Our brand new Bar/Bat Mitzvah Hall of Fame series spotlights families of Bar/Bat Mitzvahs who have thrown some of the most AMAZING events we have ever seen and gives you a behind the scenes look at how they made it all happen. All of the information and photos were submitted directly from each family, so we are sharing their first-hand experience. We hope this helps you find inspiration and ideas to make your own event Hall of Fame worthy!
Dani’s Bat Mitzvah was an easy choice for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Hall of Fame (her Dad is an industry pro after all). What really made her tropical colored, survivor themed, event stand out was the level of detail and thoughtfulness they used to plan each and every aspect of the day. Dani and her family’s genuine excitement and appreciation for all of their guests created a warm, welcoming atmosphere and of course, they had a dance floor that NEVER stopped! Mazel Tov, Dani, on being inducted to the EBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Hall of Fame!
Dani’s Bat Mitzvah Details
Parent: Ben Ostroff
Bat Mitzvah: Danielle (Dani)
Event Date: 11/16/19
Bat Mitzvah Project: Making custom blankets for dogs in dog shelters
Service Location: Temple Brith Achim – King of Prussia, PA – https://www.brithachim.org/
Reception Location: Radnor Valley Country Club – Villanova, PA – https://radnorvalleycc.com/special-events/
Afternoon or Evening Affair: Evening
Guest Count: 100 Adults, 100 Young Adults
Theme and/or décor color palette: Survivor/Tropical Island
Who/What did you hire from EBE? What didn’t we have?! Dreamtime, MC Josh Smilk, DJ, 3 Dancers, 2 photo booths, Lighting, A/V screens, Videography and more. www.ebetalent.com
I cannot say enough great things about everyone! From top to bottom, everyone made an effort to understand our needs, learn our vision, and then did everything they could to turn that vision into a reality. This could be as simple as the bandleader Andriana playing the perfect pop versions of songs on violin for our cocktail hour, Josh and the DJ keeping the kids entertained and the evening on schedule throughout, the band learning a few new songs for us, etc. Who really stood out was EBE’s Lighting and Production Director, Tara Buchanan. She coordinated all of EBE’s lighting and production. She even met me onsite the day before the party as she oversaw all the installation of everything, met many of the venues quirky challenges (such as a low roof), and made sure everything was setup as I expected. The band was on fire throughout the party, and the dancers made every effort to keep kids and adults alike active and involved all night long. Cannot say enough great things about everyone involved. Thanks again for everything!
Who was your Planner? Planned everything myself
Who was your Caterer? Radnor Valley CC provided the food
Who was your Photographer? Jordan Cassway Photography – http://casswayphoto.com/mitzvah/.
He was amazing! Danielle’s was actually our second Mitzvah. For our first (for our twins) we actually hired a different photographer. That’s photographer’s photos were OK at best. Nothing bad, but not one photo that made me say, “Wow!” Was the total opposite experience with Jordan. He took the time to learn what specific photos we wanted and made sure that he captured them all. I had even mentioned to him offhand one time how that first photographer didn’t get a single picture of my older daughter with her friends at her Mitzvah. Jordan went out of his way to make sure to get these shots as well, and it wasn’t even her party! We literally just last week printed and framed some of Jordan’s pictures, so I get to appreciate his work every time I’m in my living room.
Who was your Videographer? EBE Talent – www.ebetalent.com
For videography we actually used EBE (as we did for both of our parties). Was a perfect capture of the day. Was wonderful getting to not only relive all of the great moments of the night, but also to experience all of the things that we missed. Plus, his drone shots were amazing!
Who was your Decorator? Vito Russo. www.xtraordinaryevents.net
At the time he was with another company, but he has since opened Xtraordinary Events. Cannot recommend him highly enough. Everything looked beautiful, and he went above and beyond to come up with ideas to match the theme that we had in mind. He gave us that wow moment that we were hoping for when all of our guests entered the ballroom. Cannot recommend Vito highly enough!
Did you include any fun extras?
We gave hoodies to the kids (OK, I have one too and actually wore it just yesterday!), gift cards for prizes, dance floor hand outs, and had two photo booths (one for green screen and one traditional enclosed booth).
Where did you find your family’s formal wear?
Ben (Dad) wore a custom suit from haberdasher Tom McKendry – https://www.tomjames.com/shop/
Allison (Mom) wore a black, beaded knee-length dress from Berta Sawyer – https://bertasawyer.com/
Dani’s pink knee-length dress was from Party Girls – http://www.partygirlsnewtown.com/
Who were your hair and makeup artists? Angelic Hair + Makeup Designs (Angel Simpkins) – https://www.facebook.com/Angelic-Hair-Makeup-Designs-318721998578934/.
Have never seen my wife and daughters look so beautiful!
Who made your cake? Sweet Jazmine’s Bakery – www.sweetjazmines.com
Who created your invitations? Invitations of Distinction: Invitations of Distinction | Facebook
What was the most meaningful/memorable part of the whole thing to you and your family?
You only get a handful of moments like this throughout your lifetime. Particularly coming just a few months before COVID hit, you really just appreciate celebrating life’s moments with family and friends. So thankful to everyone involved for doing so much for my family.
What was your favorite part of the event?
It’s a family tradition where we jump on stage and sing Springsteen with the band. My curse in life is that I LOVE singing, but am so bad at it! Despite how bad we were though, LOL, you could really see how much the band enjoyed celebrating with us in this way. Watching the video you could see that they were having just as much fun as we were!
What was your least favorite part of planning?
I love planning, so my least favorite part was when the party ended. You put so much time and effort into planning the night, and then at the snap of a finger it’s all over. Need another occasion so that I can plan something else!
What is the best advice you received during the planning process?
Don’t wait until the last minute. The best vendors always get booked quickly, so make sure to procure your entertainment, etc. right away. If there’s anything you cannot envision your event without, grab it before someone else does.
What tip or advice you would give to anyone else planning a Bar/Bat Mitzvah?
More than anything else, see how hard a vendor is willing to work to earn your business. If it takes days and days and multiple attempts to get a hold of somebody, no matter how good their product is, they aren’t worth your time. If that’s how hard they’re willing to work to earn your business, expect that they will work even less hard for you once they have it. One of the best things about EBE was that I never went more than one business day for someone to reply to me.
