The St. Pierre family from Springfield, Virginia celebrated their daughter Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah on February 16, 2013 at Congregation Olam Tikvah in Fairfax, Virginia and an evening reception at the Chantilly National Golf and Country Club in Centreville, Virginia.
Sarah wanted a glamorous, fun, high energy party and with the help of Mom Ilisa, that’s just what she got! We are excited to share their ideas and all the elements that Ilisa made herself for her daughter’s celebration.
Photography was done by Zachary Ruben and the rest of the vendor information is listed at the bottom of this spotlight.
Pictured above L-R: Mom Ilisa, Bat Mitzvah girl Sarah, younger sister Rachel and Dad Steve.
Sarah’s ceremony was at Congregation Olam Tikvah, Fairfax, Virginia.
Sarah ready for her service
The St. Pierre family at the Bimah
As a reminder to Save-the-Date, guests received rubber bracelets that were imprinted with “Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah 2-16-13”
Attached was an original poem
Sarah’s invitation in pastel colors
One of the creative touches by Mom Ilisa were the ribbon wands she made for each guest. There were many trips to craft stores like A.C. Moore and Michaels but we think it was worth it! They hung on blue glitter poles that spelled out Sarah’s first and middle name.
Guests’ names and table numbers were printed on the stick and looked great on display
They also doubled as toys to use on the dance floor and looked great in the photos
The color scheme was royal blue and pink. The feather centerpieces, made by creative Mom Ilisa, were from kits that she found online at Fabulous Feathers and put together herself.
Hanging crystals and lights added to the bling factor
The table numbers were frames found on clearance at Michaels and then she used rhinestone scrapbook stickers for the numbers
So Fresh Entertainment with MC Chad and his amazing team kept the dance floor packed the entire evening with no breaks!
MC Chad singing to Sarah
Lots of fun on the dance floor
Instead of a traditional candle lighting, the St. Pierre family asked each person they wanted to honor to come up and light a Havdalah candle. All the guests stood in a circle on the dance floor. They had 15 candles and after everyone’s candle was lit, they all sang the Havdalah service.
The candle lighting took place at the beginning of the party, went quickly and didn’t create a big lull in the middle of the night
The room looked great all lit up with these 15 candles
Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah cake was created by Wanda’s Cakes.
Another one of Mom Ilisa’s touches was the guest sign-in book that she created on Picaboo.com. It featured photos of every guest with the Bat Mitzvah girl together at some time during her life!
Everyone signed near their photo
Sarah and her Mom developed the logo idea, then sent it off to J-Dogs Amusements and Promotional Products Co. where they put the logo on the Soffe shorts for the girls and mesh shorts for the boys.
The poles were used again for the favor bags display. The bags were packed with pops of colored paper and Sarah’s logo on the tag
The caterer at the Chantilly National Country Club did a s’mores bar which was a huge hit. They also had an ice cream sundae bar, and cake, coffee and hot chocolate stations.
Guests loved the delicious s’mores bar
Ilisa created the candy bar herself using glass containers from Walmart and bling adhesive from Michaels
For her Mitzvah Project, Sarah collected donations of new toys and/or money to benefit Dr. Bear’s Toy Closet at Children’s National Medical Center.
A well- stocked Dr. Bear’s Closet ensures that every patient has a gift for holidays, birthdays and most importantly, a little something to serve as a reward for their courage in fighting an illness. All of her guests brought toys to the party and she collected an entire SUV (back seats down) full of toys to bring to the hospital!
Sarah on the way to bring her donations over to Children’s National Medical Center
Advice from Mom Ilisa:
“The only thing I would change is to have the caterer save dinners for Steve and myself for after the party. Neither of us ate one bite the whole night!”
The following vendors helped to make Sarah’s celebration special. If you give any of them a call, please let them know you read about their product or services on MitzvahMarket.com.
Venue: Chantilly National Country Club, 703-631-9560
Music Entertainment: MC Chad, So Fresh Entertainment, Washington Talent Agency, 301-762-1800
Photographer: Zachary Ruben Photography, 816-591-7198
Cake: Wanda’s Cakes, 703-830-3866
Additional DIY decor: Mom Ilisa from Michaels and Walmart
Invitation: Sami, Action Invitations, 703, 880-8943
Centerpiece Kit: FabulousFeathers.net
Custom Guest-book: Picaboo.com
Favors: Mark, J-Dogs Amusements – Promotional Products Co, 856-336-2585
Rubber-bands: Wrist-band.com, 800-481-2263
Dresses: Bat Mitzvah girl Sarah, Jessica McClintock
Mom’s dress: Nordstrom, sister Rachel’s dress, Lord & Taylor
