Organizers placed chairs in front of the 30-foot wall for those who preferred to watch rather than participate in the spectacle.
Photo: Fanny Reynaud
A deck leading up to the wall prominently featured hashtags.
Photo: Fanny Reynaud
The jolly jingle invite from Paperless Post will encourage cocktail party guests to be there with bells on. Basic online cards are free to send; custom options, such as logos, require coins that can be purchased through the site. A paper version is also available. Prices start at $20.40 for 10 cards.
Photo: Courtesy of Paperless Post
The elegant invitations from Tiny Prints feature a holly wreath presented on a black chalkboard-esque background for a timeless look. Pricing starts at $24.90 for 10 invites, including white envelopes.
Photo: Courtesy of Tiny Prints
Organize a fun company gift-swapping party with the charming "white elephant" invites from Minted. The design is available in five different shapes and three color choices. Pricing starts at $44 for 15 invites.
Photo: Courtesy of Minted
Foxtales invites event guests to step into a so-called “storybooth” that creates branded photos and HD videos. In addition to a customizable touch-screen interface, the booths have built-in D.S.L.R. cameras and proprietary photo-processing techniques. The pictures and videos populate a mobile-ready storyboard and can be instantly uploaded using Wi-Fi, 4G Internet, or a hard-line connection. Pricing is from $1,500 and includes five hours of run time, the customized storyboard gallery, on-site reps, and post-event analytics.
Photo: Courtesy of Foxtales
Doodlebooth is a Chicago-based company that puts a hand-drawn spin on traditional photo booths. Illustrator Jana Kinsman, who has designed custom illustrations for clients such as CB2, sits with guests and quickly sketches their portraits as take-home keepsakes; the images can also be scanned into online albums that guests can digitally share. Pricing is $650 for three hours, and there’s no extra cost for transportation to events in Chicago and nearby Evanston and Oak Park. Kinsman will travel to events throughout the country for an additional fee.
Photo: Brent Knepper
Green-screen catwalks, the latest invention from the Bosco, debuted at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in partnership with H&M. Event guests were styled in H&M gear; then, they chose a motion-graphic backdrop from a selection of some 25 styles and walked or danced in place on a moving treadmill. Using green-screen-compositing technology, the Bosco staffers created videos of users walking virtual runways, and the festivalgoers were able to instantly share their six-second videos across all social media platforms. Pricing on rentals varies per activation, and the booths can be set up at events throughout the United States and Canada.
Photo: Courtesy of the Bosco
Super Frog Saves Tokyo, billed as “storytelling plus social theory,” provides video booths for private events, with a twist: the event narratives are filmed in slow motion. The video setup comprises a RED Epic Camera, four LED lights, and a backdrop operated by two or three staffers. The resulting videos require an estimated 25 hours of production. The company has a baseline fee of $6,000 for event rentals, and the final cost can be impacted by date, location, and other details.
Photo: Courtesy of Super Frog Saves Tokyo
The Self Enhancing Live Feed Image Engine, or “S.E.L.F.I.E.” mirror, was created by New York-based digital agency iStrategy Labs. A Web camera and facial-recognition software are hidden behind the two-way mirror, along with LED lights that provide a countdown and simulate a flash, and are triggered when guests stand in front of the mirror and smile. The photo is then instantly posted to Twitter with a watermark or logo. Though it is not available for rental, the invention can be custom-built for companies to own, and pricing ranges from $35,000 to $50,000.
Photo: Courtesy of iStrategy Labs
(Pictured clockwise, from top left) Gifts of LSTN headphones provide hearing aid to people in need, This Bar Saves Lives sends food to malnourished children, NatureBox proceeds benefit Feeding America, and Toms has a buy-one-give-one coffee program.
Photos: Courtesy of LSNT, This Bar Saves Lives, NatureBox, and Toms Roasting Company
PricewaterhouseCooper Holiday Party
Fiery lighting patterns illuminated the wall and created a warm vibe at the PricewaterhouseCooper holiday party in Toronto in 2008.
Photo: Roni Feldman & Associates Inc.
At the Campfire Ball benefit for Children’s Oncology Services in May at Venue One in Chicago, Cork Catering set up a make-your-own s’mores station.
Photo: Gerber + Scarpelli Photography
Motorola X Lounge at Sundance Film Festival
With a large Motorola emblem as its backdrop, the lounge's bar had slices of tree trunks covering its base.
Photo: Courtesy of Park City Live Lounge
Russell Harris Event Group produced a winter wonderland-themed party for Fox in 2010. The designers covered the patio at Los Angeles's Villa Sorriso in blue carpeting and hung LED tubes in the trees, creating an effect that simulated falling snow.
