For the New York Public Library's Library Lions event in 2008, guests passed through archways of autumn leaves en route to the benefit's cocktail space.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash
Ronald McDonald House Toronto hosted its annual holiday-time gala at the Carlu in December. McNabb Roick Events reflected the Holiday Chic: Sparkle theme in sequined table linens and the crystal candle holders that served as centerpieces.
Photo: George Pimentel for Ronald McDonald House Toronto
For a winter-themed corporate party, design director Andrew Zill of Baltimore-based Feats Inc. created a snowy scene that included a glowing bar anchored by a crystal-flocked tree.
Photo: Edwin Remsberg
Centerpieces of white carnations designed by Feats Inc. evoked fluffy snowballs.
Photo: Edwin Remsberg
David Stark created an elegant but relatively inexpensive look for the Whitney Museum of American Art's annual gala in December by using hundreds of softly glowing candles.
Photo: Arnold Brower
The Portlandia season 3 premiere party, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in December, played off the idea of Portland in winter with quirky displays of everyday objects suspended in ice.
Photo: Diane Bondareff/Invision for IFC
At Diffa's Dining by Design in New York, Ralph Lauren went with a cozy, ski chalet-inspired look. Centerpieces of snowberries and wrought-iron lanterns created a runner down the center of the rustic wood table. Other striking details included a faux fireplace, Pendleton-inspired bench cushions, and an antler chandelier.
Photo: Ronnie Andren for BizBash
The Nature Conservancy of Canada celebrated its 50th anniversary gala in November at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, where planners created a wintery forest feel by lining the ballroom with living trees hung with candlelit lanterns.
Photo: Tom Sandler
In New York, the Sanctuary Hotel's Haven Rooftop has been turned into a ski chalet for the winter season. Available for private events, the fully tented, heated space comes complete with new seasonal drinks, such as peppermint hot cocoa spiked with Bailey's, and a menu of hearty, savory dishes. Revelers also have the option to take a "ski shot"—four signature shots to share with friends—off of an actual ski.
Photo: Steve Zak
For a party Maxim threw to celebrate January cover girl Michelle Branch in 2004, the magazine's in-house design team created a unique invite: Guests received a white branded ski cap; instead of a price, the tag on the hat carried the event info and served as an admission ticket.
Photo: Courtesy of Maxim
Russell Harris Event Group produced a winter wonderland-themed party for Fox in 2010. The designers covered the patio at Los Angeles's Villa Sorriso in blue carpeting and hung LED tubes in the trees, creating an effect that simulated falling snow.
Photo: Dan Scott/American Image Gallery
In November at Diffa's annual Dining by Design event at Chicago's Merchandise Mart, the table Hok designed for Halcon had a winter forest feel. Walls were lined with logs, and the chandelier was covered in twigs.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash
Shiraz Events provided decor for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center gala in Miami in December. Tabletops were covered in silvery linens, and centerpieces of orchids and silver-coated ivy sat atop glowing white platforms.
Photo: Courtesy of Shiraz
The Park Avenue Armory in New York was decorated by David Monn for the 2012 holiday season. Monn used natural materials including birch, magnolia leaves, evergreen branches, and pine cones to adorn the ornate space's interiors.
Photo: James Ewing Photography
Kapture Vision produced a holiday bash with a masquerade theme for CyberCoders in December at Newport Beach Dunes Resort in Newport Beach, California. Jay's Catering set up a s'more station where guests could fire-roast their own desserts.
Photo: Callie Biggerstaff
Zak Events wanted to showcase "winter whites" at the 11th annual June Briggs Awards held at the Pierre New York in January. The look included custom-built white leather tufted highboy cocktail tables topped with icy-looking glass vessels filled with candlelight.
Photo: Courtesy of Zak Events
Bloor Street Entertains, a fund-raiser for Canfar, took place in several venues on the Toronto street in November and was produced by Spinradius Events. At one stop, guests sat in chairs draped with cozy fur wraps.
Photo: Brian Wickens/Seneca College
The Out NYC's Great Lawn has been turned into a "Winter Wonderland" for the season. The area, which is available for group buyouts, includes an outdoor ice rink, wintery decor, a pine forest, hot tubs, and a menu of Alpine-inspired food and drinks such as chocolate fondue, cheese fondue, hot mulled wine, Mexican hot chocolate, and more.
