Ribbon Cutting

Entertain a crowd post-sunset with an alfresco movie experience. Utah-based Open Air Cinema is an outdoor cinema equipment supplier and event producer, with rental affiliates throughout the U.S. The company can provide screens up to 40 feet wide, as well as snacks such as popcorn and hot dogs. (The theater systems can also be set up for video games or karaoke.) Event production costs start from $2,000, and Open Air Cinema can help obtain a public performance license for movies, which can cost between $300 and $500.

Companies including Turner Classic Movies and American Express have booked water ballet company the Aqualillies. The female synchronized swimmers wear vintage swimsuits, flowered swim caps, and red lipstick, while performing a tightly choreographed routine to music. Based in Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York, prices are available on request.

New York-based GrooveHoops performs a mix of dance and acrobatics while manipulating Hula-Hoops. The six performers stage choreographed sets that typically last four to seven minutes, while using standard variety, glowing LED, or fire-lit Hula-Hoops. GrooveHoops travels worldwide; fees start from $500 for one performer.

Entertainment company Zen Arts offers an array of entertainment options for dramatic outdoor entertaining, including fire dancers, costumed mermaids, and transparent “bubble spheres” that float on water while holding dancers. Most recently, six female Olympians joined the company’s synchronized swimming troupe. Based in Los Angeles, Zen Arts performers can travel worldwide; performances cost between $10,000 and $100,000.

Bicycle action performer Trevor Bodogh performs gravity-defying tricks on two wheels while traversing a portable set of obstacles like ramps and platforms. The 25-minute set features Bodogh executing moves like climbing up a six-and-a-half-foot-tall “Devil’s Staircase” on his seatless bike. Bodogh can perform outdoors on a variety of surfaces, and he brings his own equipment, music, and sound system. Based in Toronto, Bodogh travels across the U.S. and Canada; fees start from $1,500.

In addition to nighttime fireworks displays, PyroTecnico can also present daytime “fireworks” shows using colored smoke. With offices throughout the U.S., the company can stage performances anywhere. Prices available on request.

Tired of the all-white leather look? Leslee Bell of Decor & More is creating lounge areas with rental furniture that incorporates textured fabrics such as suede, chenille, herringbone, and wide whale corduroy, along with throw pillows featuring stripes, abstract patterns, and animal prints.

Vintage China Hire offers an eclectic mix of vintage and antique tableware for events of as many as 120 people. Vintage China Hire has also partnered with Loic Gourmet to offer catered afternoon tea packages for a minimum of 12 people.

Contemporary Furniture Rentals has a variety of items ideal for pulling off a rustic look, including barrel stave chandeliers, coffee and cocktail tables made from reclaimed wood, and its new Farmhouse dining chairs (pictured).

In an effort to prevent large staging and exhibit structures from ending up in landfills, Arlington, Virginia-based design firm Beth Singer Design has developed modular staging systems that can be reused, reconfigured, and resized. The portable, lightweight frames are easily customized with a variety of wrinkle-free fabric skins.

Event planning company Well Rehearsed offers its ready-made Streets of San Francisco centerpiece collection for rent or purchase. The 10 reusable designs in the line incorporate some of San Francisco’s most iconic landmarks, imagery, and neighborhoods.

Blueprint Studios rents a variety of modern display furnishings engineered to contain the latest technology, including media towers, coffee tables, and bars fit with LCD displays. The company’s Museo collection also includes its new iPad station that can be branded and customized.

Rental company Archive Rentals has a showroom in San Clemente offering vintage items, handmade furnishings, and antiques for events. The company’s vintage Western- and camp-themed rentals (think reclaimed wood tables, picnic linens, horse tack, canoes, and retro Airstream trailers) are ideal for summer events.

Searching for modern-looking, green-minded centerpieces? Britton Neubacher-Caligure of Tend Living often eschews florals in favor of succulents, air plants, and cacti, to create organic-looking arrangements. Neubacher-Caligure also offers how-to workshops.

Scottsdale-based company BizBox offers solar-powered, portable pop-up buildings that can be used as mobile showrooms, food shops, retail stores, or tradeshow display centers. The sleek units can be purchased or leased, and feature glass walls, display panels, and a wraparound deck, all of which can be set up in about 20 minutes. The newest model features full-glass siding.

The new SculptLamps from Scottsdale-based SculptWare can work as centerpieces or cocktail-table accents. Available to rent in two sizes—14 inch, $45, or 30 inch, $65—the lamps include remote-controlled LEDs that can glow in 13 colors.

Available to rent for events in Arizona starting at $9,000, Just Light That offers pressure-sensitive interactive LED-lit floors in sizes up to 24 by 32 feet that can be synced to music. The floors can also display logos, animated images, scrolling text, or static branding.

