Unique Ideas

Held at Paramount Bay, a luxury condominium complex in Miami, the launch of Ferllen Winery Special Edition Art Series put artwork in the pool.

At the post-Oscars party at Hollywood & Highland on Sunday, two oversize Oscar statues stood sentry at the entrance. Mark Held of Mark's Garden matched the overall aubergine color scheme using orchids, artichokes, calla lilies, kale, and fern shoots as part of the floral decor.

MacFarlane hosted an Oscars after-party at the Lot in West Hollywood on Sunday. Inspired by old Hollywood, the event included a 30-foot chandelier and a 72-piece orchestra. The musicians played onstage under a dome meant to evoke the Hollywood Bowl.

At the premiere of 21 and Over in Los Angeles February 21, a 60-foot arrivals wall comprised some 3,700 red plastic cups. Stationed alongside the red carpet, the cheeky fixture served as a backdrop for press photographs of the film's stars.

A Fortune 500 telecommunications company hosted an incentive program in Miami last year. For the closing-night bash, Fourth Wall Events created centerpieces that froze individual roses in 75-pound blocks of ice.

For a Jordan Farmar Foundation benefit in Los Angeles February 7, Nathaniel Neubauer of Contemporary Catering designed a seven-course menu of foods inspired by childhood classics. Because the foods didn't require much silverware to eat, guests only had forks; other cutlery was playfully suggested with colorful blue drawings on the place mats.

Following the ING Miami Marathon January 27, Target sponsored a lounge with a 40- by 20-foot wall consisting of more than 12,000 motivational pins. The pins were printed with inspiring words such as "Champion" and helped promote Target's line of C9 by Champion athletic apparel.

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival took place February 21 to 24 in Miami. Evian's #EvianEats photo activation—which invited guests to "live young"—was a popular first stop in the center of the fest's Grand Tasting Village.

The charity held its annual "Big Night" event at House of Blues in Boston on February 9. The event included performances from two bands, so servers from the Catered Affair wore signage that labeled each item in case verbal descriptions couldn't be heard over the music.

As a catering idea for upcoming summertime events, Dandelion Ranch Events in Los Angeles produced an eye-catching spread with catering by Cooks County. The summery menu items included chopped salad, tarragon egg salad sandwiches with watercress and radishes, and ricotta pound cake with Meyer lemon curd and whipped cream.

In October, Chicago's Field Museum hosted the Maharaja Ball to celebrate the opening of the exhibition "Maharaja: The Splendor of India's Royal Courts." The sumptuous invitation and envelope had preexisting designs—typically used for Indian wedding invitations—that the museum purchased from a firm in Jaipur, India.

At this year’s Rolling Stone Live Super Bowl party, producer Toast created a "trashed hotel room" where guests could take photos and pretend to live the rock star life. The event took place at the Bud Light Hotel, a Wyndham property in New Orleans rebranded for the weekend.

At last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Abel McCallister Designs created a movie-themed space for Chase Sapphire. Interactive photo booth installations allowed visitors to enter the worlds of well-known films that originally premiered at the festival, including Dogtown and Z-Boys. The photo station had guests stand on a skateboard set next to a sideways backdrop of Santa Monica beach; the printed photographs were then turned horizontally to make it look like guests were captured mid-trick on a skateboard ramp.

For this year's iteration of the Chase Sapphire activation at Sundance, Abel McCallister Designs created several new photo booth installations based on movies, including Hairspray, Hoosiers, and Little Shop of Horrors (pictured).

At the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s gala in Miami, guests could pose for photos behind an oversize golden picture frame. Shiraz Events provided decor for the event, which drew 600 guests to the JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts in December.

At the Lipton Uplift Lounge at the Sundance Film Festival in January, guests including Lil Jon could pose for photos while sitting in a real ski-lift chair set against a snowy, branded backdrop.

Groupon hosted its Camp Groupon event last July at the Swissôtel Chicago. Kehoe Designs spruced up the hotel with thematic decor for the weekend, including a photo station area with a woodsy backdrop that included life preservers, boat paddles, and bundled logs.

To celebrate the release of Girls season one on Blu-ray—and to hype the second season—HBO hosted a cocktail party at Toronto's House of Moments in December. Guests were encouraged to snap Instagram photos in front of a backdrop based on Central Park in New York City, where Girls is set. The Big Apple-inspired area had lampposts, trees, shrubs, and backdrops decked with New York City architecture.

David Copperfield helped produce the L.A.'s Promise "A Night of Magic" gala in October. The producers at Chad Hudson Events worked with Copperfield's team to set up a photo booth that made it look as though guests were floating in midair in front of the famous magician. In reality, the station had a potted plant placed sideways against a wall, while attendees stood on a metal stand that was hidden from the camera by clothing and feet.

To introduce its new line of men's grooming products and promote its partnership with Space Expedition Corporation to send 22 fans on a flight beyond Earth's atmosphere, Axe built its own space academy in January. The brand turned the Cullman Hall of the Universe at the American Museum of Natural History into its secret space headquarters for the launch event, placing a moon-landing-inspired photo op area up front.

Last fall’s New Yorkers for Children gala had a "light the way" theme, inspired by the nonprofit's mission to improve the lives of young people. David Stark handled the decor, embellishing a photo backdrop of a forest scene with white birch trees, lush greenery, and a path lit by lanterns.

In November, NBC once again hosted Democracy Plaza at Rockefeller Center in New York, a free interactive, election-focused exhibit and promotion for the public that also served as its election-night coverage hub. Inside the Rockefeller Plaza concourse, people lined up to have their photos taken in side-by-side replicas of the White House press room and the Oval Office.

For Dos Equis's "Most Interesting Masquerade," held in Chelsea's historic Masonic Hall in New York and produced by Mirrorball, body painter Craig Tracy drew half a lion's face on the sides of two models. When the models sat back-to-back inside a gold picture frame, the full face of the lion was visible and formed the backdrop of a photo op.

For last year’s American Heart Association gala in Seattle, event designer Matthew Parker created a photo backdrop for the Kentucky Derby-themed event that included a life-size papier-mâché horse made from more than 5,000 individually placed construction-paper strips.

To promote its new line of Outdoor Life apparel, Sears built a campsite-themed area in New York’s Times Square last October. Guests could pose in a photo op area that was set up to look like a real campsite, with a tent, faux grass, a fire pit, and outdoorsy props.

Transitions Optical, working with chef Robert Irvine, had a two-story activation at the recent South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Grand Tasting Village. Inside the structure, guests posed at a Mad Hatter's tea-party-themed dining set with props, including cutouts of Irvine’s face.

For a recent wedding in New York, Oh Snap Smile constructed a unique photo booth environment: Guests were shot from above while lounging in a bed strewn with custom pillows to use as props.

For e-commerce company Vente-Privee USA's one-year anniversary party held last November in New York, StudioBooth set up a custom photo set with fall leaves and vintage props, designed to mimic the company’s fall campaign. The images were turned into animated GIFs that were emailed to guests.

Photoboothless recently launched Instaboothless, a photo system that prints out physical copies of photos taken on Instagram at an event. Guests take photos on their smartphones, then tag them with a specific hashtag which automatically uploads them to the Instaboothless printer. Designated event photographers also roam the crowd taking pictures of guests with the Instagram app and sending them to the printer. The prints include space for custom graphics and messages. Pricing starts from $650, and the system is available nationwide.