WHITE PARTY

The 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards gala in Los Angeles had a striking but simple look, with bunches of upside-down calla lillies hanging overhead. White furnishings were arranged in lounge-like formations.

White decor dominated the ballroom at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles for Elle's Women in Hollywood awards in 2009. The space, which was decked out in white furnishings, linens, and dinnerware, had splashes of color in the form of floral centerpieces.

At the American Film Institute's lifetime achievement award after-party in Los Angeles in 2010, white flowers topped the tufted bars.

Hospitality brand Nikki Beach hosted a V.I.P. pop-up lounge for the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009. The space on the 18th floor of the Park Hyatt was outfitted with flowing white curtains and white quilted leather furnishings, and white-lacquered bamboo was used to divide the space.

Diffa's Chicago Dining by Design benefit in 2010 featured an all-white display by CS Interiors, with white bird-shaped props at each place setting and fluffy white pillows on chairs.

In 2006, nonprofit art organization Performa instructed its guests to wear white—the combined "canvas" of their outfits served as moving screens for colorful video projections produced by Gerrit Vooren and Brian Miller of Reels4Artists.

The Joffrey Ballet's 2010 spring gala had a modern look, with abstract fabric sculptures that hovered over the cocktail tables and formed a barrier between the reception area and dinner tables.

For Diffa's New York Dining by Design benefit in 2004, Robert Rufino of luxury jewelry company Tiffany crafted a towering centerpiece of white feathers and strings of iridescent beads. The structure was surrounded by small bunches of white flowers at the base. Other touches included marabou boas, which draped the backs of the chairs, and a white rug.

The Giselle gala at the Harris Theater this year boasted all-white decor with large, transparent cubes that were suspended from the ceiling in the dining area. Ferns and white freesia dotted the table tops.

For the National Ballet of Canada's "White Hot" gala in 2009, Three Event Planning & Design topped the dining tables with tall cone-shaped plexiglass towers that projected different colors onto white mannequin heads at the base of each structure.

At Tourism Toronto's client reception in 2007, a three-tiered acrylic structure that was accented with wild white flowers and green vines served as a display for all-white chocolate sushi bites.

For New York's first Dîner en Blanc at the World Financial Center Plaza last year, guests were asked to wear white clothing and bring a list of items—including white plastic folding chairs and square tables, white tablecloths and napkins, white dinnerware.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Crafted by Sylvia Weinstock, the individual cakes stood just under eight inches tall and included a piece designed to resemble a bottle of Victoria's Secret's Very Sexy Now perfume.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.