By Carrie Berk
About Carrie Berk
I’m an 8th grade Bar & Bat Mitzvah teen blogger for MitzvahMarket.com and live on the Upper East Side in NYC. I love fashion, soul cycle, theater, hanging out with friends, and cupcakes (I have a blog about them: www.facebook.com/PLCCupcakeClub). My bat mitzvah project is for my dance teacher and friend, Elizabeth Maria Walsh, who died of a rare form of cancer at just 26 years old. Direct message me on Instagram (@carrieberkk) for information on how to donate, and follow me for more fun Bat Mitzvah photos!
Recently, I attended the Bat Mitzvah of one of my best friends, Stella Solit.
Stella and Carrie
Everything at the event had Stella’s stamp on it—literally! From the décor to the donut carts, it was super cool and creative, just like her. The Bat Mitzvah was all about personalization. Stella wanted her friends and family to be able to enjoy whatever they liked, so everything was customized. During cocktail hour, we got to choose our own slushies. They gave us cups and we picked whatever flavor we liked. We even got a slushie maker to take home with us!
As the cocktail hour transformed into the reception, Stella got really creative allowing her guests to create customized sodas. Since Stella used to dance, each bottle had pictures of her busting some moves on them. The flavors were dance-themed as well: “Kickin’ Red Cream” and “Leapin’ Berry Blue.”
You could also customize bracelets or checkers. Stella wrote on her own bracelet, “Core Four” for her group of four besties.
Stella’s dress was custom-made with a removable long over-skirt so that when it was time to dance, she could take it off and reveal a shorter skirt that was easier to move in. Genius!
Instead of a regular dinner menu, it was breakfast as dinner! My friends and I were fighting to get to the front of the line first so we could dig into the Belgian waffles! They were soooo good!
While that was going on, people wheeled donut carts around the dance floor. They had different flavored syringes that you could use to fill the donut. I’m not a jelly donut person, but Bavarian cream? Chocolate fudge? Yes, please!
Stella, with the girls who pushed the donut cart
At the end of the night, we got the most amazing favor: a photoscope containing a picture we took with Stella inside it. It was a really creative way of taking a photo home with us.
Stella also gave out gray sweatpants that said, “Xoxo, Stella” in pink on the front and had a pink kiss on the back.
My favorite take-home treat was cereal! Stella had a huge cereal bar so you could pick and pack up our faves as we exited. I packed up a container of Frosted Flakes and marshmallow Lucky Charms with a small bottle of milk. And guess what I had for breakfast the next morning?
Stella’s Bat Mitzvah was a night to remember because of its creativity. She made each and every guest feel so special and welcome.
Vendors:
DJ, MC, and Games: Untouchable Events, Food: Park Hyatt Hotel, Party Planner, Randi Levy; Photographer; Michael Jurick,
Custom Made Dress: Campanella Collection
Read more of Carrie’s blog posts:
Blog #1 here
Blog #2 here
Blog #3 here
