By Stephanie Kepke Kaplan
In today’s increasingly wired world, it’s no surprise that the hottest Bar Bat Mitzvah trends are digital. Whether it’s an Interactive Centerpiece, an electronic sign-in board, strolling photographers who snap photos that can be instantly personalized or even an app that allows smart phone pictures and videos taken at your child’s celebration to be pulled together and compiled into a keepsake video, there are more ways than ever for your guests, young and old, to connect with the guest of honor and each other.
With so many options available, you can simply dip your toe into the digital pool with electronic invitations, which are budget and Earth friendly. Or you might choose to dive right in with a digital graffiti wall that guests can “spray paint,” a hashtag specific to your party that allows photos to be posted on Instagram and instantly printed for your guests or even a favor featuring a QR code that will bring guests to a website with a thank you note and photos of the party.
Read on to find out more about some of the hottest trends as Bar Bat Mitzvah celebrations go digital.
What if your centerpiece was actually an interactive part of the celebration fun, rather than just a stagnant bouquet of flowers or a cardboard cutout with balloons? How amazing would that be? Well, Keep Interacting offers the Interactive Centerpiece, which is just that – an interactive part of your event. Guests can not only watch a slideshow of photos as they are taken, but thanks to the company’s proprietary software, they can also select photos to share on social media, email photos to each other, and even edit and print their favorites all right then and there.
You can also incorporate your montage photos – plus the piles that didn’t make the final cut –into the Interactive Centerpiece slideshow. Best of all, it solves the age old dilemma of finding the perfect party favor; simply order a photo print package and guests can order prints of their favorite photos and enjoy the happy memories of your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah any time they wish.
In addition to making your Bar Bat Mitzvah centerpiece part of the action, how about giving the tired old sign-in book or board a digital-age makeover? The iSign® by Simon Elliot Events is sure to engage your guests and have them talking about your event long after it’s over. The iSign® kiosk features custom graphics, a large display screen, and the iSign® app, which enables guests to use a stylus to write a guestbook message in their own handwriting. Messages are transmitted wirelessly to the LED screen for all to see. Guests sign on a page that corresponds to their relationship with the Bar Bat Mitzvah child – school friends sign a school themed background, camp friends a camp themed background, etc. –and not only do their words and drawings show up on the screen for all to see, but a professional photographer snaps their photo to add to the page. The iSign® is even portable and can be brought right to your guests. After the party, the greetings and photos are compiled into a customizable keepsake book to be treasured forever.
In addition to the iSign®, Simon Elliot Events offers Strolling Photos™ – photographers dispatched throughout the party venue to snap candids, which are instantly transmitted to iPads. Guests are then free to add their own personal stamp to the photo, drawing on it, adding stickers, filters, borders or any number of other special effects. The photos can be instantly emailed, posted to social media or printed and presented in your choice of frame options as the perfect party favor.
Simon Elliot Events also offers fantastic favors for the younger set – why give out a simple t-shirt or sweatshirt when your child’s friends can decorate headphones at a “Custom Beatz” kiosk, customize near field technology portable speakers (just lay your device on it and it instantly plays your music) or their new Selfie Photo Booth where guests can trigger the exposures with a wireless remote and then print and edit on site. Simon Miller, owner of Simon Elliot Events, explains their philosophy on favors: “We’re always on the lookout for new electronic trends and try to stay one step ahead of what is currently the popular fad.”
More than just a fad, apps are a way of life for most people, making everything from organizing your day to making dinner reservations easier. And the Bar/Bat Mitzvah scene is no exception. So many guests snap pictures on their smartphones, but the hosts never get to see them; now you can preserve those memories forever and see your party as your guests see it with an app for that.
You can’t be everywhere at your child’s party, but you can relive the wonderful moments you may have missed with the MitzvahMix app from Storymix Media. Share the app with all your guests beforehand and then let them capture all the party fun and post it to Facebook. Afterwards you’ll get all the great photos snapped and videos shot from your guests’ smartphones into one professionally edited video, plus you get all of the raw footage.
Or pair the app with video cameras. Storymix Media can send you up to five video cameras (with two hours of video capacity each), so your guests can record all the special moments of this once in a lifetime event themselves. Simply send the cameras back and in return you will receive an up to sixty minute professionally edited video with all they shot, plus whatever they captured with their own smart phones. You can choose from seven editing themes and personalize the video with scenes and titles or let Storymix Media do it for you. “The kids really enjoy having the cameras to run around and take video,” says Mike Fisher of Storymix Media. “It’s a really great way to go about capturing the essence of the event.”
This story is from the 2013 Mitzvah Market Magazine. If you would like to request a free copy, click here.
