entertaining

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LINDA RADIN

C

heryl LaKritz shares her
collectible salt and pep-
per shakers, napkin
rings and place card
holders with friends. Whether it's
an intimate dinner at her West
Bloomfield home or a bridal show-
er at a country club, LaKritz sets a
table like a romance novel filled
with passion, excitement and
unexpected twists.
At the recent bridal shower for
former Detroiter Philip Siegel and
his bride-to-be Debra Schlansky of
Atlanta, LaKritz was one of seven
hostesses. While other hostesses
selected the invitations and
planned the menu, LaKritz
assumed the role she plays natural-
ly — creative tabletop designer.
"I always start with a vision,"
says LaKritz. While looking over
the bridal registry, she noticed the
couple was keeping kosher. "I
decided to set the table with
Jewish themes," she adds. Each
table celebrated a different holiday
— Shabbat, Passover, Chanukah
and Rosh Hashanah.
"On the Shabbat table, I gath-
ered some of the items that you
might see on their table if you were
a dinner guest," notes LaKritz.
She even placed photographs of the
Siegel and Schlansky families in
frames including the couple's bar
and bat mitzvah pictures.
LaKritz enlisted the help of her
friends, even those who were not
invited to the shower, in order to
achieve the perfect table settings.
She asked Jain Lauter of West
Bloomfield, who also has a flair for
design, to borrow some of her ele-
gant linens. Lauter's linens and
spectacular china settings added a
sophisicated touch. Beverly Liss
donated her silver Israeli seder
plate which served as the center-
piece on the Passover table.
At many bridal showers, guests
receive gifts, which are usually can-
dles, flowers or candy. Keeping
with the Judaica theme, each guest
at the Siegel/Schlansky shower left
with a challah cover. Amen.

— Carla Schwartz

6 •

NOVEMBER 2000 • STYLE AT THE. JN

Left: Bride-to-be Debra Schlansky is surrounded by her future

mother-in-law Helene Siegel (left) and mother Susan Schlansky.

Above: Decorative place card holders and family photographs adorn the

Shabbat table.

Below: Zina Kramer, of Events Marketing in Bingham Farms, usually

plans parties for others but this September she helped plan the

wedding of her son David Kramer to Anessa Owen at The Townsend

Hotel in Birmingham. "I wanted it elegant and simple," says Kramer.

Kramer used Jerry Earles Florist in Bloomfield Hills who arranged for

the flowers, linens, chargers and candles. "I've worked with Jerry for

years. He can translate my thoughts into beautiful pieces."