Photo: Andrew Werner
MillerCoors celebrated the introduction of the Coors Light resealable aluminum pint can in 2010 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa. The hotel's pool area was converted into a winter scene with fake snow, ice sculptures, and illuminated high-tops meant to resemble blocks of ice.
Photo: Jerry McGaghey
As a way to introduce its new all-wheel-drive models, British carmaker Jaguar built a larger-than-life snow globe in New York in the height of summer. To make the transparent, spherical tent feel like a snow globe, producers tapped Los Angeles-based MagicSnow to bring in a machine that periodically dispersed ice flakes.
Photo: Courtesy of MagicSnow
The Washington National Opera Ball took over the ceremonial building at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in 2010. Event producer Sandi Hoffman of Sandi R. Hoffman Special Events transformed the lobby into a winter landscape with plush white carpets and white birch trees lining the hallway.
Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash
At the 2010 National Opera Ball, the winter theme continued into the courtyard, which featured fake snow falling from the rooftop and was designed as a tribute to the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Entertainers circled the snow-filled courtyard in inflated Zorbs.
Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash
For Toronto marketing company Capital C's annual holiday party in 2011, Apex Sound & Light projected 3-D mapped images of falling snow onto the venue's windows. Silver furniture added to the ice theme.
Photo: Emma McIntyre for BizBash
Capital C's creative director of live events, Mary Pallattella, created booths against the wall of the dance floor space for the company's holiday party. A video fireplace centered the booths.
Photo: Emma McIntyre for BizBash
Chicago's Shedd Aquarium held a Russian winter-themed gala in 2010. Heffernan Morgan designer John Hensel incorporated wintry touches into the decor, illuminating the pathway to the cocktail reception with snowflake-shaped gobos.
Photo: Eddie Quinones for BizBash
For a Regent Park School of Music fund-raiser held at the Carlu in Toronto in 2009, the event organizers at McNabb Roick Events draped panels of sheer white fabric and oversize snowflakes, stars, and icicles from the ceiling of the concert hall to give the space a wintry feel.
Photo: Henry Lin
Guests noshed on fare from the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, including local cheeses and charcuterie, assorted jerky, fruit-infused waters, and an assortment of dips and fresh vegetables. The snacks were presented in covered wagons created by DesignWorks.
Photo: Sofia Negron
Pieces of assorted local jerky were up for grabs in rustic Mason jars.
Photo: Sofia Negron
The speaker stage featured a woodsy curtain backdrop, leather seating, and a pop of hot pink flowers.
Photo: John Cain Sargent/Engage!
Gifts for the Good Life created different "care packages" with survival supplies, including hangover relief for late nights, candies, games, snacks, and energy bars. Guests were also greeted at the airport by Colorado Travel Solutions staffers, who handed out backpacks filled with essentials, like water bottles, snacks, and travel pillow and blanket sets.
Photo: John Cain Sargent/Engage!
An easy-to-eat lollipop version of campfire s'mores was offered during the event’s dessert party.
Photo: Tammy Swales/Engage!
Antler chandeliers decorated the welcome party, which was hosted by the Beaver Creek Resort Company and planned by Emily Campbell of Bella Design. The opening-night band from Elan Artists featured dueling female fiddlers performing on top of bourbon barrels.
Photo: Sofia Negron
The photo backdrop was flanked by restored lobster crates, fishing nets, and buoys.
Photo: Shelbie Pletz/BizBash
Food as Decor: Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place
Shiraz Events created a step-and-repeat using stacked crates of fresh vegetables at the May opening of Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place in New York.
Photo: Shiraz Events/patrickmcmullan.com
Food as Decor: Weston Family Foods
At Weston Family Foods' annual group meeting, held at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto in May, 5th Element Events built a wagon out of bread. The production company shellacked and hot-glued real bread to create the decor piece.
Photo: Henry Lin
Nature: Swoop's Annual Dinner
For its annual client and advertiser dinner, Swoop, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based media company, enlisted the help of chef Marc Forgione, who decorated his TriBeCa restaurant with vines, leaves, moss, and real grass carpeting. Animal sounds served as background music for the event.
