Don’t forget to get your entry in so you can win a fabulous flower hair accessory from Fascinate Me! The giveaway is going on now through May 14th at 11:59 p.m. PST, and you can enter with a comment about your favorite piece on the Fascinate Me Facebook page AND The Wedding Yentas post here for a maximum of two entries! The winner, who will be chosen at random, will be announced May 15th. Read here for all the juicy details!
Rachel Kitt is not just a regular contributor to The Wedding Yentas and a former bride who planned a fabulous Jewish destination wedding in Hawaii. She also wears many important hats at the Jewish Federation of San Diego County and has just completed planning Tzedakah Ball, a fundraising event attended by San Diego’s finest! Here, Rachel recaps the successful night and feels like a recovering bride all over again since the experience rivaled a wedding! After all that, Rachel and all her colleagues deserve their own honeymoon! The Wedding Yentas sends big rounds of mazels to Jewish Federation of San Diego County and all their partners, donors, and attendees!
Just like a wedding, a fundraising gala requires a fabulous venue, great entertainment, an experienced photographer, and amazing event staff.
This year, in my role at the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, I had the pleasure of organizing the fifth annual Tzedakah Ball: A Fundraising Gala on Saturday, April 28 at the NTC Promenade in Point Loma. As San Diego’s premier Jewish philanthropic gala for young adults, we were able to raise $10,734! That is enough to provide 618 food packages to the elderly in the former Soviet Union, or; 263 months/22 years of medication for a child with asthma, or; 15 shipments of supplies for Jewish kindergarteners in Poland. Thanks to a $5,000 challenge grant for One Happy Camper, we were also able to raise enough money to send five local kids to Jewish camp for the first time, this summer.
As a bride expecting hundreds of guests, you might be considering a full scale wedding coordinator, or a day-of point person to deal with the little things. Tzedakah Ball’s hostess-with-the-mostest was the event chair, Hilary Srole, who was also my partner in crime, and we were backed up by an incredible committee.
JDate was our event corporate sponsor, though the event was not only for singles. We gave away two 6-month memberships to JDate to some very excited attendees! Thank you to JDate for your support of this philanthropic event! It’s only a matter of time until those two new members make their profiles, start the dating, get engaged, and begin wedding planning with The Wedding Yentas! JDaters, we’re here for you when you’re ready, over here in Yenta Land!
While gambling may not be ideal for your wedding day, I can assure you that when the day comes that you are planning a big event, casino games from these NY sites are the way to go. Full-House Casino provided professional quality casino games and knowledgeable staff. The craps table was constantly full, with some of our guests going on impossibly long rolls and winning hundreds of dollars of casino money to be turned into tickets to the opportunity drawing. The roulette table allowed our guests to gamble on red or black, or pick their favorite number to bet on. And of course, the black jack tables were packed, with attendees doubling-down and winning big, all night long.
A popular modern wedding tradition is to serve a specialty drink that represents you and your fiancé at your wedding. Similarly, at Tzedakah Ball, we had some clever drinks to both entertain and keep our guests entertaining. We served the Tzedakahtini, the Mazelrita, and the One Happy Cocktail. It kept our attendees dancing and gambling the night away!
A simple must-have at any wedding is a photo booth. I was excited to work with Happy Foto Booth, a collaborator with The Wedding Yentas, who really brought a lot of fun to the event! There were multiple props like funny glasses to silly hats that the guests could choose from. Even something as simple as having a black & white or color photo option was clutch to satisfying guests with a fun time and a take-home memento. There was a constant rumble to get inside the booth, especially as the bar stayed open. Photo booths are such a fun addition to every event!
We could not have been more thrilled with our DJ at Tzedakah Ball! If you are looking for a DJ, look no further than San Diego’s own Dee-Jay B-Real! A big thank you goes to him for blasting great hits. Guests danced the night away, especially as we got into the wee hours. The dancing really got underway as soon as the casino closed down, and the attendees realized that the opportunity drawing for a Kindle Fire, iPad3, JDate memberships, and gift cards was around the corner. A break dancing dance-off brought down the house and turned dancing for fun into a competition for bragging rights. We wish this kind of dance floor fun on all Yentas’ weddings!
A big thank you goes to our other event vendors: Event Supplier Inc. beautifully covered our tables and belly bars with linens. Ron Manahan of Studio 52 Photography did an amazing job documenting the night. From the action shots at the craps table to dancing photos, and capturing the excitement of our opportunity drawing winners, the photos really captured the essence of the event. Wolfpack Sign Group did an amazing job producing all of the event posters.
Brides, whether you are getting married in San Diego, Orange County, or across the world, I can assure you that quality and experience are two of the most important things to look for in your vendors. Tzedakah Ball was successful in large part due to the reliability and excellence of each and every one of our event professionals. A big thank you to all of our amazing vendors, staff, and volunteers!
Want to see more photos of this event on Facebook? Click here.
Coordinator: Jewish Federation of San Diego County
Venue: NTC at Liberty Station
Event Partner: One Happy Camper
Event Partner: JDate
Photo Booth: Happy Foto Booth
DJ: Dee-Jay B-Real
Linens: Event Supplier Inc
Casino: Full-House Casino
Photographer: Ron Manahan/Studio 52 Photography
Signage: Wolfpack Sign Group