Lititz, Pennsylvania-based production and scenic goods company Atomic Design has introduced its modular Buule and Laser panels. The 5-foot-wide fabric panels have zippers so you can customize the length and width of your backdrop. For easy shipping, a 50- by 30-foot drape fits in a 24-inch cardboard box that weighs 70 pounds.

Add a rock ’n’ roll vibe with tabletops from Max King Events that are made to look like acoustic and electric guitars. The tops can be used on 30- or 42-inch stands. The handcrafted tabletops are available in 12 designs. Prices start at $85.

The Little Glass Slipper is a new floral shop in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, owned by Cary Pereyra, who creates arrangements that offer a dose of aromatherapy. Her creations can include botanicals like echinacea for a weak immune system or mood-boosting lavender for seasonal depression.

Taylor Creative Inc. is now carrying Kartell’s invisible coffee table. A match for Louis Ghost chairs, the sleek Lucite tables rent for $150 each, and there are 16 available. Also new to Taylor’s inventory: Kartell’s invisible dining tables.

The new graffiti-inspired “Tag It” line from AFR Event Furnishings includes items such as leather sofas, chairs, acrylic tables, and ottomans that guests can permanently leave their mark on with Sharpies. The furniture items, which are for sale only, can be displayed in the office post-event.

Atlas Party Rental carries a variety of new brightly colored dishes that can add a splash to tabletops. The eye-catching purple-and-turquoise Luxe charger (pictured) rents for $8.

Little World Design specializes in sculptural, botanical objects and installations. Owners Heather Pando and Manuel Acosta favor long-lasting materials, like branches, seed pods, feathers, moss, stones, linen, and even real butterfly wings.

Holo-Walls offers interactive LED liquid tabletops filled with pressure-sensitive fluids that are designed to fit on 30-inch round cocktail tables. The illuminated, chrome-edged tiles are available to rent from $100 each; matching Liquid Fusion dance-floor tiles are also available, starting at $50 per tile.

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

Town and Country Event Rentals now offers the Cielo Blanco 4- by 8-foot dining table, available with custom fabric insets.

California-based La Tavola Fine Linen Rental has opened its first Las Vegas showroom. The company offers 11 linen collections, as well as coordinating pieces, like napkins and seat cushions.

For place settings that tie into the rustic, all-natural trend, rent Swift & Company’s 500 new Capri wood chargers for $7 per piece. Crafted from reclaimed wood and made by hand in the company’s Houston workshop, the chargers’ patinas and distress marks make for a striking tabletop element.

Event rental company Suite 206’s new Savile Row collection—from $55 to $350 for individual pieces—is inspired by the London street famous for its bespoke men’s tailoring shops. The masculine-looking furniture collection includes pieces such as the Wayly chair (pictured) and the tufted Ted settee in gray, silver, and black.

New England Country Rentals is a full-service Boston-based event rental company. The inventory includes bars, lounge furniture, china, flatware, chairs, glassware, and vintage decor items, but the company specializes in rustic custom-made tables, chairs, and benches.

Many designs at the National Stationery Show were printed on real wood, like the retro-patterned one from Designers' Fine Press.

Plum Blossom Press's take on the wood-printed look includes an additional tactile experience: a suede envelope liner.

A rustic invitation printed by AR-EN Party Printers has a letter-pressed wood grain pattern.

A more budget-friendly way to jump on the trend: Checkerboard's digitally printed wood grain pattern envelope liners.

Planning a country-western-themed event? Luscious Verde's poster-style invitation, framed with a faux bois border, has an appropriately rustic horseshoe motif.

The poster-style invitation suite from B.T. Elements comes with a ticket-style enclosure (pictured, top right).

Speaking of poster-style invites, larger-format poster-size invitations were also a big (no pun intended) trend. The one by Ladyfingers Letterpress has a Motown vibe.

Artsy, watercolor-painted designs, like the letter-pressed Watercolor invitation suite by Printerette Press, were popular at the show.

Blue and green brushstrokes on a flat-printed design from Tag & Company offer a summery feel.

No longer confined to squares and rectangles, invitations and envelopes featuring unique die-cut shapes—as exemplified by the invitation from Roxylou Design & Press—are on the rise.

B.T. Elements also has die-cut envelopes with patterned liners.

Basic envelopes are out, and colorful patterned envelope liners are in. At Kramer Drive's booth, a magnetized board displayed several of the company's liner options.

Ikat is the hot pattern of the moment. The Ikat invitation from Avie Designs features the textile pattern on belly bands and envelope liners.

Another hot trend was Gatsby-inspired design aesthetics, like the fan-patterned envelope liner seen in the vintage-looking suite from Checkerboard.

Eco-friendly stationery line Smock's new album includes 24 designs with offerings such as digitally printed liners with as many as four colors.

Laser cutting is a technique that involves a computer-controlled laser cutting paper into intricate patterns. The Avie Designs booth displayed several delicate laser-cut designs.

