How Much Does a Bar/Bat Mitzvah Cost?

Plan your bar/bat mitzvah budget and keep track of your spending with our free budget planning worksheet.

Diane Hall

Editor

Photo credit: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock.com

If you’re wondering how much a bar or bat mitzvah costs, we’re here to help with a complete breakdown of all the costs so you can start planning. Celebrating a Jewish boy’s thirteenth birthday with a bar mitzvah or a girl’s twelfth birthday with a bat mitzvah is a big deal. A lot of planning and resources go into hosting a memorable event and so you want to be organized from the outset.

This milestone celebration typically costs anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000, although lots of people spend less or if you’re planning a bar/bat mitzvah party in NYC or LA you could spend upwards of $100,000. The main decisions that drive the budget are the number of guests, location, and whether you have Kiddush luncheon, a party, or both.

Plotting out your bar/bat mitzvah budget can be tricky. You’ve got a lot of vendors to hire and therefore a lot of different costs. If you’re trying to figure out your bar/bat mitzvah cost breakdown, no worries, we’ve worked out all the percentages for you. You can even plan your budget and keep track of your spending with our FREE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Budget Planning Worksheet.

From how much you should be spending on entertainment to how much you should be paying your caterer, here’s all the mitzvah planning info you need to get started.

Here’s your complete bar/bat mitzvah budget breakdown.

Bar/bat mitzvah venue:

Kiddush luncheon, party, or both? This will drive your venue rental fee(s) and other costs. Typically people choose just one main event, in which case, the venue fee will be approximately 4% of your budget.

Catering:

Food, beverage, and service typically account for the biggest chunk of a bar/bat mitzvah budget, at around 28% for one event. If you have both a Kiddush luncheon and party, this cost can almost double. If saving money is a priority, skip a plated meal and ask your caterer for lower-cost menu ideas.

Mitzvah ceremony:

Reserve around 12% of your budget for the Torah lessons, the synagogue fee, and buying your son a tallit and tefillin set.

Event planner/designer:

A planner isn’t essential, but they’re well worth the expense because they tackle most of the bar bat mitzvah planning for you and take care of day-of coordination, so you can relax and enjoy the celebration. An event planner will typically take 5.5% of your budget.

Photography and videography:

You’ll want to capture this milestone birthday for your child with portraits, and document every moment of the mitzvah celebration from the ceremony rehearsal right through to the last dance, so a photographer and videographer will take about 12% of your overall budget.

Entertainment:

Unsurprisingly, for an epic party, hiring a DJ, live music, photo booth, and party entertainment will also use up a large portion of your funds, usually in the neighborhood of 11%.

Decorations:

Around 3.5% of your budget will go toward crafting the perfect party decor and centerpieces for your mitzvah event.

Mitzvah invitations:

Invitations are essential, and then there are fun extras like menus, place cards and thank you cards. Stationery will take up around 3% of your overall budget.

Cake:

The cake isn’t typically built into the catering budget so you should expect to dedicate around 2% of your budget to a multi-tiered confection.

Attire:

You’ll want your mitzvah child to look and feel their very best at the ceremony and the party portions of the day. This should take around 2% of your budget.

Hair and makeup:

Not handling your hair and makeup yourself? Plan to put 1% of your budget toward your daughter’s bat mitzvah for a hair stylist and makeup artist.

Mitzvah gift:

Gifting your child with an amazing gift and certificate will take up roughly 1% of your overall budget.

Transportation:

You’re going to need a ride to and from your mitzvah venues and maybe transport some of your guests. Transportation will cost roughly 1% of your entire budget.