
For the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s gala, held in Miami in December, Shiraz Events designed miniature terrariums in fishbowls, that were placed on highboy tables during cocktail hour.
Photo: Courtesy of Shiraz

The Mint Agency used sand, shells, and bowls holding live fish as centerpieces at the September premiere dinner for Spring Breakers during the Toronto International Film Festival.
Photo: Jennifer Meriano

For the Clean the World gala, held at the Peabody Orlando in 2011, Special Event Floral filled fishbowls with blue marbles, then added battery-operated lights. The Peabody Orlando's duck soap appeared to float on top of each centerpiece.
Photo: Mitra Sorrells/BizBash

David Monn decorated the Park Avenue Armory in New York for the 2012 holiday season. Monn used candles housed inside glass fishbowls to line the baseboards inside the ornate space.
Photo: Courtesy of the Park Avenue Armory

Held on March 9, the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science’s annual Galaxy Gala had an aquatic theme inspired by the museum’s new facility now under construction, which includes a 500,000-gallon aquarium. Produced by Jose Dans and held at the JW Marriott Marquis, the various centerpiece designs by Wow Factor included stacked fishbowls filled with sand, lichen, pincushion proteas, and red branches.
Photo: Meg Pukel

Dinner at the California Science Center’s Discovery Ball, held in Los Angeles in March, took place underneath the wings of the Endeavour space shuttle. Reflecting the space theme, illuminated tables were topped with mini solar systems and tropical flowers in glass bowls.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

At the 2009 awards reception for Commercial Real Estate Women, a national association representing women in the industry, fishbowls holding live goldfish were embedded into the bars, adding to the evening's aquatic theme.
Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash

For New York Design Center's table at Diffa’s Dining by Design in New York in 2011, Coffinier Ku Design folded red napkins into flower shapes and topped each one with a flower- and water-filled glass bowl.
Photo: Emily Gilbert for BizBash

At Diffa’s Dining by Design in Chicago in 2011, Erg International’s table, designed by Weetu, was topped with filmstrip-filled glass bowls.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

For a recent press event in Los Angeles, Paul Frank brought Starring Fragrances for a station that offered custom scents as takeaways for guests, based on their personal preferences.
Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision for Saban Brands/AP Images

After a long Oscar night, host Seth MacFarlane's official after-party included a station from Tkees, which encouraged guests to check their heels (similar to the way they would at a coat check) and pick up a pair of flip-flops—in gold, appropriate to the occasion.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash

At Stella McCartney's Resort 2013 presentation in New York, a cart overflowing with roses and peonies stood near the entrance to the venue. As guests left, they picked up small bouquets or single stems as festive gifts.
Photo: Jim Shi

Looking to boost event proceeds, Miami Children's Hospital Foundation went beyond the basic silent auction by enlisting a group of hunky male volunteers to showcase auction items at its Wine, Women & Shoes event in February.
Photo: Yamila Lomba

Colorful nail polish bottles filled champagne glasses at L'Oréal’s brunch planned by Joe Moller at the Viceroy EOS Restaurant in Miami.
Photo: Joe Moller

At its Coachella party, Lacoste set up a nail art station, where guests could stop by for colorful, branded looks applied in a breezy white cabana.
Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Lacoste

The Vintage Table Company offers vintage china, glassware, and flatware sourced from estates, thrift stores, and flea markets, for a purposefully mismatched tabletop look.
Photo: Wildflowers Photography

Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS hosted its 16th annual Dining by Design event in New York, where Croscill's table got a bright pink quilted tablecloth and clear Chiavari chairs that gave the setup a look that resembled a canopy bed.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

In Los Angeles in the days before Coachella kicked off, jewelry brand Haute Betts hosted a party with a floral garland-making station, where guests could create their own festival-ready looks—and wear them to contribute an on-brand, boho-chic atmosphere in the party space.
Photo: Vivien Killilea

In the Toronto area, Vintage China Hire offers an eclectic mix of vintage and antique tableware for events and has partnered with Loic Gourmet to offer catered afternoon tea packages.
Photo: Courtesy of Vintage China Hire

The recent Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows' 100th anniversary bash kicked off with a performance by the Aqualillies, a troupe of water ballerinas.
Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Essie