Dolce Press also offers a custom laser-cut option.

Kleinfeld Paper's preppy Palm Tree Monogram suite includes a laser-cut floral belly band.

Laser cutting can be pricey; for a less expensive option, look for digitally printed paper-cut-esque designs, like the invitations from B.T. Elements.

Ombre, a style in which colors subtly transition from one shade to another, is trending in the event design world. One of Tag & Company's invitations featured the sought-after look.

Elum's letter-pressed Tide invitation is a clean, modern take on the ombre trend.

Ladyfingers Letterpress's punny ombre greeting cards were nominated for Best New Product at the show.

Invitations with design inspired by Mexican folk art abounded, such as the suite from Minted.

A colorful letter-pressed invitation suite by Dolce Press is accented with patterns that look to be inspired by the traditional ceramic tile work found south of the border.

Combining two trends, Avie Designs' festive laser-cut invitation is modeled after the Mexican craft of papel picado (cut paper).

Kraft paper is ideal for signaling a casual, laid-back affair. The Hadley suite from Something Detailed's 2013 wedding collection employs kraft paper.

Letter-pressed dots form a swirling vine motif on the invite-holding kraft paper pouch pocket from Designers' Fine Press.

Eschewing patterns and motifs, many designs, including the custom one from Ladyfingers Letterpress, focus on a mix of hand-penned fonts for a look that feels equal parts classic and whimsical.

Paisley Tree Press's Mattituck invitation suite features hand-written calligraphy letter-pressed onto bright white paper.

Quaint, hand-painted illustrations were spotted all over the trade show floor, including at the booth for B.T. Elements' that showcased the Claire invitation suite from its Ashton Collection.

Illustrations were also present on the selection of hand-painted greeting cards from One Canoe Two.

Invitation designers reported that one of the most requested colors right now is gold. A popular way of achieving the glamorous metallic look is foil stamping, a printing technique that involves pressing shiny, opaque colors onto paper. Haute Papier offers an extensive collection of foil stamped goods.

Social stationery line Twist Paper showed off a shiny gold patterned design.

The foil-stamped design printed by AR-EN Party Printers also played into the Gatsby trend.

Kate Spade escort cards, foil stamped with gold polka dots, encourage mingling. (Beginning this summer, Kate Spade's stationery line will be available through Lifeguard Press.)

Hipster-fied, camping-inspired motifs and patterns popped up at booth after booth. The new Notes From Camp boxed stationery set from One Canoe Two retails for $22 and features hand-painted plaid and bandana patterns.

The new hand-illustrated Ferme A Papier collection was inspired by Parisian hipsters and biodynamic farms, according to creator Cat Seto. Her foil-stamped plaid and gingham note cards retail for $5 each.

Other invites offered a more Southwestern vibe with patterns reminiscent of Navajo textiles, such as the Clove suite by Wednesday.

Another invitation with a Southwestern-style summer-camp feel: Caroline Creates offers an eco-friendly collection printed on recycled white card stock.

Chalkboard-like design details can offer a crafty, lighthearted vibe. Tag & Company offers a flat-printed invitation.

Carlson Craft also has a few of the options featuring chalkboard details.

Black-and-white stripes accent Something Detailed's stationery suite printed on a chalkboard-style background.

Several designers found inspiration in the heavens. A letter-pressed invitation from Smock's new line features a mix of hand-lettered fonts and a map of the constellations.

Oblation Papers & Press has a sleek, pared-down interpretation of the celestial theme.

A letter-pressed invitation from Paper Boat Studios comes wrapped in a pocket printed with a detailed star chart.

Attention-grabbing colors dominated over more subtle, pastel choices. A collaboration between Haute Papier and Dabney Lee has produced a collection of neon-hued note cards.

AR-EN Party Printers showed off a graphic, flourescent triangle-patterned invite.

From event planner Shawn Rabideau's brand-new collection for Kramer Drive comes an eye-popping, trippy design.

A blind impression is a method of letter-pressing paper without using any ink to create a subtle motif or pattern. The invite, from Designers' Fine Press, features blind impressed polka dots.

Printerette Press had two examples of blind impressed patterns paired with colored text.

Hand-painted edges can add a subtle pop of color to an otherwise conservative invitation, as seen in the design from Elum.

Not wood, but an equally interesting textured print medium: Plum Blossom Press's Sonoma invitation suite is printed on cork, a style that would certainly set the right tone for a winery event.

Los Angeles PR firm BWR hosted an event in March to preview its clients' spring and summer offerings for media guests. Appropriately, the event in the firm's offices included a dessert bar decked out in shades of pink and green. There was also a make-your-own fragrance bar, nail art, treats from Georgetown Cupcake, and juices from Pressed Juicery.

The retro-style phone receivers ($30; bulk pricing available) from Native Union plug into most cell phones. A logo can be placed anywhere on the handset.