The St. Pierre family from Springfield, Virginia, celebrated their daughter Rachel’s Bat Mitzvah at Congregation Olam Tikvah in Fairfax, Virginia, followed by an evening reception at the Clarendon Ballroom in Arlington, Virginia.
Mom Ilisa created a fun save-the-date along with many great party details incorporating Rachel’s wish for a purple and lime green color scheme.
We featured sister Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah in 2013 which also included many DIY touches by Mom.
Pictured above (L-R): Mom Ilisa, Sister Sarah, Bat Mitzvah girl Rachel and Dad Stephen.
Zachary Ruben was the photographer and the rest of the vendor information is listed at the end of the spotlight.
Rachel’s save the date was a fun photo favor just like the family used to get at the beach! It was mailed to guests in a bright purple bubble mailer
When you looked inside there was a picture of Rachel holding a sign with the date. Everyone went crazy for them!
The invitation and thank you card from Action Invitations had glitter around the borders and purple print
Rachel did a great job on her Haftorah in front of family and friends
The St. Pierre family looked great, especially Rachel, in her lime green beaded cocktail dress
The happy face emoji logo was in party colors and designed by Ali Weitzman of iSparkleEvents
The party was at the Clarendon Ballroom which had an art deco feel. Mom Ilisa had a vision for this event and made all of the centerpieces and many decor details herself.
Labels with Rachel’s logo were tied onto the lanterns which served as escort cards and favors for the adults
The kids’ escort table had a large “R” for Rachel and it now hangs in her room!
Rachel in the ballroom ready for her party to start. In the background are lime green and purple paper lantern centerpieces made by Mom Ilisa
The ballroom was lit with purple up-lighting
“Celebrate Rachel” vodka luge for adults only!
Mom Ilisa made a beautiful photo book from Picaboo.com that included pictures of each guest with Rachel. Everyone found their page and wrote a note to Rachel
Rachel’s friends signed-in next to their picture
DJ Chad from Washington Talent was amazing and enjoyed by everyone. The party was supposed to stop at 12 midnight, but kept going until 1am! Rachel up on the chair looking stylish with her lime green hat
Dad and Rachel enjoyed a dance together to “Daughters” by John Meyer
Lots of high energy on the dance floor
Rachel lounged with her friends
There was a Havdallah Service at the beginning of the party on Saturday evening. Instead of a traditional candle lighting, Rachel called each person she wanted to honor to light a Havdallah candle. Rachel watched as Grandma Wendy Silver lit a candle
Each of the guests Rachel wanted to honor lit a candle and then returned to the floor. There were 15 candles lit around the room during the prayers
At the end of the evening Rachel’s friends received black sweatpants with Rachel’s logo from Mr D’s Tees
Tied with beautiful lime green ribbon
The escort table was turned over to become a candy bar for guests as they left the party
Rachel did two Mitzvah Projects. She ran a bake sale for Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO) a local food pantry and raised almost $300. Also, she collected toys and $1,000 for Dr. Bear’s Toy Closet at Children’s National Hospital. Here is Rachel with an overflowing SUV full of toys to give to sick children
Some advice from Mom Ilisa:
“My advice would be to do some research, narrow things down and create a vision for how you want the service and party to look and feel. Then make it happen. There is so much that you can do yourself with a little time and creativity. Surround yourself with awesome vendors and trust them to do the job. During the weekend, forget all of the planning and relax and enjoy. It goes too fast, so don’t spend the whole weekend worrying about details. The more fun you are have, the more fun your guest and child will have.”
The following vendors made Rachel’s celebration special. If you contact any of them please make sure they know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Sandra Hoehne, Director of Catering Clarendon Ballroom, 703-469-2244
Photographer/Videographer: Zachary Ruben Photography, 816-591-7198
Décor/labels: Mom Ilisa
Day of Service Coordination/Logo Design: Ali Weitzman, iSparkleEvents, 240-393-3394
Music Entertainment/MC: MC Chad, Washington Talent Agency, 301-762-1800
Favor person: Kevin, Mr. D’s Tees, 215-343-TEES
Invitation: Sami, Action Invitations, 703-880-8943
Save the Date Photo Favor: Radex, 800-527-2056
Paper Lanterns: Paper Lantern Store
Sign-In Book: Picaboo.com
Rachel’s Dress: Déjà vu Boutique
