Washington, DC Epic Bat Mitzvah || Rebecca Eigner

We recently arrived from an EPIC four-day bat mitzvah celebration in Washington, DC. What a truly amazing experience these four days were! We had the honor to fly to DC and photograph our long-time family and their daughter Rebecca's bat mitzvah.

A little backstory | I met Rebecca and her family many years ago, in 2011 at another bar mitzvah in Fayetteville, NC. Rebecca was only a few years old back then. Since then we did 2 family sessions together, then life took me moving around the US, while Rebecca's family moved to the DC area. Years later, her mom reached out when the time came to plan Rebecca's bat mitzvah and I'm so honored they have picked us to continue capturing their family's major milestones.

The theme of Rebecca’s celebration: Travel / RE (Rebecca Eigner Airlines) highlighting Rebecca’s favorite places in the world.

Follow along our journey of 4 days with the Eigner’s family.

Day 1

In the morning, we met up with Rebecca and her family at the Congregation Beth El in Bethesda where Rebecca and her little sister Hannah read did a beautiful Torah reading. After enjoying lunch and an afternoon siesta at Rebecca’s home, we headed to downtown DC for Rebecca’s portrait session. Gravely Point was our first choice where you can observe airplanes taking off, very fitting for Rebecca’s travel theme. Afterwards, the evening session at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument concluded the day.

Day 2

As the Eigners wanted everyone to be safe during celebrations, they provided Covid testing for all vendors and guests. Event Scan did a fabulous job, streamlining the process of testing all vendors on Day 2 and Day 3. This evening, after getting our Covid test done, we photographed a Shabbat service and dinner at the Bethesda Country Club. The rabbi was able to connect and perform the service via livestream.

After the service, the family welcomed everyone into a dinner and performed a Havdalah service, where each family member lit a special Havdalah candle, blessed a cup of wine and shared the challah bread, that Manisha, Rebecca’s mom personally baked at home.

Day 3

This truly was the biggest celebration of the year with 140 guests that travelled from all over US.

The reception setup was beyond impressive! As soon as the guests exited the elevator, they were greeted by beautiful Flight Attendants who gave them their “boarding passes”. Next, the guests would use one of the check-in stations to get a preference on flavor profile connected to a mocktail inspired by Hawaii, India or France. After getting their drink, it is time for a quick photo at the Rebecca Eigner Photobooth. Guests then had an option to relax at the RE Airline VIP lounge and enjoy Eigner planes taking off or enter a “metro” that would take them to Parisian streets that boasted with “Rebecca” Café filled with exquisite sweets and macaroons. Nearby a team of skilled balloon artists were swiftly making balloon hats and corsages for guests. Not far from them, a live artist was drawing fashionable sketches that guests get to take home. An energetic DJ was entertaining the kids with various games and competitions.

After the cocktail hour, everyone was welcomed into the main ballroom that was filled with what seemed like a bazillion of activities and entertaining options. The centerpiece of the ballroom had a stunning ceiling installation with balloons, lanterns and LED tube lights, the dance floor was custom-created using stamps of places Rebecca visited in the past.

Over 3000 carnations were hand-strung to create the garland station, where guests can pick a garland of their choice. A gorgeous cart filled with various bracelets, an India station with various Indian foods, South Korean station with its bibimbap assortments, Hawaii tiki bar with drinks galore, stunning flowery backdrop with a neon sign “The world is yours”, the stage with a custom 24 ft. backdrop with Rebecca’s name on it, a graffiti kiosk to custom create spray designs of kids names on hoodies that they get to take home, every napkin with the custom logo created just for Rebecca’s celebration, the duty-free station with mini-travel cases filled with Rebecca’s favorite candies around the world, the Bollywood dance team, DJ and dance entertainers, and more. So much thought went into every detail and a team of over 50 vendors made this celebration a truly EPIC party!

Day 4

On our last day we had the honor of photographing the family's brunch party with henna artists and delicious catering setup at Rebecca's home for all her friends and families. Rebecca, her sister Hannah and her parents, Manisha and David, were all dressed in beautiful Indian garments to honor Manisha's heritage. It was a laid-back warm weather day, everyone sipped on their cocktails and enjoyed the food, and reminisced about yesterday's epic moments. Even, Daisy, Rebecca's adorable "pandemic" puppy (the family got her last year) got some camera attention. After the brunch, we headed back to the airport filled with the memories we will carry in our hearts forever, and feeling blessed to be a part of such important milestones in the Eigner's family and looking forward to capturing more.

A huge Thank You to these amazing vendors that made rebecca's bat mitzvah truly epic!

Magnolia Bluebird - Full-Service Event Planning

RCI Systems - Airport wall

Simon Elliott Events - Check-In & Arrivals

Fabrication Events - Pipe and drape

Syzygy Events - Productions

Designs by Uche - Florist (party)

Flowers at 38 - Florist (Shabbat + Brunch)

Frost Lighting - Lighting

Bubble NYC - Furniture

Loane Bros Tenting - Brunch tent

Table Manners - Rentals (party)

Perfect Settings - Rentals (Shabbat + Brunch)

NYX Entertainment - DC/MD/Dancers

Bollywood Touch - Bollywood dancers

Festive Effects - Balloon artists

Classic Bakery - Cake Backdrop

Magnolia Bluebird Design & Events - Details

Abe's Transportation - Shuttles

LS Creative Services - Print Details + Signage

Cris Logan Art - Sketch Artist

Carbone Entertainment - Airbrush

Snap Entertainment - Photobooths

Lucy Black - Flight Attendants

G Henna Design - Henna artists

Main Event Caterers - Brunch Catering

Bethesda Country Club - Shabbat venue

Event Scan - COVID testing

Cocktail Curations - Welcome beverages

JW Marriott - Party venue

Suburban Video - Videographer

MLC Designs & Meldeen - Invitations and print items

Lazzat Photography, LLC - Photography

Yossi May - Lighting Assistant & 2nd Photographer

LS Art Illustrations - Sketch artist

BBJ- linens

Latavola - Linens

Nuage Designs - Linens

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