The 2011 premiere party for WE TV's Braxton Family Values—a show about singer Toni Braxton—took place atop the London West Hollywood and featured a decidedly feminine look. To gussy up the central pool, florist C.J. Matsumoto covered foam spheres in bright pink flowers, then attached the arrangements to weights anchored to the bottom of the pool.
Photo: Dale Wilcox Photography/DWP
To kick off its summer-long partnership, eyewear brand Warby Parker hosted a summer pool party in June 2012 at the Standard in downtown Los Angeles. In addition to staffers pushing library-style book carts around the space as a way to get guests to try on the limited-edition shades, poolside tables also displayed the glasses alongside buckets of branded towels.
Photo: Lauren Farmer
In March, Vogue Eyewear hosted an al fresco party at a private mansion in Los Angeles. In the backyard, beach balls and a gobo of the brand's logo decorated the pool, around which furniture groupings and lanterns hanging from trees created a summery feel.
Photo: Courtesy of Vogue Eyewear
To launch its latest special edition art series label—and raise funds for Haiti—Ferllen Winery teamed up with the Amigos Near Foundation for an arty event in Miami in February. On the deck upstairs, mounted pieces from photographer Tomas Loewy floated on the turquoise water, giving the appearance of unusually decorative rafts.
Photo: Tomas Loewy
Ideal for poolside events where you want to send a message, Melbourne, Florida-based Aqua Art Enterprises makes custom mats in the shape of corporate logos (or other images) that sink to the bottom of a swimming pool for a painted-on look.
Photo: Courtesy of Aqua Art Enterprises
To mark the 25th anniversary of Shark Week, Discovery hosted an event in August 2012 that put sharks in the pool of the Beverly Hilton. The scary fish weren't real, of course, but rather slowly moving projections devised by the planning and production team from Event Eleven.
Photo: Courtesy of Discovery Communications
In addition to the roaming Playboy bunnies, playmates, and scantily clad dancers at Playboy's 2010 Super Bowl party in Miami, performers dressed as mermaids from Zhantra Entertainment swam in the pool and posed for pictures.
Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash
Internet Week title sponsor Yahoo gathered some 100 business executives for a private event at a five-story loft townhouse in New York in May of 2012 to mark the relaunch of advertising tool Genome. The Internet company partnered with Swank Productions to give the space a more modern aesthetic, which included decorating the indoor pool area with large clear and silver balloons, and hiring a trio of synchronized swimmers from Gotham Synchro dressed in head-to-toe body suits.
Photo: Sean T. Smith
To build buzz around its summer tour series, Sunglass Hut hosted a block party in June 2012. Produced by Relevent's Tony Berger, the early evening shindig spanned an entire West Village block in New York and included a pool built on the sidewalk. As a way to spark interaction, guests received permanent markers to sign the wooden deck surrounding the pool.
Photo: Sara Jaye Weiss
During the first weekend of Coachella in 2012, Lacoste threw a pool party presented by HTC at a private estate in nearby Thermal, California. Surrounded by branded cabanas, the pool was filled with inflatable versions of the clothing company's signature green crocodile.
Photo: John Sciulli/WireImage
Guests at the Lacoste Live pool party during Coachella in 2012 could cool off with snow cones at a station provided by sponsor Fiji Water.
Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images
During Simon G. Jewelry's launch of its eco-friendly line in 2010, held at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, pool performances by women dressed in white costumes doing ballet moves inside huge plastic bubbles floating on the water added drama to the evening. The performers were booked through Best Agency.
Photo: IS Photography/ImagesofVegas.com
In 2010, email newsletter Thrillist brought Hotel Thrillist, a party-packed traveling promotion, to Los Angeles. The weekend-long programming included a pool party at a private mansion on Saturday afternoon, where the Aqualillies performed a synchronized swim routine.
Photo: Colin Young-Wolff
One of the biggest annual events on the South Beach spring-break circuit, the Victoria’s Secret Pink pool party took place at the Shelborne Beach Resort in Miami in March 2012. The upscale poolside lounge was turned into a Victoria's Secret Pink haven, decked out in branded furniture, pool toys, balloons, and beach gear.
Photo: Courtesy of Victoria's Secret
Absolut Vodka launched its latest vodka in November 2012 at an ExtraExtra-produced event at the Standard Miami Beach. Self-sealing mylar balloons spelling out the brand name were clustered as a backdrop for a synchronized swimming performance by the Dolphinettes to music by DJ Mia Moretti.
Photo: Seth Browarnik/WorldRedEye.com
Making the most of the rooftop pool at the Empire Hotel in New York, La Perla floated its name in the water for a poolside swimwear presentation during Fashion Week in 2008.
