Checklists

The Web site for the American Cancer Society's Discovery Ball in Chicago has animation, so planner Lee Kite works with a web developer to ensure  the site is viewable on smartphones and other devices.

Shiraz Events helped produce Oxygen’s upfront event in New York last year. At the colorful bash, held inside the Penthouse at Dream, the centerpiece was a presentation platform topped with a 25-foot-wide, 14-foot-tall yellow arch embedded with marquee lights. The piece was modular, allowing the team to construct it and break it down in under an hour.

Setting up audio properly will ensure sound comes through loud and clear at your next event.

Cort director of marketing and product development Kevin Dana advises making sure you know how much design and space-planning assistance your vendor provides.

Marcy Blum

"I think we were the first to book the IAC building for a wedding ceremony. In collaboration with PBD, we used the video screen for a custom-made backdrop."

"If you want your staff to look elegant, the best bet is to supply their ensembles."

"Doughnuts have become hugely popular, so we hired the doughnut specialist from the Food Network to fry them on premises as party favors in place of the dreaded cupcake stack."

At Engage!13, a luxury-wedding summit that took place in Scottsdale, Arizona, in December, designers from Gifts for the Good Life crafted birdcage lanterns to use as escort cards. The lanterns, which had guests' names and table numbers written in calligraphy, were hung on a wall of hydrangea.