A Candy Themed Bat Mitzvah Celebration

A family from Cobleskill, New York, celebrated daughter Madelyn’s Bat Mitzvah on August 15, 2015, with a service at Temple Israel in Albany, New York, and a reception immediately following at Franklin Terrace Ballroom in Troy, New York.

Madelyn wanted a colorful Bat Mitzvah theme filled with never-ending sweets so the family came up with “Madelicious.” Her cheerful and happy theme included lots of candy decor, signage and special DIY touches all made by an incredibly creative Mom and inspiration from Mitzvah Market.

We featured brother Harrison’s Bar Mitzvah a few years back, click here to read about his luncheon with a chess theme, followed by fun at the Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Water Park in Lake George, New York

Pictured L-R: Brother Harrison, Mom Elise, Bat Mitzvah girl Madelyn and Dad Marc.

Collen Piccolino from More than Memories Photography was the photographer and the rest of the vendor information is listed at the end of the spotlight.

Invitation & Service

The family worked with Caryn Poskanzer of Caryn’s Occasions on the white and pink invitation and kippot.

The RSVP card read, "Madelicious Teen Buffet" giving a hint to the theme. There was a laser-cut rosy design that was carried onto the information card as well

The traditional Saturday morning service was held at Temple Israel

All smiles from Dad and Madelyn on her special day

Madelyn held the Torah next to the very proud Cantor

Candy themed kippot

Mitzvah munchies were set up for something sweet during services

Mitzvah Seating

Mom Elise created the place cards and signage with Madelyn's name wrapped in dots for a playful twist

Each place card was personally cut out by Mom Elise using a die-cut machine. There were place cards for some special guests including: President and Mrs. Obama and Cinderella and Prince Charming to name a few!

Mitzvah Details

Mitzvah Market made a match! After Madelyn’s older brother’s spotlight was featured on MitzvahMarket.com, Mom Elise connected with Karen, one of our readers. Elise helped Karen with her daughter’s theme using some of Elise’s ideas from her son’s celebration.  Karen walked Elise through every detail of making the giant lollipop centerpieces. They never met or spoke on the phone, they just emailed for well over a year and offered advice to one another.

The centerpieces were displayed in colorful rice filled vases. The multi-colored napkins looked great on the black linens and the napkin rings were SLAP bracelets with gummy bears, dots and licorice on them

A mix of the colorful centerpieces added punch to the room. Many of the children took home the lollipop centerpieces and are using them creatively for other parties and even as jewelry holders!

During Madelyn's candle lighting ceremony, her grandmother came up to the James Taylor song "How Sweet It Is," (To be loved by you) incorporating a touch of the candy theme

A great picture of Madelyn with Mom and Dad

The cheerful bathroom basket filled with all the necessities and a cute note that read: Fix your hem or tie up your hair, freshen your breath or mend a tear. This basket holds the kitchen sink and much more… Feel free to use what you need & head back to the dance floor! From a Candy Themed Celebration

Dance floor socks placed on each table

Mitzvah Oy Vey

The family helped assemble, move and store the centerpieces.

Lollipops set up in the house were a little overwhelming, but fun to look at!

There were many trips back and forth from their house to the venue with lollipops stacked in the truck!

Mitzvah Sign-in

Donuts and candy pillows were used for the sign-in. Mom Elise created the “Madelicious” sign using real candy dots and letters from a craft store.

Madelyn's Barbie car was used for holding lollipops at the sign-in table

Even the wheels of the Barbie car had the logo!

Guests signed sweet messages to Madelyn

Mitzvah Video

The family had Stan Stokas from Rappit.com create a custom “rap song” video about Madelyn. During the cocktail hour, the video and song played continuously at the entrance to the Franklin Terrace Ballroom.

Watch here

Mitzvah Music & Fun

Conway Entertainment with DJ Kyle and a great party motivator immediately entertained the kids with games galore. They had awesome prizes and give-aways including: blow up shoes, hats and gift cards. Foto Magic supplied the amazing photo booth that all the guests loved.

