Table Tops, Placecards, Decor

At the BizBash New York IdeaFest in 2012, Zak Events promoted its wares with a wall of potted succulents that doubled as both an attention-getting escort card idea and a takeaway with a solid shelf life.

At The New York Times's table at the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS' Dining by Design benefit in New York in 2004, interior design company Eric Cohler Design made a crossword puzzle using guests' names to serve as seating cards.

Last year, the Holiday Chic Suite popped up on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, where Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event oversaw the design—including seating cards pinned to green apples with sparkly tacks.

For another idea using apples, the National Association for Catering and Events 2012 gala in Washington had a "once upon a time" theme, with details from story books—including calligraphy seating cards that nodded to the poisoned apple in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.