Photo: Cornelia Stiles/BizBash
Nature: MoMA's Party in the Garden
The Museum of Modern Art’s event team transported guests to the English countryside with boxwood hedging, large topiaries, and faux grass on the floor of the lobby for its annual Party in the Garden in May.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis for BizBash
Private Event by Preston Bailey
"I love creating a unique place for guests to congregate and enjoy one another, so I thought, why not create a massive floral carpet that would serve both as a beautiful focal point and a gathering area? I designed a 'carpet' and filled it with hundreds of beautiful blooms and then covered it with Plexiglas. The result was a statement piece that allowed guests to dance on air." —Preston Bailey
Photo: Courtesy of PrestonBailey.com/John Labbe
Private Event by David Beahm
"We were influenced by our surroundings. We let the decor of Blue Hill at Stone Barns rule our aesthetic, letting nature dictate the design. The hand-hammered copper urn visually grounded the design." —David Beahm
Photo: Brian Dorsey Studios
Bergdorf Goodman's Anniversary Gala by Bronson van Wyck
"The second the guests crossed the threshold, they were transported to another world, through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole. We raided Bergdorf’s warehouse and brought scenic elements from iconic window displays over the past 111 years—this was their 111th anniversary after all." —Bronson van Wyck
Photo: Billy Farrell/BFAnyc.com
Two by Two for AIDS and Art Gala and Auction by Todd Fiscus
"I created a sweep at the rear of the room with a banquette wall covered in slipcovers in boxwood print. At the top of the curve was a waterfall of heather and hydrangeas. The seating in this area had a cocoon-like feeling. The chandeliers are actually painted Formica board in navy with phosphorus tape and
painted interiors." —Todd Fiscus
painted interiors." —Todd Fiscus
Photos: Roderick Peña
Corporate Event by Steve Bales
"One of my favorite things is to take an ordinary space and turn it in to something completely unexpected. The Atlanta Hyatt, which was hosting an elite group of local and national corporate event planners, wanted to serve them dinner in one of the hotel kitchens. To make the space pop, we built floor-to-ceiling chalkboard walls on which we personalized each guest’s apron, laid wall-to-wall carpeting, and, my personal favorite, created one-of-a-kind hanging chandeliers out of plastic flatware. It was a complete transformation from boring to bold." —Steve Bales
Photo: Troy Kelly Studio
Harris Theater Gala by Bill Heffernan
"We designed sheer white fabric cubes floating low over each table. This produced both an impressive vision and gave an intimacy to the enormous tent. We accented them with summery yet minimal branch projections in a blue-green shade, providing detail and a coolness to the warm evening." —Bill Heffernan
Photo: Fandl Photography
Crate & Barrel 50th Anniversary by Tom Kehoe
"It was an honor to feel trusted and believed in by Carole Segal, who set the standard of retail design, not to mention the thrill of working with original pieces from the very beginning of Crate & Barrel." —Tom Kehoe
Photo: Ryan Sjostrom
Tiffany and Company Holiday Press Luncheon by Ron Wendt
"Tiffany approached us to create an ambience for its annual holiday press luncheon that was not overly holiday, considering it was held in November pre-Thanksgiving. I thought winter white seemed to be the perfect solution. The wall-to-wall carpeting, custom room dividers, and ultrasuede tablecloths with white New Zealand peonies set the mood for the holidays. It was elegant, modern, and also magical." —Ron Wendt
Photo: Gustavo Campos Photography
Moët Hennessey and 'Wallpaper' Magazine Dinner by Lewis Miller
"This corporate dinner needed to merge two very different companies: the lavish aspect of Moët Hennessey and the modern, urban edge of Wallpaper magazine. We played with contrast and scale by creating a floating garden overhead while the actual surface of the table was merely a strict double row of square glass votive candles." —Lewis Miller
Photo: Gustavo Campos Photography
Private Event by Edgardo Zamora
"Geller Events turned to us to create a barn-style setting in a tent. We designed a dance floor area with a peaked ceiling using fabric and reclaimed wood beams. A drop-ceiling arbor over the dining area was covered with foliage and accented with wooden lanterns. Hand-painted hardwood floors helped set the stage of permanence for this temporary structure." —Edgardo Zamora
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Here's a fun idea for escort cards: Debi Lilly pinned names and table numbers onto fresh limes.
Photo: Carasco Photography
At the Los Angeles premiere for last summer's A Million Ways to Die in the West, projection mapping depicting time-lapse scenes from a desert illuminated the façade of an adjacent building. On the opposing wall was a projection of a moon and night sky.
