The Lesser family of Reston, Virginia, celebrated their son Jack’s Bar Mitzvah at Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation. After the service, guests headed to the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia.
Baseball was the theme which is Bar Mitzvah boy Jack’s passion.
Pictured L-R: Dad Jeffrey, Bar Mitzvah boy Jack, Sister Sam and Mom Darlene.
The photographer was Jof Panlaqui Photography and the rest of the vendor information is listed at the bottom of the spotlight.
The tone of the party was set with the Save-the-Date card which featured a baseball glove in the grass with the date printed on three balls: 1.10.15. For the invitation, the family worked with Studio Rose Design
A more formal blue and green pocket invitation followed, which honored the reverence of the service
We love Jack’s logo which was placed on the outside of the invitation belly band
The service was held at Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation. It was “all in the family” as Jack’s 88 1/2 year-old grandfather, Monroe Lesser, had come over daily to tutor Jack on his haftorah portion six months leading up to his Bar Mitzvah. Jack posed in front of the Ark
Dad Jeff, Bar Mitzvah boy Jack and Grandfather Monroe Lesser at the bimah
Jack had a baseball themed celebration complete with grass centerpieces and accents to keep it sporty and masculine. The escort card table was filled with wheat grass and royal blue trim
Baseball jerseys tented over Lindor Truffles served as escort cards and treats
Each pinstriped jersey was personalized with their guests’ name and table number
The adult tables, each named for a team Jack played on in Little League, were decorated in royal blue and white linens
There were baseballs (rubber for safety) with Jack’s logo throughout the reception venue
The kids had long communal tables with fiber optic centerpieces
The DJ set-up looked great flanked by baseball jerseys
Some of the special details included a card from Jack thanking each guest for being a part of his special day. The card, placed at each place setting, included those most important to Jack as they are his friends, family, relatives, coaches, teachers, neighbors, teammates and mentors
A large decorated baseball hat box served as a place to put gift envelopes
The lounge furniture was accented with customized pillows
Each table had memorable quotes from baseball legends: “There’s no crying in baseball!” from Tom Hanks in “A League of Their Own” and repeated by Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals
An enlarged picture of Jack in his travel uniform served as his sign-in board. Mom created it on online at LTLPrints.com
Everything Entertainment created a high energy atmosphere and kept people on the dance floor throughout the reception. During the cocktail hour, DJ Mark Burch and MC Cliff led a baseball game with an inflatable ball while the adults were mingling over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. For Jack’s entrance, MC Cliff announced the “Starting Line Up” and Jack had fun with it, wearing cool glasses
Jack was all smiles for the Horah
MC Cliff was great on the dance floor
Jack had fun activities for the guests including a double Pop-A-Shot basketball arcade game, a caricature artist and a photo booth
Guests enjoyed the Caricaturist
The candle lighting ceremony with Mom, Dad and Jack and a huge baseball themed cake created by Marse Hammond
The candy buffet had lots of great choices complete with bags and take-out boxes
Jack’s candy bar featured blue and green candy
Baseball helmets were used as dishes for the ice cream sundaes
Jack’s gift bag to his guests included an aluminum sports cup, a power bank charger and a jumbo Hershey Bar. The sports cup customized with Jack’s logo
Mitzvah Project:
Jack is collecting “experienced” gently used baseball equipment from his little league community then organizing a swap meet, where the families who are on scholarship in the league can select equipment first at no charge, then the remainder of the families can select equipment for a fraction of the cost of new. The proceeds are being donated back to the league for more scholarships, so kids who couldn’t otherwise afford to play baseball will have the opportunity.
Some advice from Mom Darlene:
“Select a theme with your child early and enjoy the planning. My son wasn’t into planning all of the little details, but he always had veto power so the day would be one he would be proud to share with his friends. Splurge on a DJ because the experience is what people remember most. Select outstanding experienced vendors who will make your day memorable while making the experience effortless. Have activities for the kids who don’t like to dance or have the DJ plan more games or a conga line that everyone can join. Do as much as possible in advance because the last few weeks fly by. Leave plenty of time for errors (the calligrapher took 3 weeks instead of 3 days, signs had to be reprinted). I had prepared checks and tip envelopes for all of the vendors in advance and hired a day-of coordinator, who enabled me to focus on Jack’s service and not worry about executing our plan. I sent an email to all vendors a week in advance and the day before. Also, getting into the venue the day before allowed extra time for set up.”
The following vendors helped to make Jack’s Bar Mitzvah special. If you give any of them a call, let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Lansdowne Resort, 877-419-8400
Party Planner: Mom, Darlene
Day of Coordinator/Decor: Jamie Anderson, dmsjamie@aol.com
Photographer: Jof Panlaqui, 571-337-0095
Music Entertainment: DJ Mark Burch, Everything Entertainment, 240-351-5434
Place Cards: Lindor Truffles on Amazon.com
Favors: Marco Promotional Products, 877-545-9322
Party entertainment: Your Moment Photo Booth, 240-505-8017
Caricaturist: Ted Sanderson Caricatures
Invitation: Rose D’Arcangelis, Studio Rose Design
Baseball gift box: Mom Darlene
Cake: Marse Hammond, Marhamm@netzero.net
Sign-In board: Larger than Life Prints
Wheatgrass on escort table and centerpieces: by Mom Darlene
Signage: Signs by Tomorrow
Dresses for family members: Nordstrom and Ideel
Suits for family members: Nordstrom
Transportation: Chariots for Hire
