On Friday evening, eight designers participated in the metro New York chapter of the International Special Events Society's 2009 tabletop design competition, held at La.Venue as part of the three-day "Cook. Eat. Drink. Live." expo. Members of the events industry including internal planners and owners of design and planning firms (as well as this editor) gathered to judge the tables, which were created with rental items from Broadway Party Rentals.
Because the designers did not have to follow a theme, the looks ran the gamut from a sparkly winter-inspired setting by Marc Wilson Design to a table draped with woven palm fronds by Flora New York. Neuman's was awarded two round-trip airline tickets from Delta Airlines for the winning entry, a cornucopia-style design with a bounty of fresh produce, mossy accents, and an earthy color scheme. Blade Floral and Event Designs took home the second place award, and Floral Icon Events won third place. Here's a closer look at all of the participants.