For an October 2012 wedding at the New York Public Library, Xochitl Gonzalez of AAB Productions designed a chuppah made of books. "We were inspired by the location, of course, but also by a display of books that the groom liked in a bookstore—and, of course, the lightbulb room at the Gramercy Park Hotel," Gonzalez said. "We used books to create the wedding canopy and created spirals as well as a 'shelf' at the top. We wanted a grand library feel, so we used the red drapes as a backdrop, and we opened them up after the cocktail hour. The canopy served as a bar backdrop."
In 2011, In Style's Golden Globes party with Warner Brothers at the Beverly Hilton had a chic library look designed by Thomas Ford. Ford was inspired by a luxury penthouse and constructed a tent over the hotel pool to transform the space, creating the feel of a dark library with custom black leather tufted couches and 3,000 wrapped books on elaborate bookshelves.
At the Pratt Institute Fashion Show and Cocktail Benefit on April 25, models walked a ribbon-shaped runway. Held at Center548 in New York, the show displayed edgy looks from 17 student designers, and Blumlein Associates Inc. designed the fittingly forward-thinking runway and set. With a design team led by Claudia Castro—herself a Pratt alum—the runway was designed so that the collection could be viewed from any angle in the room.
Guests arriving at USA Network's event atop the High Line in New York last summer found a receiving line of umbrella-wielding staffers, who provided shelter all the way to the entrance of the covered bash.
For a conference in Philadelphia earlier this year, local florist Sullivan Owen Floral & Event Design created an eye-catching photo backdrop adorned with fresh flowers. Owen has since brought the backdrop to other events in the area and is working on new variations.
