An Ocean Themed Bat Mitzvah Celebration

The Turnof family from Westfield, New Jersey, celebrated daughter’s Kayla’s Bat Mitzvah service on Saturday, February 27, 2016, at Temple Beth‑El Mekor Chayim in Cranford, New Jersey. After services, there was a party in her honor at the Clubhouse at Galloping Hill in Kenilworth, New Jersey. Kayla has a strong love of the ocean which worked perfectly with her logo, Kayla’s Caribbean Cove.

Pictured: L-R: Dad Aaron, Brother Cole, Bat Mitzvah girl Kayla, Brother Chase and Mom Stacy.

Photography by Gina was the photographer and the rest of the vendor information is listed at the bottom of the spotlight.

Mitzvah Invitation and Service

Guests received a “message in a bottle” invitation assembled by Danielle Gorman of Magnolia West Events.

Kayla's brand stamp was featured as the "K" in the starfish on top of the invitation. The glass bottle was filled with sand and seashells and delivered in a beautiful box with aged parchment in colors of sand and turquoise

Kayla looked beautiful in her tallit in shades of blue

Beautiful kippot from David Kippot

Beautiful handmade ladies' head coverings in white lace with turquoise rhinestones

Mitzvah Style

The Turnof family looked great in a palette of blue/green tones and pink accents

Kayla looked beautiful in an emerald green dress. Her brothers wore pink Vineyard Vines fish ties and flashing LED sneakers in colors to coordinate with the party decor

Kayla in her royal blue service dress

Mitzvah Decor and Details

Danielle Gorman of Magnolia West Events created an underwater paradise and worked closely with Mom Stacy and Dad Aaron on every detail.

As her sign-in board, guests were asked to place a "message in a bottle" on parchment paper in a oversized glass bottle

Dad Aaron created a handmade treasure chest where guests could drop cards in for Kayla

The place card table was covered with antique fish netting (bought in Maine) and beautiful hydrangea and sea shells

For Kayla Turnof's Bat Mitzvah, guests found their starfish place cards in an antique box filled with sand. The starfish used were not real as it was important to the family not to deplete the ocean of real starfish

The kids' area looked like an underwater scene with beautiful greenery hanging off the tresses

Tables were named after Caribbean Islands and chairs were covered in turquoise spandex to make the room come to life under the sea!

A lounge area created from pallets were painted turquoise with custom logo pillows as accents

The adult tables had large glass vases filled with a live beta fish surrounded by coral and candles and topped off with a beautiful rose and hydrangea centerpiece. Custom menus were tucked into napkins

Mitzvah Entrance, Cake and Candle Lighting

Todd Yahney of Todd Yahney Music & Entertainment was the DJ and provided great music, a beautiful montage and lots of interactive fun including a photo booth.

Kayla Turnof made her grand entrance on a custom surfboard on wheels designed by her Dad

Kayla up in the chair for the horah

A blue four-tiered cake with edible pearls and sea shells from Conca D'Oro was delicious and added to the room decor

The candle lighting table included fishbowls accented with glassware, sea glass, sea shells and star fish

The family was all smiles during the beautiful ocean themed candle lighting

Mitzvah Favors and Dessert

In addition to the airbrushed custom beanies provided during the party, the kids also received large boogie boards complete with Kayla’s brand stamp. Guests also received a bag of salt water taffy, (flavors such as key lime pie and coconut), as well as bottles of water with her custom logo on them.

Salt water taffy, yum!

Boogie board favors

100 pounds of candy were displayed in large glass fish bowls and guests used real fish nets to get the candy

Kayla’s Mitzvah Project

Kayla participated with her family in Beach Sweeps in association with the Ocean Conservancy where she cleaned up the beach in Belmar, New Jersey. She also ran several days of lemonade sales at her grandparents’ beach house also in Belmar where she raised over $500 for the Ocean Conservancy. Kayla has a strong love for keeping the ocean clean and keeps a large salt water tank in her room where she has various fish and sea horses.

Kayla cleaning the beach in Belmar, New Jersey

Her family pitching in

Some Mom to Mom advice from Stacy

“Planning ahead is absolutely essential. As soon as we got our daughter’s date, we searched for our place. Lots of spreadsheets and note taking make this a fun and pain free process. By the last month, almost everything was done except for a few minor issues. My husband was extremely active in the process which made the planning much easier for me. Pinterest was a great resource for getting ideas – create a board and share it with your family and party planner.”

Vendor Directory

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

Venue: The Clubhouse at Galloping Hill, 201-321-0518
Photography: Photography by Gina, 908-668-0464 
Videography: Gerry Condez Photography, 908-578-3685
Event Planner/Decor/Invitation: Danielle Gorman,  Magnolia West Events, 201-579-0542
Music Entertainment/Montage/Photobooth: Todd Yahney Music and Entertainment,  800-729-8633
Extra Entertainment/Favors: TopGun Air Brush, 718-819-1094
Cake: Conca D’Oro Italian Pastry Shop, 908-964-1234
Kippot: DavidKippotUSA, 917-683 5879
Kayla’s service and party dresses: CW Designs at Gotham City Clothing, 973-467-9797
Mom Stacy’s service and party dress: Kay Unger and Jovani from Neiman Marcus
Dad Aaron’s suit: Hong Kong Grand Custom Clothing, 702-491-9122
Brother’s party clothing: Sam’s Clothing, 973-422-1000
Tallit: World of Judaica, 800-818-8394