I was delighted to see this inspiring video when I woke up today.  The Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, in Portland, Oregon put together some great people for a great cause.. to a great song.  3,500,000 hits and counting.  Wow!

To everybody fighting breast cancer and to everyone supporting the cause… Onwards and upwards.

From the initial design session at their home back in February, I knew this had the potential to be an awesome night.  Jake was a popular, well-mannered guest of honor who liked to dance.  His parents, Brenda and Craig, knew exactly what they liked, what they didn’t like, and liked to dance as well.  His brothers, Matty and Sammy, were very cool and supportive.  We all played the home version of our cocktail hour favorites- the Interactive Game Show and Picture This Game right there in their living room!

The week before Jake’s Bar Mitzvah was the second indication that his Bar Mitzvah was going to be fabulous.  I came back to the house for the VIP meet-and-greet dance party. Jake had some of best friends over so they could share their special requests, tell me about the other Bar Mitzvahs they’ve gone to and could review all the most popular dances that we’d be doing on Saturday.   I even taught them a brand new dance that just came out on the Bar Mitzvah circuit, we named it the Jake G. Slide. Special thanks to my good friend DJ Jeffrey B. from the Blend Brothers who produced the audio mashup remix of Jay Sean’s number 1 hit Down which I used as the soundtrack for the choreography.  The kids had a great time and were totally pumped up for the main event.

The final ingredient in the perfect recipe was the location that the Gruber’s chose.  It was the Orange Lawn Tennis Club in South Orange, New Jersey.  The OLTC boasts an elegant ambiance and attentive hospitality thanks to the Catering Director, Lisa Haberman; delectable cuisine courtesy of their new executive “top chef,” Ariane Duarte; and a gorgeous new ballroom thanks to some major renovations by the club recently.

After all the phone calls, e-mails, site surveys, design sessions and dance lessons, the only thing left to do was PARTY!   I was told Jake did an excellent job at Temple in the morning…  by the time he got to the club, he was ready to party all night long, and that’s just what he did.

One of the event highlights was Craig’s toast.   He prepared  a heart-warming collection of personalized anecdotes and reflections which he delivered with sincere grace. Jake was beaming from ear-to-ear with his trademark grin that lit up the room.

I asked Craig for permission to share this paragraph from his toast.  He graciously obliged.

“Jake – I’m sure you already know this but you are a very special person. …

You have a certain charisma that is electrifying.  Your smile is contagious and you can change the tone of an entire room – I see you do it all the time. You’ve seen hard work pay off (for you) and you have that thirst to achieve.  Above all you are a dedicated brother and loyal friend to your buddies. Those relationships are the kind that makes the world go ’round.  Just continue to smile, be nice, and fair and most importantly – be yourself – because the self we’re seeing is looking real good.”

As a new father, I can only hope to feel the same way about my child someday.

So if a picture is worth a thousand words: fun, exceptional, unique and memorable is where I’d start my list.  Take a look at some of the other shots we took and what our Coney Island photo booth captured and make your own list.

Encore Gallery: