Menu Ideas

After Sunday's Grammy awards, the Recording Academy hosted a Bollywood-inspired after-party at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A massive covered decor piece served as a raised stage for dancers; it included a working fountain filled with flowers.

For the Grammys Special Merit Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, 15/40 Productions took its cue for the lighting from the Recording Academy's invitation. The invite had a relief of an intricate pattern, evocative of the style of an Indian henna tattoo in a deep wine color. The production company translated that look into the design and decor, including an ornate lighting pattern.

On February 6, designer Prabal Gurung and Target launched their design collaboration with an elaborate indoor carnival held at New York's Pier 57 and designed by David Stark. A glittering merry-go-round, a fortune-teller, and Whac-a-Mole were just a few of the activities available to guests.

As fashion brands put on increasingly elaborate shows and events during New York's February Fashion Week, the memorable invitations that precede them have become coveted keepsakes. To celebrate its festive “Electric Holiday” windows and Disney partnership, Barneys in New York fashioned a weighty invite with LED lights in four different colors that illuminated the double-mirrored glass to create an infinity effect.

This week, We asked industry pros to dream up Academy Awards party menus inspired by each of the movies. Rita Gutekanst of Chicago's Limelight Catering designed a "Bites of the Southern Wild" menu that included Frito pie served in repurposed chip bags.

At Svedka's recent Los Angeles promotion, photos of Luke Perry, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and other '90s icons dotted a step-and-repeat called the "love board." The Throwback Valentine's Day Bash, held at Pink Taco Sunset Strip, had a "Heart Throbs and Heart Breakers of the '90s" theme that inspired the board.

To entice Chicagoans to visit Florida this winter, Greater Fort Lauderdale hosted a warm-weather-themed pop-up promotion on Pioneer Court Plaza February 6. Called "Hello Sunny," the event allowed guests to pose behind swim trunks and bikinis frozen in blocks of ice. The quirky sculptures played off of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Tourism Bureau's "Defrost Your Swimsuit" campaign.

Servers from Hugh's Catering wore apple-shaped signage on their foreheads at the late-January event in Miami. The apples were printed by Kerry's Papery with such phrases as: "Mini Beef Sliders With Deliciousness Inside," or, simply, "Smoked Salmon Blini."

Abby Larson, the woman behind cult wedding blog Style Me Pretty, has released her first book, Style Me Pretty Weddings: Inspiration and Ideas for an Unforgettable Celebration. The book showcases wedding trends worth replicating at all types of events, including what Larson refers to as "sweet, simply styled rustic" tabletops that juxtapose homespun touches with opulent details.

The National Auto Dealers Association tried a new strategy this year at its convention and expo that wrapped up Monday at the Orange County Convention Center in Florida. The organization has long offered wellness and lifestyle activities, but this year organizers brought these activities onto the show floor. For one of the activities, local Zumba instructors provided 20-minute workouts four times a day.