Claudia's Comic Strip Bat Mitzvah

Oh gosh I'm so behind on blogging...but I've finally gotten a little break since Bar and Bat Mitzvah is just about over so I can post a few of my favorites. I'll start with Claudia. Her Bat Mitzvah was in February and it was fabulous. Chillin' with Claudia was her theme and she had a custom comic strip made for her party theme. It really was super original. I've been to a lot of Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties and I've not seen this before. Her service was in the morning at Temple Emanuel in Dallas and her party was later that evening at Royal Oaks Country Club. Randi did a great job with the planning and DJ Haze and Fenton rocked the party. It's so much fun to look back at her photos and relive her amazing day. Here are the highlights.

Claudia's family had be photograph their Shabbat Dinner at The Mercury.

 A few of the pretty details from the dinner.

 Claudia listening to her dad welcome the guests.

They had a quick Shabbat Service.

 Then they did a candle lighting ceremony. I love this tradition. Probably because it reminds me of my nieces and nephew's Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and I just don't see it very often in Texas. I love that everyone gets to come up an light a candle and if you listen to the rhyming poem you can learn a lot about the family and what they do together. So fun!

 At the end Claudia is lit by all the candles. Love this!

 Saturday morning we met before the service to take family photos at the Temple. Claudia is such a beautiful girl, I love photographing her.

With her mom and dad.

 And her amazing sister. I got to photograph Morgan's Bat Mitzvah a few years ago so it was fun to see how much she's grown up. You can see her Bat Mitzvah photos here.

 So cute.

 The whole family.

 Claudia on the Bimah.

 The family with the Torah.

 A few service details.

 Later that evening it was time for Claudia's big party. We had spent a few hours taking photos to use for her decor and I love how all the photos I took of her were prominently placed. We had taken a photo of her that mirrored the comic Claudia and they were back to back at the entrance. Then every table had a light up box with photos on two sides and a comic word bubble on the other two sides. Such a fun idea and a great use of photos :)

 The room was filled with purple light and had the comic strip across one wall.

 The tables had the boxes, flowers, candy and candles on them

 Claudia and her family arrived a little early so I could photograph them in their party clothes.

Love this one.

 Claudia made her grand entrance at the end of a comic video that ended with Comic Claudia opening a door and then Real Claudia burst through the paper.

and the party started.

 Montage.

 Group photo.

 Father Daughter Dance.

Bonnie danced with her dad while Monte danced with both his daughters.

 The Hora

Everyone went up in the chair.

And the family ended the dance together in the middle of the circle.

 Snowball dance. Of how I love the snowball dance. Just look at all the girls waiting to see who gets picked next and the boys...where are the boys? ahh to be 13 again.

 DJ Haze kept the dance floor packed all night.

 Somehow their ended up being a ladies on one side, men on the other singing battle near the end of the night.

 Finally the family ended the night standing on the DJ table above the crowd. So.Much.Fun.

Mazel Tov Claudia! Your Bat Mitzvah was amazing and I can't wait for the next time you get to model for me.

Sydney's Cirque du Sydney Bat Mitzvah

Yesterday I had the honor of photographing Sydney's fabulous Bat Mitzvah in Dallas. I've been waiting 2 years for this one and it did not disappoint. Her service was at Temple Shalom and the party later was at The W Hotel. Both venues are such great places to take photos. Jennifer of Tie a Bow planning did an amazing job creating Cirque du Sydney. Here's a peek.

We started our day with some beautiful portraits before the service.

 I love Sydney's Tallit. The color is so vibrant and is mirrors her personality so well.

 A few with her dads.

 Sydney is simply gorgeous. I could photograph her all day long.

 A few detail photos of her Yamulkes and Tallit. Her whole day was so full of bright bold beautiful color

 Temple Shalom is one of the few temples where I can photograph the service. I absolutely love that. It was wonderful to listen to Sydney read from the Torah and see the pride in her family's faces during the service.

 This is my favorite part when the Bat Mitzvah gets to carry the Torah around the sanctuary.

 Her dad and her papa both read speeches and got just a little emotional.

 Then the Rabbi who performed her baby naming ceremony sang a song called "You are a Blessing" and even I got teary eyed.

 After the service there was a luncheon at the temple. Love those giant confetti filled balloons decorating the kids tables!

 ...and the floral centerpiece on the main table was stunning.

 At the end we got a chance to photograph Sydney with were name in lights. Fun!

 Later that evening the party was at The W Hotel in Dallas. Sydney had this beautiful sign in book made by me with photos we took when I set up a little studio at her home one Sunday afternoon.

Here are a few of the pages the guests were able to leave her messages on.

 As the guests entered They were greeted by some Cirque characters and light boxes filled with beautiful photos I took of Sydney.

 Once thy got upstairs it was a circus of bright bold color.

 Flowers, feathers, cirque characters and personalized wine bottles decorated the tables.

 And light and dancers filled the room with more color.

 The family arrived a little early so I could get a few photos in their party clothes.

 and out on the balcony with the skyline in the background. It was an overcast day and the lack of color in the sky really made her dress and logo pop with color. Perfection!

 Love this one!

 Sydney's grand entrance.

 Followed by a dance performance.

 with a little confetti shower.

 Then her friends did a rap for her.

 And of course there was a Hora.

 And a snowball dance.

And finally dances with her dad and papa.

Mazel Tov Sydney! You are amazing!