What a night! Yesterday our team were at the Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, to photograph a celebration of epic proportions, as Emily and Oliver celebrated their B’nai Mitzvah – surrounded by friends, music, entertainment and all-round fun. Having photographed some occasions for this awesome family before, we knew this would be massive and that everyone would be up for a party.

We met up with Emily and Oliver in Woodside Park Synagogue earlier in the week for a few more formal portraits, meaning that yesterday was all about informality and craziness. Guests were truly treated, from the paparazzi greeting them on the red carpet as they arrive to the wonderful food (Philip Small of course) at every turn, from the Pick & Mix cart to the music video made by Emily and Oliver’s friends, from the caricaturist to the magician, from the Pictures Are Power setup to the customised t-shirts, from the dancers to the giant graffiti wall, from the inimitable MC to the shots being handed out on the dancefloor… this was a MEGA party. At the centre of this mega party were two brilliant young adults, and their very loving family who are all so proud of them.

It was our pleasure to work alongside some great teams, all of whom helped to make the evening very special. Firstly, the team at Philip Small kosher caterers and event planners, who were as on-the-ball as they come and serving a multitude of delicious offerings all night. This was our first experience working with Totem as a full band… they raised the roof, smashed it, blew things up, killed it, injured it, broke a leg. For those unfamiliar with modern urban parlance, according to a website called Urban Dictionary, “smashed it” means: “When u do summit really good/cool”. What we’re trying to get at, is that they were very very very good and all the guests partied the night away to their music. Behind the video cameras were the team from Atmotion, and as always we can’t wait to see the film they produce from this beautiful evening. Also on the scene was the Pictures Are Power setup – photographic entertainment at its finest with guests taking away some awesome prints from the night.

All that’s left to do is wish Emily and Oliver, and their parents Philip and Andrea, a massive Mazal Tov again. A wonderful family celebrating a wonderful occasion. Here are some of our favourite shots from an initial look through…