. Matt also greeted John Starks
Did your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebration include a celebrity appearance? Let us know at info@mitzvahmarket.com.
June 24th, 2015
With 29 years of experience, Sarah Merians of Sarah Merians Photography & Videography Company knows a thing or two about shooting Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. She’s also an expert in things to consider when planning for twins, since she is one herself!
She tells Mitzvah Market, “Because I am an identical twin, we book a lot of B’nai Mitzvahs because we/I get it.”
Identical sisters Lisa on the left and Sarah on the right
We asked Sarah to answer a few questions that we thought would help Moms and Dads who are planning for their twins B’nai Mitzvah.
MM: Can you please tell us 3 things to consider when families are planning for their twin’s B’nai Mitzvah?
SM: Because I am a twin and know how important individuality is, so we make a special effort to treat each child individually and celebrate them separately.
1. Logos: I suggest separate logos for each child and one joint one to be used where more appropriate.
2. Pre-shoots: The pre-shoot should also be individual (as per each child’s hobbies and likes) and then some images together.
Use images from the pre-shoot for individual sign-in boards
3. Albums: We also have a special album deal for creating 2 albums instead of only one. Each child will eventually live on their own as they grow up and they should each have their own Mitzvah album.
MM: What are the options for photos albums?
SM: We suggest common pages from the party in addition to separate spreads which can celebrate each child’s uniqueness and individuality. I suggest both books have both names on the cover as the twins share the celebration… my Mom had Sarah and Lisa on my album… and Lisa and Sarah on my sisters!
MM: What are the options for favors?
SM: I feel one favor is fine as the gift is for friends and they can be the same from BOTH of them. Some clients do want to give a different looking favor to the boys and girls.
MM: What is your feeling on the Thank you notes. Should each write their own, one note two signatures?
SM: Unless a guest gave only one gift (which would be terrible), I suggest separate thank you notes! Twins that want to be treated as individuals should act as individuals. Also, one twin may want to write something different and should definitely write their own cards.
MM: For twins of the same sex, should they coordinate their outfits?
SM: If the twins are the same sex then I suggest different clothing outfits that celebrate each child in what colors THEY each like and what style looks best on each one!
We thank Sarah for this great insight, to learn more about Sarah Merians Photography & Video Company, visit their extended profile page in our Vendor Directory.
For great B’nai Mitzvah theme ideas, click here.
