Adi’s Bat Mitzvah was a Carnival Wonderland

Adi’s bat mitzvah on May 17 ranged from the outrageous to the sublime … some even said, “jaw dropping.”

The weekend began when Adi’s Friday night dinner went “a flutter” with the release of 280 butterflies to the delight of 70 guests, followed by dinner with a tarot card reader, candle lighting and DJ Levi Gordon. To spice things up, teens were challenged to answer questions so they could converse and win gift cards.

For her mitzvah project, Adi wanted to assure that the survivors of Oct. 7 (Kibbutzes Nir Oz and Be’eri) they weren’t forgotten. Through The Gary Rosenthal Collection, they created 150 mezuzot for which Adi raised the money for the materials. Approximately 50 people participated in creating beautiful mezuzot.

Party planner extraordinaire Mireille Naturman’s spouse, Anthony, delivered them to Israel along with another Davis Academy student’s mitzvah project, hand sewn toys. Rabbi Natan Trief brought the remaining mezuzot to Israel. Adi said, “I also twinned with Gila from Poland, a child who did not survive the Holocaust, and dedicated my service to all of the children who didn’t survive Oct. 7.”

Officiating at the Temple Sinai service were Rabbis Brad Levenberg and Sam Trief, who were especially emotional, expressing amazement at the passage of time and recalling performing Adi’s baby naming. Adi’s brother, Eli, wore their late grandfather’s tallis, while Nana was present to pass the Torah from generation to generation. Adi’s parsha was Emor, detailing that priests must avoid impure things; Adi learned that speaking up about what’s right is important. Mandilicious catered the lunch along with challahs by Debbie Sasson.

Saturday night’s party ushered in a carnival wonderland where guests were asked to wear glitter, sequins, and shine. Ultra creative, Mireille Naturman (Unique Eventures) explained, “I worked with Laura and Adi on this mitzvah for two-and-a-half years. Adi wanted a carnival theme with very specific colors: light pink, pale blue and light purple. She has a passion for animals, especially pigs, so we tried to incorporate that into the details.”

Guests even got to ride a mechanical pig! For candy, Jessica Ash incorporated three-dimensional edible pig chocolates and pig gummies on the candied kabobs that were declared “almost too pretty to eat.”

Adi loves bears, and guests left with a fluffy pair of bear slippers and a soft blanket in a custom drawstring bag with Adi’s logo. Artist Denise Rindsberg “blinged out” Adi’s Jordan high top sneakers with a custom design of dazzling rhinestones.

Rindsberg explained, “After Adi selected her colors, I hand painted and decorated with over 6,000 rhinestones.  Adi was thrilled with the final results and dazzled throughout her evening.”

Naturman made sure that there was constant activity with custom glam bars, lip glosses, personalized slides and jibbits, delicious boba tea, and edible helium balloons. Off Centered Project provided live, really tall, stilt walkers and jugglers.

Adi’s mother, Laura Schilling, concluded, “Guests had a blast — no one wanted the night to end. The Crowne Plaza Ravinia showcased a beautiful display of pickup desserts, fondue station and authentic gelato cart with all the toppings. It took a terrific team, including YES Event Designs, to transform the space into this dreamy carnival where every person’s jaw dropped upon entering the room. The stilts and jugglers matched the light blue and pink theme with their outfits, and even hair color. They were a hit! We had friends carry Adi on a pink throne for her grand entrance.

“Party favors were Crocs with jibbitz, lip gloss, spray painted hats, custom made throws, pool bags, shorts to wear under dresses to ride the pig, logo socks. The chef at Crowne Plaza went all out with rotating sushi, Asian stir fry, paella, lamb chops, chicken and waffles, corn dogs, and more. Jennifer Oh at Crown Plaza Ravinia quarterbacked an amazing team of professionals who made the weekend go off without a hitch!”

Adi exclaimed, “Mireille took the vision from my head and made it a reality!”

Naturman’s team (not listed above)

DJ: Espeute Productions and DJ Levi Gordon
Video: Blue Orchid Productions
Photobooths and Edible Balloons: Button It Up
Dance Floor: Atlanta Dance Floor
Glam Bars: Glam on the Go
Boba Tea: Where’s the scoop
Invitations and Print Materials: Paper Matters
Airbrush: Ober the top airbrush
Cakes: Bakersman
MJCCA: Roi Shoshan – Mitzvah Project
Makeup: Renee Antebbe
Hair: Aysen Riley Salon