Bloody hell, that escalated quickly.

Tal celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at The Savoy, in one of London’s most elegant and iconic spaces, surrounded by hundreds guests all of whom were determined to use their golden ticket wisely and have the night of their lives. This was the hottest ticket in town and the anticipation had reached fever pitch. Here’s the thing, when the family of the Bar Mitzvah boy are the co-founders of Uptown Events, who probably plan more Bar Mitzvah parties than anyone this side of Tel Aviv, there’s a certain level of expectation that their own celebration would be completely off the hook. And it was. Tal’s amazing parents Lindsey and Bert took those expectations and crushed them. This. Was. Epic.

This felt like a family affair for us too, as Lindsey was previously head of Client Care here at Blake Ezra Photography and for years we’ve been looking forward to producing an amazing set of images for her. On the guest-list were most of Manchester’s Jewish community, and the entirety of North West London. There were friends and family of course, but also so many people who are used to having a role on nights like this – dancers, DJs, photographers, event planners, caterers… all having the night off and partying hard together.

Whenever we photograph a Bar Mitzvah, we include at least one ‘pre-shoot’, and our Bar Mitzvah experience with Tal started a long time ago with a family shoot at Elstree Aerodrome, one shot of which ended up being displayed on the biggest screen we’ve ever seen at The Savoy. Fast forward to Shoreditch a month or so before the big day, producing some super-cool images of Tal to mark these teenage years. Then the week of the Bar Mitzvah we met the family at Synagogue, hearing Tal rehearse his Bar Mitzvah portion from the Torah scroll… the ancient and meaningful part of this celebration. Some of these images are included in this blog, as we really believe a Bar Mitzvah is not just about the party.

About the party, our super-team were on hand to capture every moment and every detail. There was the ‘Liverpool Lounge’ which was an exclusive club just for Tal and his friends, more Sushi than a buffet in Tokyo, the Ballroom looking absolutely incredible as guests entered, Josh’s rap which brought the house down, Tal’s speech which was nothing short of comedy genius, personalised diamond-encrusted toffee vodka, rose gold stationery and detailing, more shots being drunk than we could even begin to count, Lindsey looking incredible in her show-stopping dress, a nostalgic and beautiful Jewish accapella set during dinner, and Bert forgetting his day-to-day existence as a top event planner and simply letting go. On the video cameras were our talented friends from Gavsy Creative Media who are always such a pleasure to be alongside.

As the party was rocking in The Savoy, the streets of Edgware, Mill Hill, Prestwich, Whitefield and Wilmslow were absolutely deserted. It was a real honour for us to be involved in Tal’s Bar Mitzvah. Mazal Tov again to the Habib family, we have loved every moment! Here goes, first stop the shoots at Elstree Aerodrome and Shoreditch…

On to Edgware United Synagogue…

Next up, to The Savoy…