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Hot Pink Party in Boston honored Evelyn Lauder with displays of her favorite flower, peonies, which decorated tables along with orange roses.
Photo: Michael Blanchard Photography
Zagat's "30 Under 30" Series

Zagat's "30 Under 30" series honors young talent in the culinary industry, and an event to celebrate Chicago's winners took place at Nellcote on March 25. Shiraz Events produced the sleek affair, which had a marquee-style "Z" to honor the host brand.
Photo: Jeff Schear
'Food & Wine' Best New Chefs Event

At the culinary event at New York's Pranna on April 2, large marquee letters spelling out "Food & Wine" surrounded a lounge area.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Roth Capital Partners Conference

Larger-than-life letters spelled out the host group's name at the Orange County financial conference, which took place in late March and had a party with a performance by Macklemore.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Fox Emmy Party

Working with Fox's Bob Stillo, Russell Harris Event Group produced the Fox Emmy party at Soleto Trattoria and Pizzaria in Los Angeles last September. The Russell Harris team described the event as having a "Restoration Hardware-esque" look, with design by Thomas Ford. A Ford-designed sculpture used old-fashioned sign letters, metal numbers, and plexiglass signage to represent the three hosting networks: Fox Broadcasting, 20th Century Fox, and the FX channel.
Photo: Dan Scott/American Image Gallery

At a 40th birthday party, Susan Holland Events filled the Stephan Weiss Studio in New York with disco ball lights and projected French surrealist films, while a swing hung near the dance floor.
Photo: Jamie Watts

Todd Events made a wedding held inside a large barn in Aspen seem more intimate with two tall signature bars and scattered seating and food station vignettes. Hanging glass globes appeared to lower the ceilings.
Photo: Karlisch Wrubel Photography

Inspired by the family’s love of candy, David Monn used ring pops, gummy frogs, lollipops, and sour apple gummy rings to create the centerpieces at a recent bat mitzvah.
Photo: Brian Dorsey Studios

Ritzy Bee Events used craft paper and chalk to label the passed appetizers for a rehearsal dinner at the Decatur House in Washington so guests wouldn’t be left guessing.
Photo: Kate Headley Photography

For a donut-themed bridal shower put together by blogger Elsie Larson, a giant chalkboard filled with descriptive doodles served as the backdrop of the food spread.
Photo: Elsie Larson/elsiecake.com

For an upscale dinner party, Fête presented a clambake menu in a formal, modern setting by having waiters serve custom Plexiglas trays filled with seafood.
Photo: Huy Nguyen/Love Unscripted

At a casual outdoor wedding in California planned by Kate Miller Events, gingham flags displaying table numbers were tucked into vintage soda bottles filled with flowers.
Photo: True Love Photo

Guests created custom perfumes at a scent bar set up by Ka-Mil-Yin, a Los Angeles-based fragrance company that specializes in perfume parties, to take home as a favor from a bridal shower.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina

For a dandy-themed graduation party in Hollywood, Canvas & Canopy designed a dessert buffet that eschewed the twee look in favor of a sophisticated display of treats on cake stands made from vintage candlesticks and shelves built using industrial pipes.
Photo: Jonathan Moore

For a New York couple marrying at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, Heather Snively of Weddings Unique recreated the newlyweds’ hometown with a hand-painted backdrop of Central Park from Greenery Productions. Lighting and real trees helped the scene come to life.
Photo: Shiprapanosian.com

Marcy Blum Associates built a bakery-style display case to offer guests breakfast-to-go treats from New York bakeries at the end of a wedding reception.
Photo: Eliot Holzman Photograph

Jes Gordon/Proper Fun created a supper club atmosphere at Gotham Hall in New York for a recent bar mitzvah. Four-hundred luminaries filled with LED candles were hung from a large oval truss on the ceiling.
Photo: Andre Maier Photography

Matthew Parker Events crafted lighting fixtures for a speakeasy-themed wedding using hats from a party supply store, decorative ribbon, corded wire, and filament bulbs.
Photo: Yvonne Wong

For a wedding at the King Plow Event Gallery in Atlanta, Bold American Events & Catering designed an upside-down centerpiece of yellow tulips and glass globes that hung above the head table.
Photo: Our Labor of Love

