Like her brother, Julia has a very bubbly personality, is very bright, and isn’t shy when it’s time to dance.  When I did the V.I.P meet & Greet Dance Party at the Kirschenbaum home one week before the Bat Mitzvah (part of the Signature Simcha Service that MMP offers exclusively), Julia and her best friends Sidney, Brooke, Alexa, and Erica all showed the same enthusiasm as well.  We practiced everything from the Cotton Eyed Joe Remix to the Down Dance to The Apache.

At the reception, one of my favorite moments was the Face The Cookie competition from Minute To Win It.   This interactive has by far been the most fun to play and the most entertaining to watch when we recently polled our clients.    The most sentimental moment was the parent’s toasts.   Just when I thought they couldn’t top the toasts they gave to Josh, Wendy and Abram delivered in fine-fashion once again.  Eloquent and heartfelt.   

For Josh, who is a big Beatles fan, we played Hey Jude for his event finale song in which all of his friends and family gathered in a circle to sing a long to give him the proper send-off.  For Julia, we went with Lean On Me, which was remade by the cast of the hugely popular T.V show Glee. It was perfect because all of the kids who watch the show knew the words and all of the adults who grew up listening to the original by Bill Withers sang their hearts outs also!

Best wishes to Julia, Josh, Wendy and Abram.   -mp

Special thanks to Milan from Milan Photography for sharing his photos for this article.  It’s always a pleasure working together.   Check out Milan’s work in the delicious Sweet Utopia book and blog.  -mp

Encore Gallery:

April 16, 2005- Arissa giving a toast to her big sister Ilana. "Thank you for hiring Marcello to be the DJ.... I want him at my Bat Mitzvah too."

It felt a little like working at the Make A Wish Foundation.  Not only did Arissa thank her parents for “hiring Marcello” during her toast to her sister back in 2005,  she also said, “I want Marcello to be the DJ at my Bat Mitzvah!”; which you can see from the photo, filled the room with laughter.

As we all  know, life moves pretty fast.   Three years later it was her brother Ethan’s turn.  And then finally, last Saturday night- 5 years later- it was Arissa’s night to shine.

From the interactive cocktail hour to the grand entrance to the last dance; the Gazda’s and their family and friends partied like rock stars. I truly believe that some people were put on this earth to celebrate life and to teach the world to sing.  Nancy, Ken, Ilana, Ethan and Arissa definitely make the list…  The Landmark was over-flowing with positive energy.

March 27, 2010. Arissa, Marcello, Ilana and Ethan

At one point in the opening dance set, we played the remix of One Love, by my friend, Nick Ditri.  He’s part of the platinum selling duo of uber-producers known as The Disco Fries. We had Arissa and a dance-floor full of guests doing the Jersey Shore fist pump and jumping up and down like it was a New Years Eve celebration in Times Square.  What a moment!

I was little concerned about having such a festive-frenzy so early in the event.  Really, it’s like.. where do you go from here?   Thankfully, it was a typical Gazda fiesta with limitless enthusiasm and joyful fervor. We experienced several similar peaks throughout the night; whether it was dancing to a Blend Brother’s remix of Don’t Stop Believing, playing Face the Cookie from the hit show Minute to Win It or singing along to the new friendship circle anthem, ‘Lean On Me’ from the Glee soundtrack… we were in perfect harmony from start to finish.

Nancy, Arissa and Ken

If you’ve got a minute, check out the video testimonial (below) that MMP Entertainment‘s production manager, Frank Di Giacomo,  captured at the end of the event on the “Frankie D Cam.” (Our future clients really enjoy seeing and hearing candid thoughts and opinions directly from other families who were once in their position; having to consider a significant investment in the entertainment for their event and wanting the peace of mind of knowing that they’re making the right choice.) Look out for more 21st century word-of-mouth video clips in our future articles.  I think you’ll agree that we made Arissa’s Bat Mitzvah dreams come true. She wasn’t shy with her feedback. 

Special thanks to Dee from the Landmark for her hospitality and professionalism.  Hugs and kisses to Nancy and Ken for their friendship, patronage and generosity.

Encore Gallery:

Air Brush Tatoos

Mock Rock

Game Show