The Feinstein family of Montville, New Jersey, celebrated son Andrew’s Bar Mitzvah on March 23, 2013, at Pine Brook Jewish Center in Pine Brook, New Jersey. The reception following was held at the One & Only Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, New Jersey.
Andrew’s Bar Mitzvah was close to the week of March Madness and basketball is his favorite sport. They wanted to find a way to make this theme unique. In between Mom’s busy work schedule, she selected some key vendors to pull the party together and make it special and fun.
Pictured above L-R: Dad Jon, Mom Shari, Bar Mitzvah boy Andrew and Brother Matthew.
Photography by Mario and Nina took care of the pictures and the rest of the vendors are at the end of the spotlight.
Andrew posed in front of the beautiful torahs wearing the tallit from his grandparents, Marvin and Marsha Serota
The classic invitation, navy blue and silver, was from Andrea Kronethal of Small Fry Press
Andrew’s love for college basketball was thoughtfully woven throughout the party. Mom Shari worked with Small Fry Press for awesome place cards. Joining the collaboration was Atlas Florists who created the centerpieces, sign-in board, background for the place cards and the archway sign that wowed guests when entering the ballroom
Basketball jersey shaped place cards were a real crowd-pleaser
A great decor element was custom signage with Andrew’s logo and lights that fit perfectly in the archway
Andrew standing in the ballroom before his guests arrived. The wall of windows were covered with blackout fabric by Atlas Florist to give a nighttime feel to a daytime party
The centerpieces were actual basketballs suspended in nets
Andrew and his friends really enjoyed the cocktail hour which took place in a heated tent outside the venue with pennants for every March Madness team
The basketball themed gift box
The dancers were dressed in referee uniforms
Andrew’s guests waving him into the room with custom printed rally towels
The dancers surrounded the guest of honor
Andrew up in the chair for the Horah
Andrew took over the MC duties from MC Gregg
The family incorporated a candle at each adult place setting and had each person light the candle with Andrew during his candle lighting
The Feinstein family took a minute for a great photo op
The desserts from The One and Only Westmount Country Club made a grand entrance with this flaming Baked Alaska to accompany a huge assortment of desserts and a sundae bar
Palermo’s Bakery scored big time with this custom cake for Andrew
Tying the March Madness theme together was Core Promotions who printed the sweatshirts, drawstring bags and the towels
Andrew and his closest friends kept the party going when they took a stretch limousine back to his house for a sleepover
…on their way to Andrew’s house
Drinks were given to guests as the party ended with custom labels from Small Fry Press
Mitzvah Project
Andrew teamed up with Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program and collected worn-out athletic shoes. Nike recycles them into material used in sports surfaces like basketball courts for kids around the world.
He collected hundreds of pairs of sneakers
Some advice from Mom Shari:
“Become important to a few vendors. Use their efficiencies and make it easier on yourself. For example, Small Fry Press not only created our invitations, they created the table place cards, name tags for the sweatshirts, water bottle labels and out of town guest cards. Atlas Florists created the centerpieces, but they also created the sign in board, created the scene for the place cards and the archway sign in the entrance to the ballroom. Pure Energy was the DJ for the evening but they supplied the photo bar, zap photos and plasma screens as well. Core Promotions printed the sweatshirts, drawstring bags and the napkins. Booking multiple tasks with these 4 vendors made my vendor list for the evening smaller than most affairs. Second Mom Advice: If you are a type A personality like me, leave it at home the day of the party. You hired your vendors to do their jobs, let them handle anything that comes up. Don’t get wrapped up in any issues and ENJOY the day/evening you worked so hard to plan.”
The following vendors helped to make Andrew’s Bar Mitzvah special. If you give any of them a call, let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com
Venue: Stephanie Del Gatto, One & Only Westmount Country Club, 973-256-2700
Photography/Videography: Mario, Photography by Mario and Nina, 973-696-2400
Decor: Matthew, Atlas Floral Decorators, 212-707-8355
Music Entertainment, plasma screens, zap Shots: MC Gregg, Pure Energy Entertainment, 800-419-5355
Invitation and place cards: Andrea, Small Fry Press, 914-747-6668
Sweatshirts, sports sack favors, towels napkins: Gerry, Core Promotions, 973-794-5355
Cake: Palermo’s Bakery, 201-614-1654
Card Box: Briana Deedmeyer, 908-692-5281
Name tags, water bottle labels, out of town guest cards: Small Fry Press, 914-747-6668
Mom’s dress: Coco’s Chateau, 973-812-8800
Men’s suits: Steve, The Clothing Center, 732-254-0870
Hair: Steven, Makeup: Kim, Bollo Salon, 973-402-3900