David Beahm Design put together a farm cart filled with Israeli market-inspired treats, like jars of honey, nuts, and dried apricots, which was displayed at the wedding of a couple looking to tie in their Israeli roots. Guests filled small burlap bags to take home.
Photo: Courtesy of David Beahm Design

At a wedding designed by Triton Productions, the focal point of the pre- and post-ceremony cocktail area at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach was a custom-designed 360-degree bar made of corrugated mirror.
Photo: Donnanewman.com

Bryn Chernoff of Paperfinger created custom calligraphy stamps of each guest’s name, which doubled as place cards and favors at a private dinner party held at the Foundry in New York.
Photo: Jen Huang Photography

The tables at a graffiti-themed bar mitzvah designed by David Stark Design and Production, held at Center 548 in New York, displayed arrangements of daffodils and ranunculuses sprouting from cinder block planters.
Photo: Susan Montagna

Bathroom amenity baskets are a staple at social events, sometimes tying to the event’s motif, like this one created by State of the Art Enterprises for a bar mitzvah with a graphic pattern theme.
Photo: Carlos Andres Varela

Jeffrey Foster of Event Creative designed custom-built tables and props, including glowing baseball diamond-shaped tables and a scoreboard that hung above the dance floor, for a bar mitzvah at the Ravenswood Event Center in Chicago.
Photo: Lee Ross Photography

For a vodka shot bar at a birthday party designed by Kristi Amoroso Special Events, the bottles were displayed in a sculptural arrangement of textured ice spheres.
Photo: Nick Brown Photography

Mélangerie Inc.’s customized wedding genealogy charts detail the relationship of the wedded couple to their guests with the help of a relationship key. Guests browse the chart during the cocktail hour to learn about their tablemates.
Photo: Courtesy of Mélangerie Inc.

For a wedding at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Marc Hall Design built seven-foot-tall mirrored glass vessels to hold apple tree branches adorned with phalaenopsis orchids that were kept hydrated through a system of hand-blown glass pipes.
Photo: Gruber Photographers

For a bat mitzvah at Guastavino’s in New York, Susan Holland Events used Tyvek pillows hand-stitched with neon thread as chargers. After the meal, waiters threw the pillows in the center of the tables, where they glowed under black light.
Photo: Johannes Kroemer

Levy Lighting and Preston Bailey collaborated on a wedding after-party lounge held in a tent, with the ceiling lit from behind to create the glowing effect.
Photo: Courtesy of Levy Lighting

Diffa's four-day event ran alongside the Architectural Digest Home Show. Attendees entered the Diffa section of the trade show floor by walking through a tunnel of exposed lightbulbs that hung overhead.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

At Gensler and Herman Miller's vignette, the dining table was surrounded by walls covered in thousands of Hershey's Kisses wrapped in purple foil. Attendees were invited to take one as a symbol of the "many hands it takes to spark positive change."
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

As part of Diffa's Student Design Initiative, five of New York's top design schools created installations for the showcase, under the direction of industry mentors and within a strict budget. Students from the Pratt Institute, working with mentor Arpad Baksa, used Pegboard, twinkle lights, and individually placed test tubes to create a sparkling rendering of a world map.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Maya Romanoff and the Rockwell Group collaborated with the producers of Kinky Boots to create a dining environment that would celebrate the April 4 opening of the Broadway show. A chandelier of patent leather boots interspersed with red lightbulbs floated above the red tabletop, and the wall panels were designed to resemble laced-up corsets.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

As a nod to the walls at the Kinky Boots table, Romanoff stitched corset-like napkin holders.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Many designers had spring on the mind, with several environments dedicated to garden motifs. Rachel Laxer Interiors with Robert Kuo designed an ode to Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard with a mural of an 18th-century woman falling from a swing and a centerpiece of moody floral arrangements and fresh fruit.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Rachel Laxer Interiors' table settings included moss-covered chargers and—similar to the Kinky Boots table—corseted napkin holders.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

