Locally Grown Weddings: Leah's Bat Mitzvah

Did you know we don't just do weddings? In fact we love other events that are meaningful to families and individuals. This summer, we had the pleasure of working on Leah's Bat Mitzvah.

Aurora spent the day with Leah's family, starting at Or Shalom where the service took place. As soon as they all arrived, she set up to take pictures of the details, as everybody was busy getting ready and greeting guests.

Here's Sam, Leah's brother, getting ready with the candies. If you don't know what these candies are for, wait and see...

A year of study and preparation goes into a Bat Mizvah's talk and it often tackles serious and contemporary issues.

Right before the cut off time for the use of flash, Aurora took a few family portraits at the bimah.

Some synagogues do not let photographers in during the ceremony at all. Or Shalom required Aurora to stand in the back, without moving. So right before the actual ceremony, she worked with Rabbi Katie to be able to take a few close ups of Leah reading from the Torah.

Aurora documented the entire ceremony. She chose to share with us only a couple of pictures from her favorite part, the parents' blessings. So moving! This reminded us all why we work with families and couples: these are the people and the moments that make a difference in our lives.

And here are the candies: at the end of the ceremony, Leah and Rabbi Katie got to ran as everybody threw candies at them. Fun! Can we do this at weddings too, please?

And this is the very last part of the ceremony, the blessing and sharing of the bread, or kiddush.

After the service, everybody headed to Forest Hill Clubhouse for Leah's party!

Chef Stephanie started out the evening serving a strawberry coconut elixir as the signature mocktail and the appetizers included stuffed cremini mushrooms with truffled white beans, polenta wedges with Fontina and fresh chives, kalamata olive crostini with sundried tomatoes and chickpea puree.

Leah wanted the florals to be white and incorporate lilies so Madeline came up with a simple and elegant combination of florals that incorporated decorative cabbage, dusty miller and white lilies. To add more ambiance and drama to the venue, she added string lights to the interior railing, votive candles on the tables and lanterns to illuminate the courtyard.

Dinner was an updated and seasonal pasta bar featuring penne and rotelli pasta and three sauces, including a simple red homemade sauce, Tuscan beef ragu and a cheesy butternut squash sauce. The baby spinach salad with pink lady apples, walnuts, berry vinaigrette and artisan bread were the delicious side dishes.

For Leah's cake, Pei-Yee prepared two tiers of delicious cakes covered in a sweet cream cheese frosting. At Leah's request, one of the cakes was chocolate, and the other a tangy lemon, and they were decorated with some of Madeline's florals, as well as some fresh strawberries and golden raspberries from Pie Ranch.