A Bar Mitzvah logo “brands” the party — not in a callous, capitalistic way — but as an immediate, effective expression of the event’s vibe or theme and, ideally, the spirit of the 13 year-old boy MAN(!), himself. The logo can appear everywhere, from the invitation to the decor. Through take-home favors and swag, the logo lives on beyond the mailing of the last thank-you note. You should love your logo, and it should be as unique as every other important element of this major milestone.
Max’s big night had a basketball theme. The logo incorporated the trendy color of 2015/16 basketball gear, Nike “gamma” blue, outlining the varsity letter M at its center. A white basketball net is draped over the valley in the middle of the M, and a personalized orange basketball glides through the hoop. The M rests on the event date, and the whole megillah is set in a macho black shield.
The first logo item we ordered was a roll of 3″ die-cut glossy stickers from StickerGiant, because, frankly, what middle-aged mom/former Mrs. Grossman’s collector doesn’t dream of designing her own roll of stickers? Eventually these were stuck to post-reception takeout bags and t-shirt favors, among other places.
The Invitation
To engage guests from the start, we incorporated the logo into the invitation a few different ways. First, we lined the envelope with it in a repeating pattern. In this case, the logo was white except for a bronze basketball, to coordinate with the other formal pieces, such as the invitation to the service. (Formal invitation from Stationery Stephanie.)
Second, we designed a custom reception invitation, which featured a bird’s-eye view of a basketball court, marked with party details. The reverse side showed Max’s logo repeated again, but this time in color.
Finally, I created a custom postage stamp to echo the reception invitation and preview the fun about to literally unfold.
Place-laces
The party guests next encounter the logo on the “place-laces “— bundles of shoelaces in the theme colors that serve as place cards, labeled with the guests’ names on the front and table numbers on the back. Our party planner, Dayna Platnick, worked with a decor provider to create a chain-link fence (think outdoor basketball court), and we hung the place-laces from it in alphabetical order for easy grabbing by guests.
Logo Decor
Throw pillows with the logo on the front and basketball-textured fabric on the back added some pizazz and continuity to the kids’ lounge. The kids’ bar was also decorated with the same repeat logo pattern as the back of the reception invitation.
Logo T-Shirt/Party Swag
Logo t-shirts printed by Custom Ink were modeled by the motivational dancers and given to the guests as party favors. Almost three years later, some of Max’s friends still wear the shirt, which delivers a pang of pride and sweet nostalgia every time he sees it.
