What to Include in a Bar Mitzvah Invitation
We live in a world, surrounded by technology, enabling instant gratification and access to anything and everything. Need to find a gift? Google “The Perfect Bar Mitzvah Gift Guide” Need an event planner- Google “ Simcha planner” Don’t know what to wear- Google “What to Wear to a Bar Mitzvah” The point is, we can live life solely by googling the things we don’t know.
So glad you came here to learn about text and wording for your Bar Mitzvah invitation.In this post, we’ll break down each segment of an invitation so you can mix and match styles, make it your own, or simply get inspiration.
The All-Inclusive Bar Mitzvah Invitation Text Guide
The first part of the invitation is the front. If you are thinking of a card invitation, many people put their son’s name or logo on the front. We’ve seen some pretty cool logos, some original and some remakes from top brands today that fit their son’s initials. If you chose not to do a cover styled invitation, you can include the name or logo at the top of the invitation.
There are many commonly used opening phrases to choose from. You can download our complete guide to Bar Mitzvah invitation intros here:
Next, you’ll want to figure out where your names will go if you do not include them in the introduction. The common placements are at the top, the middle, or at the bottom of the invitation.
Bar Mitzvah Invitation Text
Then there’s the actual invitation text, the important details: the date, time, and place. Let’s break down each of those pieces.
For the date, it’s important to write the month, day, and year as many people plan their functions well in advance, sometimes a couple of years in advance. Hebrew schools will often ask for a commitment so they can arrange their calendars to ensure the proper space is reserved and a rabbinical leader will be present. Since it’s a formal event, we suggest typing out the month, day, and full-year (eg- Sunday, September 27th, 2020, or Sunday, the 27th of September, 2020). If you are planning a very formal celebration, we’re talking black-tie event, write out everything- Sunday, September Twenty Seventh, Two Thousand and Twenty.
Regarding the time, don’t forget to include AM or PM and formal or informal style is up to you.
Most Bar Mitzvah parties taking place on Sunday will be in the evening. Those on Saturday, at a Sabbath service, will be in the morning and if it’s during the week, the general start time is 6:00 after a regular workday.
Location Location Location
The place can make or break the function. When selecting a location for the party, you want to come in knowing what you’d like to have at the party. The most common entertainment and options found at a Bar Mitzvah party include:
- A buffet (of course)
- If you are making it fancy and would like to have a sit-down event with waiters, you will need to consider a larger room for tables, dancing, and any other entertainment or party favors you decide to have.
- A DJ station or band stage
- A Dance floor (keep in mind how many people you will be inviting)
- A gifts table (for the perfect gift guide, click here)
- If you’re doing giveaways, make sure to have an area big enough to house all those “chachkies”.
Utilizing Your Party Planner
If you are using a party planner, it is advisable to bring them along when checking out different locations. They will have good spatial awareness of the location and everything within your budget. It is important to keep in mind and ask if they will reuse any spaces during the event. For example, some halls will use the smaller ballroom for the greeting ceremony while they use the greater ballroom for the dinner party. While the dinner party is happening, they change over the smaller ballroom for the party favor and dessert portion of the function.
Ask, ask, ask.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Questions
When selecting a location for the service, besides the cost, here are some questions you should ask:
- What time will the service and celebration take place?
- How long does the service usually last?
- Will we have our own private service?
- What type of seating does your synagogue offer (separate, mixed, some type of middle ground)?
- Do you offer reserved seating?
- Do we have to be members of the Synagogue?
- Will someone be practicing with our son prior to the service to adequately prepare him?
- Generally, at a Bar Mitzvah service, the mom or dad (or both) say a phrase releasing them of responsibility for their son’s (religious) actions. This phrase can be the most inspiring moment for parents. If your Hebrew is not as strong, there are many transliterated phrases you can learn or you can ask the person showing you around if someone will be able to help prepare you.
Make sure to include the exact address on the invitation to all locations of the party. Some people include the actual name on Waze or Google Maps so people can plug it into their navigation system or app. If you’re inviting some guests to the party and some to the service, you will need separate invitations to ensure each guest received the right information. It’s important to review all the details, prior to finalizing the invitation. Look it over three times and show it to a fresh set of eyes.
The Bottom Line
At the bottom of the invitation, it is customary to include the honored grandparents from both sides. If they are unfortunately no longer living, you can write the acronym A’H (which stands for Alav Hashalom- passed peacefully from the world).
After confirming the text, you’ll want to choose a color scheme and font. Here’s where you have some flexibility. You can spend hours and hours going back and forth about three fonts or you can just ask for the most common font and go with that. It’s important not to spend too much time on the font as it can get very time-consuming. Do some research in advance and even start making notes on friends invitations of which fonts you like. A very skilled invitation printer will be able to give you some ideas if you can provide them some parameters and some examples of which ones you like.
Most online invitation printers will have a more limited selection.
As was mentioned above, it is important to make the invitation in line with your son’s personality and something you feel comfortable sending to family and friends. The spectrum of informal to formal has been forced wide open, so the canvas is blank for you to craft your own style, text and artwork. Some people will create the invitation on canva.com and email it to their guest list, some people will use a more formal invitation website and have them emailed or mailed out, and some people will use a printing service or invitation designer and printer. What you choose depends on your budget, type of event you’d like to have, and how much time you’d want to spend on just the invitation. If your event is a book, the invitation is cover, and yes people do judge books by the cover.
Some leave invitations for last, others, it’s the first thing to tackle. Whichever order you choose, you are going to make the best Bar Mitzvah for your son possible, something both he and your family will cherish forever. With so many events (both virtual and in person), the invitation should be something to remember. Using this guide will help you create an invitation that will be the driving force behind your perfectly stunning Bar Mitzvah celebration, and perhaps be the envelope your friends and neighbors pick up and can guess what it is right away.