Melisa Imberman, president of The Event of a Lifetime, truly knows how to plan the event of a lifetime. You may not have even realized what “the event of a lifetime means” until you scan through the galleries on her website, filled with images of events she’s done in the past that include extravagant details most people wouldn’t even dream of.
One of Melisa’s specialties includes planning Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, the Jewish coming-of-age celebrations for boys and girls, respectively. Melisa sat down with us to share some of her insight on planning the perfect party that everyone will remember for a lifetime.
What are the main points of focus that most families should consider while planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah?
The first thing a family should do is to try to figure out approximately how many people they are going to invite. The number of guests is a large factor in choosing the appropriate venue and indicator of your budget. Once that is done, I like to sit with the family and talk about how they see the day. Do they want it to be; formal, casual, traditional…? What’s most important; food, music…?
What are some smaller details they should consider for the day that make a big impact?
I don’t really consider this a small detail, but it’s not one of the main factors…I think it’s really important to find a way to personalize the day. My goal is for the guests to see the families influence in small details and recognize what’s important in the guest of honor’s life. Another small detail that can have a huge impact is planning. There are so many things to coordinate before and during the party and proper planning can prevent many common mishaps from occurring.
What can a professional event planner bring to the planning of this event?
An event planner can alleviate your stress and help you to enjoy the planning process as well as the big day. An event planner can also introduce you to vendors, keep you on schedule and save you time and money.
What has been your favorite Bar Mitzvah venue?
I don’t have a favorite venue as everything I do is custom, so I’m always looking for the right fit for each client. I love to plan parties in unique venues and venues that are a blank canvas that I can transform.
What is your favorite part of planning Bar/Bat Mitzvahs?
I particularly like finding a way to make each Bar/Bat Mitzvah unique and incorporating things that are important to the guest of honor.
How have the fun socks added to the occasion?
Because I feel that it’s so important to personalize your day, I try to do it in many different ways. Socks are a great way to express your personality. In the first picture, the bar mitzvah boy and his Dad sported matching chili pepper socks. Although it was a sport themed party, the socks illustrated another aspect of the guest of honor. He (and his Dad both) loved spicy food and hot sauce). The second picture was from a jungle themed bat mitzvah, we added a Zebra print lining to the bat mitzvah girl’s dress, her mom wore zebra shoes and her brother and dad wore zebra sock.
