Larissa Dale celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at the South Huntington Jewish Center followed by an extended Kiddush luncheon at The Woodlands at the Greens in Melville, New York.
The following day Larissa’s party was held at The Larkfield Manor in Northport, New York.
The Dales put together two distinct celebrations with some really special touches.
Robert Moss of Michaels Photography and a cousin of the Dale family was the photographer and the rest of the vendors are listed at the bottom of this spotlight.
Pictured L-R: Bat Mitzvah girl Larissa, Dad Jim, Mom Carrie and younger sister Hallie.
Larissa’s Bat Mitzvah was a weekend event. Her service was Shabbat morning at the South Huntington Jewish Center and was followed by an extended Kiddush at The Woodlands at the Greens. For their Kiddush, the Dales kept it as close to shomer Shabbat as possible with the only exception of taking digital pictures.
Larissa proudly holding the torah at her formal photo shoot the week before
The foyer at The Woodlands at the Greens was elegant and welcoming
The room looked great and the venue made sure that Larissa had all her own gluten free food waiting for her at her own table
Award-winning Jewish a capella group Six13 serenaded Larissa and her guests
Magician Wayne entertained the young guests
Bat Mitzvah girl Larissa and her sister Hallie after the service
Mom Carrie does needlepoint and handmade a beautiful Tallit bag for Larissa’s special day.
These Tallit bags will take them into adulthood and Carrie is looking forward to hand making one for her younger daughter Hallie
Because they held two parties, the Dales used two different invitations. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) invitations were used for the Saturday service and Kiddish celebration and Debbie Lee of Invitation House created the Sunday party invitations.
When purchasing invitations from JNF, each invitation explains that a donation was made to expand water resources in Israel. This also served as Larissa’s Mitzvah Project
The hot pink and black zebra invitation set the tone for a fun party to follow
Both venues, The Woodlands at the Greens and The Larkfield Manor put on great celebrations and catered to Larissa’s unique catering needs. Larissa has Celiac disease and both venues made the Dale family feel comfortable and safe and worked hard to ensure Larissa could eat and enjoy her party.
While there was no set theme, there were very unique decor elements. Mitzvah Mom Carrie ordered jewelry holders in a variety of themes, from the Robyn Lynn Collection. Hi-Tech Photography & Party Decor took the individual jewelry holders and turned them into a Larissa themed centerpiece, also creating a base that utilized Larissa’s initials and color scheme.
The place card table had some of the special figurines and Larissa’s sign-in book which was created by Shutterfly.com
Hi-Tech created a base that utilized Larissa’s initials and color scheme to hold up the centerpieces
Each centerpiece was different and unique
Hi-Tech also created the “coming attraction” poster for younger sister Hallie’s upcoming Bat Mitzvah
MC Rich and the Parties Alive Entertainment crew provided non-stop music and dancing. The Dales made it clear that dancing and music is a big part of their lives and he did not disappoint!
Larissa clearly enjoying herself
The kids loved the music and dancers and remained on the dance floor the whole night
Larissa’s special gluten free cake was made by family friend Valerie, whose company is Cakes by Val. Larissa said, “It was the best gluten free cake she has ever had.”
The inspiration for the look of the cake came from a drawing Larissa did. The cake incorporated the logo and writing style that was used on the favors
Mom Carrie and Dad Jim really enjoyed the special dance with their Bat Mitzvah girl Larissa.
Mom Carrie and Larissa
Dad Jim’s turn with his daughter
Hi-Tech Photography & Party Decor created a candle lighting puzzle board. The board started with a baby picture of Larissa and as each person came up to “light” their candle, they placed a piece of a “new” puzzle over the old picture. When the last piece was placed, it was a current picture of Larissa.
When each guest came up to receive a candle, Larissa put the pieces on to make the new picture
Larissa posing in front of her finished puzzle!
Larissa’s sweatpants favors were created by Gotham T-shirt.
All the purple bags, from PaperMart.com, had Larissa’s logo on them
Larissa’s logo featured her initials, LBD, which stood for “Love, Believe, Dream”
Some advice from Mom Carrie:
“Enjoy every minute. Watching my daughter become a Bat Mitzvah is definitely the proudest moment of my life so far. The celebration that followed was just the icing on the cake. Everything will turn out fantastic so just try to relax and enjoy the process. It will be over before you know it!”
The following vendors helped to make Larissa’s celebration special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Kiddush Luncheon: The Woodlands at the Greens, 631-271-4929
Kiddush A Capella Group: Mike Boxer, Six13, 845-641-4939
Magician:Magician Wayne for Magic Al, 516-677-0883
Invitation for Service/Kiddush: Jewish National Fund
Invitation for Reception: Debbi Lee, Invitation House LI, 516-681-0664
Reception Venue/Caterer: Mariann, The Larkfield Manor, 631-368-4422
Photographer/Videographer: Robert Moss, Michaels Photography, 631-692-5600
Music Entertainment: MC Rich, Parties Alive Premiere Entertainment, 631-360-8600
Decor: Jenn, Hi Tech Photography & Party Decor, 516-871-0001
Extras: Photo booth, balloons, centerpieces, Coming Attraction Poster, Candle Lighting board: Hi-Tech Photography & Party Decor
Centerpieces: The Robin Lynn Collection
Sign-in Book: Shutterfly.com
Favors: Howie, Gotham T-Shirts, 516-676-0900
Calligraphy: Sheryl, All Type Calligraphy, 516-938-8088
Cake: Cakes by Val,Valerie, 516-509-5785
Favor bags: Paper Mart, 800-745-8800
Yarmulkes: South Huntington Jewish Center Sisterhood Gift Shop
Girls Outfits: 2 Be Seen
Mom Carrie’s dress: Saks Fifth Avenue