The Eric Warner for Aesthete table, hosted by Tracy Reese, also jumped on the spring bandwagon, featuring faux butterflies and lightbulbs hanging from an overhead trellis, as well as a wall displaying patterned fabric panels and a silhouette made entirely out of moss.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Beacon Hill conceived a Midnight Garden vignette, which was hidden behind walls of boxwood shrubs draped in patterned fabric. The moody setting included an arrangement of twinkle lights, moss, orchids, and silk butterflies.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Aerin Lauder designed a table for Kravet that showcased her yet-to-be-released fabric collection for Lee Jofa, covering the table and surrounding walls in a purple damask-patterned linen. The table settings included rattan chargers and bamboo flatware.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Kenneth Cobonpue's table was enclosed inside a sort of wicker birdcage. At the center of the organic wooden table was a mound of moss topped with bowls that held live Betta fish; directly above was a chandelier composed of glass jars holding faux fireflies.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Echo Design’s table celebrated nature by encasing artfully arranged insects, butterflies, and shells inside a clear tabletop. Several of the company’s patterned scarves were backlit on the surrounding walls.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Another trend spotted on the Diffa floor: black-and-white stripes. The Architectural Digest table featured the striking pattern on the china, the surrounding columns, a giant paper lantern, and the table itself. A centerpiece of brightly hued anemones and poppies popped against the stark palette.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

The New York School of Interior Design led by Marc Blackwell set up a table that paid tribute to the fight against AIDS with a table runner composed of hundreds of red ribbons.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

A cute touch at Michael Amini's Old Hollywood-themed table: film canisters serving as chargers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Titled "Dinner in the Boudoir de Madame," the installation created by Charlene Bank Keogh, Adeline Olmer, and Blane Charles was designed to look like the apartment of an eccentric socialite. Housed inside the base of one of the Lucite coffee tables were several pairs of red high heels.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Federico Delrosso for Corinthian Capital Group built a dining room inside a fabricated rooftop-style water tower. New York City rooftop views were projected onto the walls inside.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Resembling a canopy bed, Croscill's table was covered in a bright pink quilted tablecloth and surrounded by clear Chiavari chairs.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

David Stark returned to create an installation for paint company Benjamin Moore. The entire room—from the floor to the chandeliers—was painted in a kaleidoscope of colors, and on the back wall, an LED screen looped a video montage of Stark's team designing the space from start to finish.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Orange was popular color choice this year. Marc Blackwell painted an entire wall in the hue, covering it with an eclectic collection of china. Nearby, a giant tree-stump table displayed a oversize drum shade lamp as a centerpiece, surrounded by orange and white tulips. A charming touch: porcelain birds at each place setting made chirping noises.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Vern Yip also went for orange with his design for Fabricut, which included an oversize, damask-patterned drum shade chandelier and a centerpiece composed of fabric flowers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

The table Frette designed for The New York Times was housed inside a black-and-white striped cabana. With rustic wood accents, fresh oranges, and arrangements of olive tree branches, the tabletop had a Tuscan countryside vibe.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

The design from New York University students mentored by David Rockwell and Barry Richards was dubbed "Desconstructed Closet"; the table, chairs, and backdrop were all made using wire hangers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Interior design firm EDG's offering was a collapsible, portable dining unit, designed to be used as a pop-up restaurant or alongside food trucks. The chandeliers were made from plastic straws, and the table centerpieces included frosted Mason jars holding votive candles.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

At the Ralph Lauren Home table, vases filled with fluffy white ranunculuses echoed the oversize white paper lanterns glowing overhead. A slate waterfall backdrop flanked by palm tree trunks completed the tranquil scene.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Flexform & Dror's tribute to water conservation included chalkboard walls that had water factoids scrawled across them; at the center was a moving projection of a waterfall.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

The table by Rottet Studio and Morgans Hotel Group displayed leather walls, exposed lightbulbs, and dishware that resembled curled-up book pages.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Working with Jes Gordon, students from the Fashion Institute of Technology composed a black, white, and gold look. Overhead, black-and-white portraits hung from a circular, glowing chandelier.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

At Patrón's area, the walls were draped in sheer chiffon, and hanging tequila bottles held flickering votives.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Stefan Steilish composed an installation of individual tables separated by Lucite dividers. The idea behind the design was that people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS can feel isolated, but once that person looks beyond, he or she realizes that others are facing the same fears, and connection is possible.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash