Gregory Marx celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on March 24, 2012 at the Marlboro Jewish Center in Marlboro, New Jersey.
Greg led the Mincha, Ma’ariv and Havdalah Services in the synagogue at Marlboro Jewish Center. After the service concluded, the guests proceeded into the cocktail room for the start of their celebration.
This family chose basketball as their theme to reflect Greg’s love of the sport and the New York Knicks.
The pictures and video were done by Mike of Unlimited Exposure and the rest of the vendors are listed at the bottom.
Pictured above (L-R): Dad David, Bar Mitzvah boy Greg, Brother Seth and Mom Robin.
“by dana” designed Greg’s custom invitation to reflect his theme. It was created with basketball paper with blue and orange print, the colors of the New York Knicks. The kippot, from BestKippah.com were in Knicks blue and imprinted with basketballs
To be comfortable for Greg’s celebration, Mom Robin created custom Nike sneakers to match the colors of the party
Marquis Florals designed the decor including the seating “cards” which were magnets of Greg’s logo. They were displayed on a board trimmed with logos of different NBA teams and players
Each seating card was a magnet
The ballroom was decorated with orange and blue linens and ceiling fabric
The backdrop with Greg’s logo lit up and the centerpieces on the children’s tables were basketball themed
The adult tables had orange and blue flowers
Jeffrey Craig provided the music entertainment with Jason Barbanel as the MC. Greg makes his entrance with dancers in a custom New York Knicks jersey
Greg and his guests having fun!
Jeffrey Craig also provided the photo favors and a can artist who made unique items out of recycled soda cans
Simon Elliot Events provided a customized digital i-Sign. After the celebration, Greg received a custom book with all his guest’s signatures
The “halftime show” was performed by Jack “Black Jack” Ryan known as The Hoop Wizard. He put on a show for the guests, performed basketball tricks with Greg, played a game with Greg and some of his friends and then walked around to give all of the guests a chance to spin a basketball
Greg gets in on the fun
Greg and his brother pose near the cake
Top Elements created the logos and favors. The favors were duffle bags, blankets and water bottles.
There was also a station for Greg’s friends to decorate basketball shorts for the boys and soffee shorts for the girls which had Greg’s logo on them
For dessert the guests were treated to a Viennese table that not only included a chocolate fountain but also white chocolate for dipping and a s’mores bar. On their way out of the party the guests were treated to a candy bar and a pastry bar to take treats home with them
S’mores station
For his Mitzvah project, Greg worked with a charity started by a family friend called STOMP the Monster. STOMP the Monster provides financial and other support to cancer patients and their families.
Greg sent out flyers to his friends and family and collected new and used children’s DVDs and cash to buy DVD players. STOMP the Monster then arranged for him to visit and donate them to three children’s hospitals.
Mom-to-Mom Advice: Although I started making all of the plans very early, at times the planning became very stressful. About a month before Greg’s Bar Mitzvah, one of my close friends got very sick and I tried to spend as much time with her as I could despite having a million things on my to-do list. Spending time with her helped to put everything in perspective for me. It helped me realize that the Bar Mitzvah is a happy occasion and all aspects of it should be enjoyable—even the planning. There are other things in life to stress over!
The following vendors helped to make Greg’s party special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Marlboro Jewish Center, 732-294-0032
Photography/Video: Unlimited Exposures, 732-617-1588
Invitations: Dana, by dana, 732-625-1471
Decor/Place cards: Kim, Marquis Florals, 732-441-4800
Digital iSign Board: Michelle Collins, Simon Elliot Events, 516-586-6822
Kippot: Best Kippah
Ladies’ Head Coverings: Tulle Time, 732-834-9766
Entrance Video: Jeffrey Craig, 732-536-3688
Basketball Show: Jack “Black Jack” Ryan, The Hoop Wizard
Mom’s Dress: Castle Couture, 732-617-1414
Music Entertainment/Montage: Jeffrey Craig, 732-536-3688
Photo Favors/Can Artist: Jeffrey Craig, 732-536-3688
Mom’s Makeup: Michelle Scott 732-312-6831
Favors: Judy, Top Elements, 732-972-8290
Mom’s Hair: Kristina Lauro 732-780-4300
Cocktail Hour Singers: Sibling Rivalry, 732-500-3589
