Paris is legendary for its romance and beauty and has been an enduring inspiration for event planners. Here's a look at clever and classic ideas that can bring the French city to life, ranging from icy Eiffel Towers to cancan dancers, towers of macarons, and entertainers decked in Marie-Antoinette-style wigs.
At the premiere party for the film at New York's Metropolitan Club in 2009, a raw bar filled with jumbo shrimp, clams, oysters, and crab claws was decorated with an elaborate Eiffel Tower ice sculpture.
Coinciding with Bastille Day, Fête Paradiso brought authentic French carnival amusements to Governors Island this summer. Rides included a bicycle carousel from the late 19th century, one of only two in the world that were created in Paris to encourage the use of what was then the new mode of transportation: the bicycle. (The other carousel can be seen in the film Midnight in Paris.)
To launch its Jason Wu collection in January last year, the retail giant remodeled Skylight SoHo in New York into a Parisian street scene. In keeping with the night's theme, the waitstaff wore black and white clothing, with white shirts and black bow ties for the men and striped sweaters and pleated black skirts from the Jason Wu for Target collection for the women.
The Lyric Opera's February event in Chicago had a "Midnight in Paris" theme. In the lobby of the downtown opera house, Event Creative designer Jeffrey Foster erected giant replicas of Parisian street signs. An illuminated windmill nodded to the iconic signage of the Moulin Rouge; downstairs, cocktail tables were covered in giant tutus in a cheeky reference to the dancers.
In April, the Washington Ballet hosted "A Movable Feast: the Hemingway in Paris Ball" at the Library of Congress. Dancers from the professional company dressed in character and put on a skirt-lifting show inspired by the legendary performers of—you guessed it— the Moulin Rouge.
During Art Basel in Miami last December, the Reprise Parisienne party at Villa 221 had a surreal French carnival theme. A theater troupe, Josepher the Ringleader and the Danger Kitties, dressed as freak-show mime characters and added to the arty vibe.
At the 2010 store opening in Chicago, New York-based caterer Olivier Cheng prepared a buffet of French desserts. Offerings included strawberry topiaries, macaron towers, rosemary-honey-almond tarts, and salted-caramel mousse in chocolate cups.
For an event hosted by the Travel Channel last October, Levy Lighting provided a surround-sound video that let guests feel like they were traveling. A floor-to-ceiling, wraparound screen formed a circle around the reception space at Center548 in New York, and the custom video projected footage from Paris and other locales.
Chambord hosted the official global launch party for its vodka at Mondrian South Beach in 2010. Entertainers dressed in risqué versions of Victorian-era French costumes greeted arriving guests.
The World Presidents' Organization New England Chapter Gala had a French theme in 2010, when it took over Boston's Langham Hotel. The dining room's decor, inspired once again by the Moulin Rouge, had feather-topped centerpieces that were illuminated from within.
In 2009, the Los Angeles event channeled a haunted French theater. Lounge areas around the room included black and gold seating accented by French-style lamps.
The Museum of Modern Art hosted the New York premiere party for Marie Antoinette in 2006. Sponsor Van Cleef & Arpels displayed jewels atop colorful confections.
The 2011 luncheon in Chicago took place at the Four Seasons Hotel but was dubbed “Lunch at Maxim's.” To bring the famous Parisian eatery to life, planners arranged for mustache-bearing maître d' characters to greet guests and lead them to the ballroom on a path lined with mini Eiffel Towers.
Lingerie Française Paris hosted a runway show at Toronto's Wychwood Barns in 2010. The event, dubbed “A French Rendez-Vous,” adopted a Parisian theme with images of iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Moulin Rouge as a backdrop. Dancers from Hit and Run Productions added a theatrical element to the runway show and sported Parisian-inspired tropes such as parasols and ballet slippers.
French-inspired Hollywood spot Les Deux became an all-out 18th-century Parisian playground for TV Guide’s Emmy after-party in 2007. Models in period costumes lounged in the outdoor French manicured garden.
Phillips Collection Gala in Washington in 2008 had a French theme inspired by the collection's famed canvas: Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party." The masterpiece was pictured on the event's program.
At the 2007 event in New York, umbrellas printed with an Eiffel Tower scene added a dreamlike quality—and a little French flair— to the deck of the Dream Hotel.
At the 2008 gala at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex in Toronto, replicas of the Eiffel Tower topped tables in a Paris-themed dining area.
An Eiffel Tower ice sculpture decorated one of the bars at the 2010 gala in Washington.
