We speak to Event Planner Debbie Marks about the ins and outs of planning her own daughter Dahlia’s Bar Mitzvah celebrations and the highlight moments.
As an event planner by trade, Debbie Marks knew that time was of the essence when she began planning her daughter Dahlia’s Bat Mitzvah, which took place this February. Sadly, as with so many who have planned events within the last couple of years, the pandemic meant that the original plan had to be scrapped: “We actually started planning it before COVID, and we had to move it due to the pandemic. Originally it was going to be on a farm in the summer. Obviously, that couldn’t happen and we didn’t really want to go ahead with any restrictions in place, so we postponed it and moved it to February. The plan came together quite quickly as I knew all of the key suppliers that I wanted to use, and I did all of the décor myself. We did all of that a couple of months before.”
Planning any event can be stressful, but as a Bat Mitzvah is such a key milestone, the pressure can seem overwhelming for some. Luckily, Debbie was able to put that aside and enjoy the process: “I actually enjoyed it. It was interesting being the planner and the client at the same time. For me it was quite nice that I could make decisions quickly because I didn’t have to wait for the clients to come back to me on anything. It made me realise how much work there is actually to do even when you do have a planner. In terms of table plans, sorting out clothing, and all those little details.”
It’s not only the parents who can find this a daunting time. For Dahlia, the Bat Mitzvah represented months of preparation and build-up coming to a head: “I think she enjoyed it. There were some nerves for her. Mainly about being the centre of attention, but she wasn’t scared about doing a speech or anything like that. She was quite involved in the planning. She had a say in what she wanted in terms of colour and style. She wanted a boho theme, so we incorporated things like dreamcatchers and pastel colours.”
There’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to such an important event, but for Debbie one aspect stood out as the highlight: “For me it was just seeing all my friends and family having a good time and seeing the whole family really enjoying themselves.”