The name of Pat Blackwell reminds me of something in the Detroit Metro Jewish Party planning community: indispensable.

As the founder and spokesperson of Red Coat Ladies (named after its iconic clothing of the same name), Blackwell has hosted shows for bars and bats and weddings under the name of Party Assurance for nearly 25 years. From arguing between unruly guests to sewing the bride on the dress at the last minute, to ensuring the party schedule goes smoothly-so that the parents of the party planner can enjoy the event instead of worrying about the details-Blackwell and Her team has seen and done it all.

"I like that we let people enjoy their special moments," she said. "In a typical four-hour party, how many memories can you create? Do you want your memories to be yelling in the kitchen because you ran out of French fries? We let people enjoy every aspect of their activities? Second."

With years of experience and impeccable reputation, Blackwell launched a new business (and put on a new blue suit jacket): Jewish party experts trained and mentored venues and vendors to understand and respect Jewish party tradition.

Blackwell essentially recognizes this need, because she must also learn everything. A Catholic who grew up on a farm in Minnesota. She has 10 siblings and prize pigs. She doesn't know anything about Bar Mitzvah. After earning a degree in hotel and restaurant management, she, her husband, and their three children landed at the Detroit subway station, where she applied for an advertisement for the construction manager responsible for the West Bloomfield Temple Israel event. 

"They called and told me about the job," Blackwell said. "I said,'Don't you want a Jew?' They said,'No, we want someone who can work on Yom Kippur.'" Her response? "what is that?"

Eleven years later, "after seeing people having wonderful parties they didn't like", she launched a party guarantee, and now she is ready to let others know what she has learned.

Due to a mistake at the work party during the pandemic (and she fell down in June last year), Blackwell began to find ways to help clients in a less physically demanding way. 

"I have always dreamed of a job that I can do anywhere," Blackwell said, emphasizing that the ladies in the red coats will not disappear. However, Jewish Party Maven is an extra layer to her business. In fact, every lady in red must be certified in a Jewish party expert course. "I hosted a mock Orthodox wedding for my employees," Blackwell said. "It's pretty fun."

"Week after week, our Party Assurance is training suppliers to adapt to Jewish customs. For example, after signing ketubah, we knew that the rabbi was coming back for testing, but the photographer had already left because they thought they were done, so I want to chase the photographer back," Blackwell said. "The chuppah may have been made by Tallis smuggled from Europe by his grandfather during the Holocaust-the photographer may think it was just a piece of fabric. The band leader may accept a job without knowing what hora is. He How to learn? On Google? If our suppliers truly understand the tradition, our suppliers will take better care of our Jewish customers.

"Christian weddings are very different from Jewish weddings, even in terms of timing. When Jewish weddings are held in traditional non-Jewish venues, such as the Oakland Hills Country Club, it is very important for the supplier to create a Jewish style schedule. Important. There are many interracial marriages, and I work with many vendors on behalf of Jewish families to teach these Jewish traditions."

Although Blackwell learned a lot from her work, she also read a lot of books on the subject. "I am essentially a researcher and I like learning. I love the entire Jewish world, what it represents, its history, and I want to do my best to promote understanding of it."

Blackwell and her team of kosher party experts can benefit salespeople, caterers, photographers, videographers, venues, DJs, bands, decorators and planners, florists, etc.-anyone involved in a wedding or b'nai mitzvah tradition People.

A recent gathering that Blackwell attended was celebrating a student attending Hillel Day School, which encourages families to organize Jewish-style events. “The parents asked the catering supplier to provide dairy products, but the chef translated it as meaningless and made the soup with chicken broth,” she explained. "He didn't know he made this mistake."

Blackwell launched "Jewish Party Maven" on January 1, 2021 and established it during the COVID period, starting with the weekly podcast "Book more Jewish weddings with Pat Blackwell". (Her data shows that 22% of listeners are from France and Bavaria—"I don't know how they heard about it!" she said.) Each podcast focuses on a specific topic or word, such as tallit or Mazel Tov . She will also provide courses to be launched in August and seminars that anyone can register for, and plans to provide digital products where participants can obtain certification.

Her own customers have found her, and they want their suppliers to receive training from her company. She was hired by the new Duxton Hotel in Birmingham because they had not participated in many Jewish weddings.

She also recently held a seminar at Norwood Country Club.

"Some of their chef teams are here, along with their waiters and management team," Blackwell said. "They know a lot, but they don't necessarily understand customs. And there is a lot of mobility. 

"They take this matter seriously because they want their employees to take good care of their customers." 

For more information about Jewish party experts, please visit jewishpartymaven.com.

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