Ben’s Fabulous Bar Mitzvah at Temple Beth Am and Sand Point Country Club

Photos with family at the temple

Ben Cooper’s Bar Mitzvah day began at Temple Beth Am in the north end of Seattle.  I have been the photographer for several other Mitzvahs that took place at Temple Beth Am, and it is a beautiful temple.  For those who have not been to many Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, different temples have different rules about photography during the actual mitzvah ceremony.  Some temples have no problem with a professional photographer taking photos both before and during the ceremony, but others do not allow photos during the actual ceremony.  Temple Beth Am is one of the latter, meaning I was not allowed to take photos during the actual ceremony.  Since I have photographed the Mitzvahs of other members of Temple Beth Am I was aware of the limitations ahead of time, and had discussed the options with

But while ceremony photos are not permitted at Beth Am, it is OK to take photos in the temple with the Ark and Torah before the ceremony.  So I met up with Ben and his family (Dad Joshua, Mom Emily and brother Elliot) the morning of the Mitzvah, about an hour before the ceremony was scheduled so we could get some nice posed photos in the temple.  The Rabbi even joined us for some photos with the family, as well as alone with Ben.  We staged some shots to look like they had happened during the actual ceremony, with Ben reading the Torah with the Rabbi.  Ben’s grandparents arrived early as well, so we were able to get plenty of good family photos.

Once the guests began to arrive we stopped our photo session, and Ben went to finish getting ready while I headed out since I would not be able to take any more photos at the temple.

Reception at Sand Point Country Club

The reception was scheduled for that evening at Sand Point Country Club.  I arranged with the Cooper family to meet a bit early because they wanted to get some more photos with extended family and friends before all of the guests arrived and the party got underway.  Again, for those of you who are not familiar with Mitzvah celebrations, they are big parties for both the parents and their friends/relatives but also for the Mitzvah boy or girl and a bunch of their friends.  These parties can greatly vary in where they take place and how many people are there, but they are always a lot of fun!

As we were winding down with the group family and friends photos the guests began to arrive.  The dining room was set up so that the adults and kids would all be together in the same room; not always the case, sometimes the kids and adults each have separate spaces.  The bar area was also opened up to the adults, and proved to be a popular spot during the evening.

Appetizers were served as everyone visited and located their tables.  DJ Mari Odette of Amore DJ Entertainment was there to provide music as well as organize some games and activities for the kids over the course of the evening.  She also brought a very cool high-tech “Photo Booth”, with a green screen that allowed the photo booth operator to place the subjects in all kinds of different locations by changing the background.  You’ll see several photos of the booth setup in the photos below.  Unfortunately I was not able to get any of the finished product photos to show to you, but Mari has them all available at her website.  I have worked with Mari many times over the years, primarily at weddings, and she is simply the best DJ in the Seattle area, and very possibly one of the best anywhere.  She got the kids started with various games as the evening progressed that clearly were not only very much enjoyed by the kids but were fun to watch and photograph.

Once dinner was served and everyone had eaten the party really got rolling.  As I described earlier Mari had a variety of games for the kids, that were played on the dance floor.  This was followed with a really well done slideshow of Ben’s childhood (with only a few minor technical difficulties).

Then is was time to open up the dance floor.  The traditional Horah was played and Ben was placed in a chair and then lifted above the crowd and carried around the floor by various family and friends.  The dancing continued for a couple of hours while people worked on getting some dessert at the very nice Candy Bar that had been set up in the entry hall.  Supposedly for the kids, but I saw a lot of the adult guests stopping by for some treats as well!

Finally the party had to come to an end.  The music stopped and everyone headed home after a fantastic evening.  Congratulations on your Bar Mitzvah Ben!