It's spooky season, and BizBash isn't here to trick, only treat. We're getting in the Halloween spirit with some sweet event inspiration—because the holiday is more than just goodies and goblins. It's a time when event professionals can fill their floor plans with themed catering stations, decor, and more. From smoking cauldron-inspired cakes to haunted-house-style entrances, these festive ideas are as good now as they were when they took place—even if it's for an at-home, socially distant celebration.
Dining by Design
At 2013's Dining by Design in New York, the table styled by Alexa Stevenson had a rather macabre centerpiece that included moss, succulents, and a skull inside a glass cloche. See more: 30 Halloween Party Ideas: Decor, Entertainment, Food, and More
Photo: Ronnie Andren for BizBash
Smoking Cauldron Cake
Freed's Bakery in Las Vegas—the subject of the Food Network's Vegas Cakes TV show—offered a selection of elaborate cakes for Halloween in 2019—like this smoking cauldron cake prepared with bubbling green fondant; the cake came with instructions for creating a smoky dry-ice effect. See more: Tricks and Treats: 28 Spooky Ideas to Inspire Your Next Halloween Event
Photo: Courtesy of Freed's Bakery
Halloween-Inspired Vignette
For a private Halloween party planned by Event Du Jour in 2017, Revelry Event Designers created a dramatic vignette featuring a large candelabra, skeleton pillows and props, black furniture rentals, and an abundance of deep-red roses from Celio's Design.
Photo: Melody Melikian Photography
The Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts
In September 2013, Target launched its Halloween wig collection by designer Chris March with a ghoulish bash at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts in New York. Hatch Creative Studio’s tabletop decor incorporated pieces from the retailer’s line of Halloween-themed products and home-decor items. At the head of each table sat a spooky guest: a plastic skeleton.
Photo: Joel Wallace Henderson/Shoot Me Please Photo
The 'Fun Size' Premiere in Los Angeles
CH Cre8tive produced the premiere event and after-party for the film Fun Size. Held at Marathon Park inside the Paramount Studios lot, the event was inspired by a typical, all-American Halloween festival. Illuminated jack-o'-lanterns, creepy trees, and scarecrows, plus lighting effects and spiderweb gobos, created the festive atmosphere. See more: Halloween Party Ideas
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
The High Line Hotel's Pumpkin Service, Bottle Service Experience
The High Line Hotel in New York offered a "Pumpkin Service, Bottle Service" experience every Wednesday in October in 2019. While guests enjoyed a bottle of Veuve Clicquot brut Yellow Label NV, the hotel's "master carver in residence" Brent Heuser could carve pumpkins with guests' portraits, initials, or other designs of their choice. Reservations for the 45-minute experience started at $135.
Photo: Courtesy of The High Line Hotel
"Bloody Carrie" Cocktail
For Halloween 2019, Svedka partnered with Cody Goldstein, mixologist and founder of Muddling Memories, to create a series of Halloween-inspired cocktails. The "Bloody Carrie" cocktail was a Bloody Mary garnished with a celery stalk, banana peppers, cilantro sprig, and olives stuffed with salami. The "eyeball" can also be made using lychee stuffed with a blueberry.
Photo: Courtesy of Svedka
Galaween
At 2013’s “Galaween” event at the Chicago Cultural Center, Event Creative built a lavish, haunted-house-style entrance. The agency’s designer Jeffrey Foster predicted that 2014's parties would take a glitzy turn with lace-covered pumpkins, silver or gold skeletons, marabou witches, or bejeweled or glittered skulls. See more: Monster's Ball: 11 Ideas for Halloween Parties
Photo: Josh Sears
Tim Burton-Inspired Invitations
For a styled photo shoot at City Libre in Los Angeles in 2019, event designer Fathom Affairs created a Tim Burton-inspired wedding. Halloween-appropriate black, white, and red paper goods were designed by Calligraphy Nerd.
Photo: With Love by Georgie
