MitwahMoney

byEmilyfacobs Staf Writer atching your child becomea bar/bat mitzvah is one of the most specialexas periences a parent.It is the culmination of months of learning, service projects and planning but most important it is the time when yo.tt child becomesan adult in the Jewishworld. While this milestone can be one of the happiestmoments for your family, it can be including aciompaniedby huge stressors, the total price tag for the affair, which in todays economycan be a major deciding factor when planning the celebration. the WIW challenged seasoned PartY planner, RachaelFeinbergof Mango P'oductions to'plarf a mitzvah celebrationfor 75 adults and 75 children, with a budget of residentcameup This Reston only $15,000. witir tips to allow you to cut costsbut still havea classyaffair. After the datehasbeensetfor the celebration, the next step is picking out the invitations. This, Feinberg said, is an areawhere staying within the budget and even saving She somemoney is easy. advisedagainstcustom invitations asthey canbe pricey,aswell

Planninga mitzvahon a budget

as add-onsto the invites like bows, sparkles and layersof paper.On that samenote,Feinberg explained that checking out the card stockthe invitations willbe printed on is important becausethe thicker the stoch the higher the price. of "I think out of all the aspects planning a mitzvah,choosingthe invitationsis the easiest place to savemoney. Remember,your parents and grandparentsare probably the only people that are actually going to keep the invitation, so it really doesrfthaveto cost a whole lot. It's definitely possibleto find an invitation that still looks expeninexpensive with." sivethat you will be haPPY Somefamilies are opting out of paper invitations all together and headingto the internet to send electronic invitations. Feinbergexplainedthat using electronic invitations can'take awayfrom traditionl' She added that'starting your event of with an electronic invitation sendsa different mesthan a PaPerinvitation." sage Moving on from invitations' the next step in planning the celebrationis of course,the food. Witn so many options out there, the menu cannot onlybe the hardestto plan,but as the most expensive, well. In lieu of a seateddinner which can cost

Rachael Feinberg ofMango Productions accepted the challenge to "plan' a mitzvah on a $15'000 budget'

tion and Pasta station can give your guestsa varietY of options and keep Your food budgetlow at the sametime. erplainedthat rentFeinberg ing out a hall and hiring a caterer combined can take up your whole budget, instead,she suggestedchecking out local high-end restaurants that are large enoughto holdyour celebration. This way you can work with the in-house chef, kitchen and wait staff, enabling you to still get the food that you want, but for a much lower price. Additionally, in terms of alcohol for the adultsat the event,Feinberg suggestedfinding a venue that allows You to bring in your own alcohol. That way you can save money by going to a wholesaleliquor storeand afterthe party,you canreturn anyunbottles. opened "You have to be creative with the food to be able to cut costs but it's definitely using a possible,especiallY

havFeinbergsuggested over$100per guest" ing different food stationsaround the room. For example,having a sushistation,fish sta-

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Bar/Bat Mitzvah Planner