The whole arrangement, in public
Every vendor pays 10%. Nobody can pay more.
The big planning guides in this market sell listings to vendors. Where a listing or a better position can be bought, you cannot tell which order was earned and which was paid for. This page exists so you never have to wonder about ours.
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Step one
You tell us your date. It costs nothing.
No account, no fee, no obligation, and we don't sell your information to anyone. If we can't help you yet, we say so.
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Step two
We tell you what's realistic and who fits.
Real ranges for your budget, which venues are still open on your date, what to book first, and two or three genuine options in each category — including which of them is wrong for the party you're actually throwing.
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Step three
You contract directly with the vendor.
At their normal rate. We are not in the middle of that agreement, we don't handle your money, and we never mark anything up.
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Step four
If you book, the vendor pays us 10%.
After you've paid them — never before. If your event cancels and they keep nothing, they owe nothing. If you don't book anyone, nobody pays anything.
What we will not do
Four things, permanently.
- Sell placement. Not as a premium listing, not as a featured badge, not as advertising. There is no product here to buy.
- Charge a different rate to different vendors in a category. The moment one partner pays more than another, every recommendation on this site becomes a sales pitch.
- Mark up your price. You pay the vendor's rate. Our fee comes out of their margin, and they agree to that in writing.
- Invent proof. No fake reviews, no borrowed testimonials, no logo wall of vendors who never agreed to anything.
Who runs this · disclosures as of 30 September 2026
One person, with ties you should know about.
MitzvahBay is run by Ari Klopfer. When this site says “we,” it means me. I work in event lighting and AV, which is how I know this market from the inside — and why you are owed a list of who I already know.
- Bizar Entertainment is a current client of mine. That work is separate from this site and pays me whether or not you ever book them. If Bizar is on a shortlist I send you, this relationship will be stated next to their name, and they will never be the only entertainment option on it.
- I am personal friends with the family that owns Bash Entertainment. Same rule: named beside any recommendation, never the only option.
- A bigger booking pays me more. The rate is flat, but 10% of a larger contract is a larger fee. That is a real pull toward expensive vendors, and a flat rate does not remove it. What checks it: you always get two or three options in a category with what each one costs, so a lean toward the priciest is something you can see.
- The $1,500 Full Team Build is paid by you, not by vendors. It is the one thing here a family can pay for. It overlaps with what an event planner does, so if a planner would serve you better, that is what you will be told.
This list is dated and will be updated whenever a relationship changes. If you find one that is missing, that is a failure of this page and you should say so.
The obvious questions
Asked plainly, answered plainly.
So you're free because vendors pay you. Doesn't that bias you?
It would, if some vendors could pay more than others. They can't. Every partner in a category pays the same 10%, so there is no placement to buy. The bias that ruins directories comes from selling placement, and we don't sell it at any price. Two biases a flat rate does not remove — a bigger booking pays a bigger fee, and the person running this knows some vendors personally — are both disclosed above under "Who runs this."
Does using you make my party more expensive?
No. Partners quote you the same rate they would quote if you had found them yourself, and they agree in writing not to raise it to cover our fee. If we ever catch a partner quoting our families above their normal rate, the agreement ends that day.
What do you actually do for the vendor, then?
We bring them families who are ready to book and already know why they're a good fit. That replaces advertising, which they currently pay for monthly whether it works or not. Our fee costs them nothing until money lands in their account.
Are you a planner?
No — and the planners in this market are partners, not competitors. We help you decide and introduce you. If you want someone to run the whole thing, we'll introduce you to a planner. If you want us to assemble and manage the full vendor team ourselves, that's a flat $1,500, and it is entirely optional.
Who holds the contract?
The vendor does, directly with you. We are never party to it. They carry their own insurance and their own risk. We own no gear, employ no crew, and never show up to your event unless you invite us.
What if I don't book anyone you suggest?
Then you owe nothing and neither does anyone else. That happens and it's fine. You'd still have the cost information, which is the part we think is genuinely useful whether or not you ever talk to us again.
Where this stands, 30 September 2026
No partners have signed yet.
Every vendor in the census gets a call, and those calls have not started. Until a company signs the agreement above, they do not appear on this site as a partner — because a listing is a claim about a real relationship, and we would rather look empty than look established.