Photo: Jennifer Graylock
To launch its "It's So Miami" campaign in 2012, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor's Bureau erected a pop-up pool party in New York's Union Square. The setup included a plunge pool and a wading pool, as well as 17-foot-tall palm trees, a cabana for the media, lounge chairs, and a DJ area. The pools looked out of place in the gritty big-city locale—which was exactly the point of the promotion.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
To promote Rickland Orchards Greek yogurt bars, and as part of its Fancy Food Show activation, the brand took to the streets of Washington with two branded pedi-cabs. Each vehicle contained staffers dressed as Greek gods and goddesses who gave out samples to passersby.
Photo: Mark Silva
Fox Upfront Party
Fox also brought back the illuminated balloons it had last year, using the inflatables printed with the names of shows to guide guests through the dark.
Photo: André Maier Photography
Many designs at the National Stationery Show were printed on real wood, like the retro-patterned one from Designers' Fine Press.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Luminato and Royal Ontario Museum's Big Bang Bash
On June 8, the Big Bang Bash took over the Royal Ontario Museum to celebrate the opening of the "Viktor & Rolf Dolls" exhibition; the gala also marked the opening of the Luminato multidisciplinary arts festival. A conveyer belt served everything from cocktails to cupcakes to poached lobster tails.
George Pimentel Photography
Killer Cupcakes
The eighth and final season of Dexter begins Sunday, and Magnolia Bakery has a gory treat to honor the show's namesake sociopath. The Killer Cupcake, available at Magnolia's New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago outposts through June 30, tops red velvet cake with spattered caramel "blood" and "glass" shards made out of sugar. The shivers-inducing snacks, which make for fun viewing-party fare, are also available on Showtime's Web site.
Photo: Courtesy of Magnolia Cupcakes
A conveyer belt served everything from cocktails to cupcakes to poached lobster tails. Drinks included "the Bomb," made with Ketel One vodka, elderflower cordial, and lemon; and "the V&R" was made with Bombay Sapphire Gin, Earl Grey tea syrup, lemon juice, and sparkling water.
Photo: George Pimentel Photography
In June, Samsung hit New York to launch its Galaxy SIII smartphone, hosting a late-night party to show off the device's features. The entrance to the event was a tunnel filled with voice recordings of frustrated smartphone users, designed to contrast with the setting inside.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
The Paintbrush ball in Chicago celebrated Marwen's silver anniversary with ubiquitous pops of the metallic hue. Guests entered the dinner tent through a tunnel of silver balloons.
Photo: Joseph R. Palmer
The Robin Hood Foundation returned to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for its annual gala May 14 with a subway theme. Rattling sound effects set the scene in the entrance tunnel.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
As guests entered New York's Metropolitan Museum through the Great Hall for the Costume Institute gala, they met a 24-foot-tall cynlinder covered in 40,000 roses from Colombia and Ecuador with a lip pattern inspired by Schiaparelli and Prada designs. A team of 150 staffers worked to prepare the floral decor.
Photo: BFAnyc.com
During Coachella, a huge crowd packed into an airport hangar in Thermal, California, for the Armani Exchange and T-Mobile's Neon Carnival. Guests entered the space through a dramatic up-lit corridor.
Photo: Seth Browarnik/WorldRedEye.com
Diffa Trend: Alternative Centerpieces
Stephanie Goto also skipped a centerpiece, instead creating what she called a "chan-dine-lier." Designed to feel like dining inside of a chandelier, the quirky table was encircled by fluorescent PVC strips. Inside, a circular bench surrounding the table was interrupted every few feet with a 2-D cut-out of a seated person.
Photo: Ronnie Andren for BizBash
At the Kohl's Launch of Juicy Couture, an elaborate press wall of roses was inset with a sparkling logo. The event took place at the John Lautner-designed Sheats-Goldstein residence in Los Angeles in September.
Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Kohl's
![“We love the oval table [from Lavish Event Rentals] as it is a new shape for a dining experience for guests to enjoy at an intimate and modern gathering.” —Karla Dascal of Karla Conceptual Event Experiences in Miami Oval dining table, $550, available throughout South Florida from Lavish Event Rentals](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/01/oval_dining_lider.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
“We love the oval table [from Lavish Event Rentals] as it is a new shape for a dining experience for guests to enjoy at an intimate and modern gathering.” —Karla Dascal of Karla Conceptual Event Experiences in Miami Oval dining table, $550, available throughout South Florida from Lavish Event Rentals
Photo: Courtesy of Lavish Event Rentals
