Brainstorm

Giant balloons suspended from the ceiling served as the focal point at the DX Gala. What's more is that the color-washed room was updated with a new hue with each course.

Menu cards at an event designed by Canvas & Canopy were held by ceramic hands.

Decor at the Children's Aid Foundation's Teddy Bear Affair came in the form of season-inspired vignettes—for spring, guests saw clear umbrellas with glittering beads as rain.

Los Angeles-based artist Jorge Pardo created special-edition lanterns to hang above the tables at the Hammer Museum gala.

At a Los Angeles event, guests were invited to create their own custom fragrances at a flower-dotted scent bar.

For a birthday party, Kristi Amoroso Special Events designed a vodka shot bar that displayed bottles in a sculptural arrangement of textured ice spheres.

Designed by Bold American Events & Catering, upside-down centerpieces of tulips and glass globes hung overhead at a wedding at the King Plow Event Gallery in Atlanta.

Inspired by an English picnic and styled with rustic elements, the V.I.P. area of this year's Power Ball in Toronto had loading pallets that served as banquette seating and cocktail tables. Tufted velvet couches and colorful pillows rounded out the mix.

To match the Mexican hacienda-inspired look of its New York event in May, Don Julio used authentic tequila barrels as part of the decor, including tables set up in the outdoor terrace.

Colorful and family-friendly games, including hopscotch, were offered at a block party held by Sunglass Hut to celebrate the opening of its largest outpost in Miami.

In keeping with the carnival theme, the Stella McCartney Resort 2013 presentation in June put mac and cheese bites on a miniature ferris wheel.

The 2012 color of the year, orange, was paired with hay and chevron patterns at a Belvedere-sponsored event during the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

For summery, garden-inspired events, LoLo Event Design offers hand-painted handkerchiefs that can serve as table numbers and be paired with potted centerpieces.

For a beachy vibe, LoLo Event Design created message-in-a-bottle place cards.

The festive, laid-back setting for Univision's Deportes launch earlier this year came courtesy of a taco truck and wooden picnic tables.

Luxe Event Rentals & Décor's handmade paper-flower walls, showcased at last year's BizBash New York Expo, can be customized in different colors and function as room dividers, stage backdrops, and back-bar displays.

Hanging beach balls formed a colorful chandelier at a party created by Swank Productions.

To help guests get to know one another, Mélangerie makes customized wedding genealogy charts that double as seating maps.

Brooklyn-based Instaprint printers print out Instagram photos taken at a certain location or marked with an event-specific hashtag.

For a wedding at Union Station in Los Angeles, Sterling Engagements displayed escort cards printed to look like train tickets inside vintage suitcases.