A comfy chair for the Horah

Madelyn and friends had a blast on the dance floor

Competition was heated for the kids to win Dunkin' Donuts gift cards and other favors during the DJ game time

Madelyn's Aunt Amy, Uncle Joe and Cousins Hunter and Emma

Photo props were a big hit including the masks

Cake & Exit Treats

Aimee Yorke, an amazing baker and local mom, created her first Bat Mitzvah cake for Madelyn! Mom Elise created the candy bar and decorations using supplies from Oriental Trading, Shindigz and Rhode Island Novelty. 

It was delicious and carried out the candy themed beautifully

This sign says it all!

The biggest hit was the giant jaw breakers, and Madelyn's friends are still enjoying them!

Here's to making this a "Madelicious" good-bye Baked by Melissa is something you just have to try! Enjoy the cupcakes as you go on your way... Thank you for coming and sharing this "Madelicious" Day

Mitzvah Wow!

The family sent President and Mrs. Obama an invitation and got a very nice response. 

A great keepsake!

Mitzvah Project

Madelyn is a softball player.  She truly loves playing the sport.  However, there was always something bothering her about it.  It was the lack of a true softball field in our town.  As it turns out, her small town only has a little league baseball field which the softball players do not get much playing time on.  The softball teams often are scheduled for a grassy field without a dugout, stands or even a bathroom.  Madelyn decided that the girls needed a field of their own to host tournaments and feel good about.  Therefore, she approached the mayor about the issue.  Land was secured for the future home of “Fast Pitch Fields:  It’s a Girl Thing” and the fundraising began to prepare the fields.  Madelyn secured a grant, held a dance and a Zumba-thon raising over $2,500 towards Fast Pitch Fields.  The real magic happened when one event led to another and subsequent fundraisers were planned throughout the summer to continue to contribute to this effort.  Madelyn has now teamed up with her Girl Scout troop members and will continue the movement as her silver award project planning a softball clinic this spring.  What started out as a Mitzvah Project keeps growing and will continue to inspire young girls to play softball in our town.

Madelyn was featured twice in the local newspaper for her Mitzvah Project

Mom to Mom Advice

Some advice from Mom Elise:
“It is never too early to start planning and thinking of ideas.  Do not be afraid to do-it-yourself so that whatever you are doing turns out exactly as you pictured it.  Be sure to have someone to bounce ideas off of.  Much of the planning must be ‘talked through’ for it to come alive as pictured. Having a site like Mitzvah Market to turn to for a never-ending flood of ideas was very important. In addition, in our case, most of the guests had never been to a Bat Mitzvah before so it was equally important to help our guests understand the special meaning of the celebration. Everyone was thrilled to be a part of such a milestone and the genuine feedback was heartwarming.”

Vendor Directory

The following vendors helped to make Madelyn’s Bat Mitzvah special. If you give any of them a call, let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.

Temple: Temple Israel, 518-438-7858
Venue: Franklin Terrace Ballroom, 518-274-3421
Photographer Colleen Piccolino, More Than Memories, 518-514-8632
Logo Design: Adam, Gotham T-shirt
Invitations/Kippot: Caryn  Poskanzer, Caryn’s Occasions, 518-438-1803
Label Printing/Programs/Hospitality notes: Race Printing, 518-234-4442
Centerpiece and Room Decor/Stickers/Table numbers/Place cards: Mom Elise
Centerpiece Decor Idea: Mitzvah Mom Karen
Music Entertainment: Conway Entertainment, 518-882-7216
Photo booth/magnets: FotoMagic, 518-877-3046
Entrance video: Dan Stokas, Rappitt.com
Exit Treat cupcakes: Baked By Melissa 
CAKE: Aimee Yorke,  aimyorke@yahoo.com
Dance socks: Cool Party Favors, 877-328-6778
Bat Mitzvah girl Madelyn’s Dress: Terani, Ferri’s Formals, 518-374-3464
Mom Elise’s dress: Ursula of Switzerland, Fancy Schmancy Couture, 518-452-1269
Men’s Suit’s Macy’s