76 | MARCH 31 • 2022 

ami is totally into 
fashion and design,
” 
Stephanie Perry says 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
of her daughter, a 
student at West Hills Middle School. 
“We wanted her bat mitzvah party to 
reflect that but didn’t want it to be a spe-
cific theme. We wanted black and white 
with pops of color — to be clever, but 
not too sophisticated for a 13-year-old. 
“Jen took that and ran with it,
” Perry 
says of Jen Ajlouny, a senior event 
director at Star Trax Events’ full-service 
design team, called the A Team. “She 
came up with the most amazing ideas. 
She listened to me and Sami and created 
a team that was beyond what we could 
have dreamed. There is not a single 
thing I would change.
”
A few favorite details included an 
exquisite full-size photo of Sami with 
real florals spilling from her dress across 

the wall; drink stirrers and straws with 
Sami’s name on them; custom Jell-O 
shots by Boozy Bites in flavors like 
Moscow Mule and Margarita; and hir-
ing a fashion illustrator to create stylized 
“caricatures” of guests, a stunning way 
of bringing in Sami’s passion for fash-
ion.
The event, held on Nov. 
6, 2021, at Temple Israel, 
happened during a small 
window of relative com-
fort before Omicron hit, 
and the family was ready 
to party. 
“Everyone was so excited to be out 
and have some sense of normalcy. We 
were so lucky to be able to celebrate 
together,
” Perry says. “Jen and her team 
made it flawless and fun, from the 
moment you walked in ’til the moment 
you left.
” 

Starting with a photo from Sami’s pre-mitzvah 
shoot with Dianne Scafone, Debbie LeClaire 
festooned the skirt with live florals.

Fashion 
illustrator 
Nicole Jarecz 
created 
“caricatures” 
for each guest.

continued on page 78

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