centerpieces

For the island-themed CTIA Wireless Foundation’s Achievement Awards dinner, held in Washington in July, florist Volanni used banana leaves in tall, thin glass cylinders.

Slabs of neon green Lucite seemed to glow atop the clear rectangular dinner tables, while potted plants in green ceramic vases served as minimalist centerpieces.

Six-foot-tall centerpieces of ferns, bamboo, and other greenery in thick green cylinders punctuated the jungle-themed Rotunda, where fern-shaped gobos projected onto the ceiling and potted trees dressed up the entrances.

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.

"I like the chic simplicity of it. We used crystal and glass elements to make the historic building more modern and fun." —André Wells

"My favorite part about the design was the research trip to Kazakhstan. Since the national color is blue, I created a palette of blue and grey and used elements like cobalt blue mirrors to showcase a modern Kazakhstan, and yellow miniature calla lilies for the bright future they have ahead of them." —Colin Cowie

"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

"We designed a sunset dinner to showcase the New Museum’s Sky Room venue. Top-tier clients mingled in a space designed to convey the experience of watching the summer sunset from a field of foxtail millet." —Garin Baura

"We were inspired by the beauty of Boston’s Harbor Islands at sunset, bringing the outside inside in a glass-enclosed tent surrounded by water." —Bryan Rafanelli

"The inspiration was a formal French garden, which originated from the French dances performed that evening. To make the vast space seem cozier we floated panels of lattice with wisteria and smilax over the dinner tables. " —DeJuan Stroud

"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

"M&M's is an official sponsor of the Super Bowl, so we wanted to celebrate by creating an event that encompassed the glamorous side of chocolate. We wanted to create a luxurious yet fashion-forward speakeasy environment, which we felt was certainly befitting to the New Orleans-focused evening." —Jes Gordon

"I admire Picasso because his entire life was devoted to the creative process. I am presently going through my own blue period. Combining that with his guitar made for what I thought was a great theme for a museum party." —Stanlee Gatti

"The concept was to take MoMA’s ‘Party in the Garden’ and have it continue as the ‘Dinner in the Garden’ with a modern approach—classic roots, fruit trees, massive topiary cones, and French symmetry." —David Monn

"We used a theme of minerals and semiprecious stone, with Brazilian agates and geode images for the walls and tables, anthracite leather banquettes, and garnet-colored carpet. It took seven people four days to hang all the gold mirrored chain for the ceiling installation." —Thomas Ford

"The use of bamboo dipped in 18-karat gold with thousands of purple orchids imported from the Netherlands spilling out from crevices drilled into the bamboo all made for one explosive visual." —Marc Hall

"The client asked for an interactive space where guests could use the Note II to do fun things like order a drink, share music, or design a T-shirt, device cover, or dessert. We designed four individual pod-like stations showing off each capability. We had one week to design, fabricate, and install the custom pieces." —Tony Schubert

"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

"The most challenging aspect of producing this wedding was bringing in 10,000 hydrangeas from South America. It was virtually impossible to get our desired breed of hydrangea in the color palette and quantity needed for the wedding, but we love making the impossible possible." —Karla Dascal

“We wanted to bring the Reidel brand to life organically with this centerpiece chandelier of 125 champagne flutes, each filled with a tinted resin and a ‘foam’ of micro glass beads.” —Andrew Stevens

"The fluid silks lining the ceiling, puddles of votives above the dance floor, and water pools on the tabletops instead of flowers created a watery, underwater, ethereal setting." —Antony Todd