It was an easy decision to pick the venue for the B’not Mitzvah of Madison and Joey Siegel. The Siegels are owners and directors of Tyler Hill Camp, a popular sleep away camp in Tyler Hill, Pennsylvania. The weekend started with a bus ride to camp followed by a delicious barbecue lunch. Color War broke out with a plane dropping down flyers, setting off lots of excitement. The weekend was filled with a lakeside Havdallah service, Color War breakout and competition, lots of dancing plus a bonfire and fireworks.
Pictured L-R: Dad Andy, Bat Mitzvah girl Joey, Bat Mitzvah girl Maddie, little sister Dylan and Mom Wendy.
The photographer was Dave Welsford Photography. The rest of the vendor information is listed at the end of this spotlight.
Wow Creations designed the fold-over invitation in the girls favorite colors of purple with apple green trim.. The attire read, “Labor Day Cool” for adults and “Club Chic” for the kids
The outside of the envelope featured a cute round sticker with their names
Bat Mitzvah girl Joey greeting her guests as the buses arrive
A plane flew overhead dropping flyers announcing the Color War breakout!
Flyers with guests on Team Maddie or Team Joey were dropped from the plane
Whether you were on Team Joey or Team Maddie, everyone enjoyed the friendly competition
The sneaker relay competition
Friends liked the tug-of-war rope competition
The Havdallah service, led by Rabbi Diana Gerson, was held near the lake in the gazebo on the beautiful grounds of Tyler Hill Camp.
The first half of the service took place outside
Homemade service programs
The weather report for the weekend was questionable and since they wanted the service to be outside there was a “Plan B.” They arranged in advance for the Dining Hall to be set up for an indoor service. As it turned out, there was a massive thunderstorm in the middle of the outdoor service. Just as it was about to pour, they hustled everyone inside and they picked up the service right where they left off! As luck would have it, the rain stopped just as the service ended and the cocktail hour was outside
Large cut out letters of the girl’s names lined the path into camp
Here’s Maddie next to her letters
The place cards for the adults were handwritten letters as if Maddie and Joey were writing from camp. They were displayed on thick tree bark
The Rec Hall had a “club look” with curved lounge furniture and up lighting from Todd Yahney Entertainment
Homemade containers of s’mores ingredients served as delicious centerpieces on each table
The girls looked beautiful in their service dresses and their party gowns. Here they are in their white service dresses holding candy centerpieces for the kids tables
Both girls changed into beautiful gowns for the party
Todd Yahney Music and Entertainment, who is used to visiting camps all summer, provided the music entertainment and kept the dance floor packed all night long! Todd Yahney Entertainment set up and ready to rock!
The sisters making their entrances…
With the help fo the Todd Yahney Entertainment dancers
Everyone was on the dance floor all night long
MC Todd having fun with Maddie, Joey and their friends
The Siegel family front and center with all of their guests
Maddie and Joey during their candle lighting ceremony surrounded by their friends
You can’t have camp without a bonfire
After the party, the night ended with a wonderful camp tradition, fireworks!
The favors were burn-out hooded sweatshirts from Everything Camper. The girls model their sweatshirt favors
On Sunday morning guests enjoyed brunch and the Sunday morning camp tradition of “Bagel Toss.” Bagel Toss is an activity all campers love. Each bunk gets to elect a counselor to throw a bagel. The counselor that gets it the closest to the target without going out of bounds wins a prize for the bunk!
Getting ready for the Bagel Toss
Mitzvah Project
Maddie and Joey chose two organizations for their Mitzvah Projects.
Through UJA-Federation they created a personal page. Check it out here
Instead of gifts, the Siegel family asked guests to make a donation to one of two organizations that best “spoke to them.” SCOPE-NY (Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education) is an organization that provides scholarships for inner-city kids to go to a non-profit sleep-away camp every summer. The other organization was a Long Island day camp, Camp Kehilla. Camp Kehilla is a camp for kids with Autism and special needs. So far, they have raised more than $11,000 for Camp Kehilla and $10,000 for SCOPE. They are going to be volunteering for both organizations as well.
Some Mom Advice from Wendy:
“Oy…I wish I had relaxed more and not worried about what was out of my control. If your event is dependent on the weather, be prepared for anything and everything, make your alternative “inclement weather” plans ahead of time and then move on. I focused so much on the weather report (the Weather Channel app still haunts me in my dreams) that I had a hard time staying focused on the rest of the plans for the weekend. I think I would have enjoyed the planning ten times more if I had not obsessed over whether it would or would not rain! Rain or no rain, it would be the most memorable and amazing experience for my daughters — and that was what it was all about! I also wish I had extended my invitation list to more of our friends and not worried about whether or not the venue would be too crowded. The more the merrier, and I regret that I didn’t invite a couple of more people that I wish had been there simply because I was worried about space.”
Vendor Directory
The following vendors made Maddie and Joey’s B’not Mitzvah very special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Andy and Wendy Siegel, Tyler Hill Camp, 516-656-4220
Rabbi: Diana Gerson, Our Family Rabbi
Party Planners: Mom Wendy and Dad Andy
Caterer: Tyler Hill Camp chefs along with chefs from Lake Bryn Mawr Camp and Conference Center
Photographer/Montage: Dave Welsford Photography
Videographer: D and M Video 201-768-1899
Music Entertainment/Candid Photography/Photo Favors/Lounge Decor/Up lighting: MC Todd, Todd Yahney Entertainment, 516-781-4700
Favors: Jessica Jacobs, Everything Apparel, 516-450-5288
Invitation: Suzi Evangelatos, Wow Creations, 516-997-0451
Cake: Rockland Bakery, 845-623-5800
Décor/florist: Carmen Bolin Floristry, 800-263-9975
Madison, Joey service dresses: Fetch Dress Boutique, 516-864-0660
Madison, Joey and sister Dylan’s dress: Nikki’s Dresses, 631-385-6093
Mom’s service dress: M’stique, 516‑496‑3488
Mom Party Outfit: Lester’s
Hair/makeup: Stefanie 516-351-7953
Transportation: Stout’s Transportation, 800-245-7868
Party security: Tyler Hill Camp staff