Photo: Doug Hac
Held in a transformed parking lot venue, the premiere party's theme evoked a county fair. Props included a 1920s-era stagecoach.
Photo: Doug Hac
In 2013, Target feted its collaboration with charity organization Feed Projects with a rustic Americana-style event at the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Wheatgrass flats, wheat stocks, and Mason jars topped wooden farm tables
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
At the Feed for Target launch, a jazz band performed on a custom stage made of raw wood and decked with carnival string lights, which supplied a down-home look and feel.
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
Be Inspired PR hosts and produces the Tassels and Tastemakers event twice each year for event and wedding industry professionals, plus media, bloggers, and other influencers. The most recent iteration on March 25 brought a Western theme to Carondelet House in Los Angeles. Beth Helmstetter Events designed the dance floor, where string lights hung above denim sofa seating and rentals from Found Vintage Rentals.
Photo: Troy Grover
Also at the Tassels and Tastemakers event, place settings on a rustic tabletop included napkin rings made from vintage leather belts atop slices of tree branch. Mindy Weiss designed the table with milk glass from Borrowed Blu.
Photo: Troy Grover
Hosts are making wishes with crazy candles like firecrackers, sparklers, and the musical flower buds ($6.95) from U.S. Candle Company. Once the candle is lit, the large center flame lights 14 small candles, which are attached to each petal. The candle then “blooms,” starts to spin, and plays the “Happy Birthday” song.
Photo: Courtesy of Keystone Candle
The details of the event were leaked on the Internet before it took place, prompting a surge of R.S.V.P.s and a line down the block that night. Security and event staffers kept the party from becoming overwhelming by limiting the number of guests in the venue at any one time.
Photo: Gustavo Campos
To dress the store's facade, Extra! Extra! attached hundreds of balloons from New York City Balloons to the six-story exterior and highlighted the whimsical decoration with floodlights.
Photo: Liz Brown Photography
In the music room, hundreds of mylar balloons were strung across the ceiling and along the walls to create an elegant yet festive cocktail party atmosphere. The chandelier and wall and curtain treatments were preexisting elements, while all furniture was brought in.
Photo: David X. Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Hundreds of balloons from Balloon Trix hung from the ceiling during the V.I.P. dinner. The space changed colour with each course, starting with blue, morphing to pink for the main course, changing to orange for dessert, and ending in red.
Photo: George Pimentel
Snarkitecture analyzed the massive venue and tackled the question of how to accentuate the volume of the space while playing with the height. The solution was to create something that generated a low plane—at certain moments the spheres hung low, creating a "ceiling-within-a-ceiling" effect. The undersides of the balloons came down to 10 feet above guests' heads.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Balloons
In January, the Walrus Foundation hosted a fund-raiser with travel-themed decor in Toronto, where Balloon Trix created centerpieces meant to resemble hot-air balloons.
Photo: Carla Warrilow/BizBash
Balloons
At an Art Institute of Chicago gala in May, Kehoe Designs covered the ceiling of an all-white lounge area with hundreds of clear balloons.
Photo: Ryan Sjostrom
In keeping with the night's prom theme, six large stanchions of white balloons—branded with Target logos and up lit with spotlights—were erected at the entrance to the party venue with dramatic effect. A custom canopy, covered in the "Kate Young Target" logo, was built at the base of the doorway. A total of 1,000 balloons were used outside.
Photo: Jim Shi
Rogers estimated that he used more than 3,000 colored balloons inside the two-story shop.
Photo: Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan.com
Purple ribbons anchored balloons to each of the 40 dinner tables.
Photo: Tay Kaune Photography
Giant pinwheels and green, white, and silver balloons sculpted into flower-like shapes hung over the gala dinner.
Photo: Roger Dong for BizBash
Absolut Tune Launch Party
Absolut Vodka launched its latest vodka on November 13 at an ExtraExtra-produced event at the Standard Miami Beach. Self-sealing mylar balloons spelling out the brand's line were clustered as a backdrop for a synchronized swimming performance by the Dolphinettes to music by DJ Mia Moretti.
Photo: Seth Browarnik/WorldRedEye.com
Long, communal tables and lounge-like configurations provided more relaxed seating on the upper level. For centerpieces, the designer incorporated square-shaped canopies, illuminated by candles that hung from the leaves in glass cylinders. Gift bags from sponsor Cartier were placed on guest's seats prior to the start of the event.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