Photo: Dan Scott/American Image Gallery
In November at Diffa's annual Dining by Design event at Chicago's Merchandise Mart, the table Hok designed for Halcon had a winter forest feel. Walls were lined with logs, and the chandelier was covered in twigs.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash
Zak Events wanted to showcase "winter whites" at the 11th annual June Briggs Awards held at the Pierre New York in January. The look included custom-built white leather tufted highboy cocktail tables topped with icy-looking glass vessels filled with candlelight.
Photo: Courtesy of Zak Events
MillerCoors celebrated the introduction of the Coors Light resealable aluminum pint can in 2010 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa. The hotel's pool area was converted into a winter scene with fake snow, ice sculptures, and illuminated high-tops meant to resemble blocks of ice.
Photo: Jerry McGaghey
The Washington National Opera Ball took over the ceremonial building at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in 2010. Event producer Sandi Hoffman of Sandi R. Hoffman Special Events transformed the lobby into a winter landscape with plush white carpets and white birch trees lining the hallway.
Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash
At the 2010 National Opera Ball, the winter theme continued into the courtyard, which featured fake snow falling from the rooftop and was designed as a tribute to the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Entertainers circled the snow-filled courtyard in inflated Zorbs.
Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash
Chicago's Shedd Aquarium held a Russian winter-themed gala in 2010. Heffernan Morgan designer John Hensel incorporated wintry touches into the decor, illuminating the pathway to the cocktail reception with snowflake-shaped gobos.
Photo: Eddie Quinones for BizBash
Ronald McDonald House Toronto hosted its annual holiday-time gala at the Carlu in December. McNabb Roick Events reflected the Holiday Chic: Sparkle theme in sequined table linens and the crystal candle holders that served as centerpieces.
Photo: George Pimentel for Ronald McDonald House Toronto
One area was inspired by a 1960s London nightclub and was flush with neon hues. Buffets in the area were swathed in stretch patent vinyl.
Photo: John Kreis Photography
Colorful eight-foot-tall letters spelling \"Love\" added to the 1960s ambience.
Photo: Manny Hernandez
Brown and Showman Fabricators gutted the Volkswagen buses for the show.
Photo: Michael Brown
The Recording Academy's "Grammy Celebration" took over a massive space in the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
Performers from the Lucent Dossier Experience circulated through the crowd.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
Macy’s returned to Los Angeles on Friday with its 30-year-old "Passport Presents Glamorama" H.I.V./AIDS fund-raiser fashion show. The event took on a "British Invasion" theme that saw dancers shaking their stuff in front of a colorful '60s-inspired backdrop.
Photo: Stefanie Keenan/WireImage
Red: Passion, Love, Power, Excitement, Strength, Anger, Intensity
Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions executed the “romantic rhapsody in red” theme at the 2012 Emmys Governors Ball in Los Angeles with a giant rose concept and copious amounts of the color.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
As guests arrived at the library for the American Heart Association's campaign promotion, they found themselves sprinkled with white rose petals by a model dressed in an elaborate silk organza and sheer beaded fabric dress with a 30-foot-long skirt that draped over the entryway of the New York Public Library.
A giant red flower- and-fabric-covered dome constructed with 2,500 rosebuds, aged vines, and hanging amaranthus hung above a circular stage, where the evening's performances took place.
Avi Adler hung red tubular florescent light bulbs in a cocktail area created inside the Javits Center for the Robin Hood Foundation's blockbuster benefit.
Tall white trees surrounded by, and decorated with, candy canes, candy apples, and gingerbread men filled the red and white enchanted forest, inspired by "Hansel and Gretel."
Photo: Nikki Leigh McKean for BizBash
'Wired' Magazine Café
Among the activities Wired offered was the opportunity for guests to have their superhero alter-egos drawn on an interactive display board by a caricaturist from Audio Visual Innovations-Signal Perfection. The cartoon-like images were simultaneously displayed on a monitor so participants could see what was being sketched.
Photo: Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Wired
Playboy and HBO's 'True Blood' Party
On Saturday, Playboy recreated Bon Temps, Louisiana, the location of HBO show True Blood, in a 40,000-square-foot parking lot in the gaslamp district for a 1,500-person party.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
Playboy and HBO's 'True Blood' Party
The True Blood event also offered T-shirts silk-screened on-site, bite-mark-shaped temporary tattoos, fake fangs, and photo booths where guests could dress up as vampires.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
HBO's 'Game of Thrones' Party
At the Game of Thrones event, sword adorned the custom bar that served show-inspired drinks like the "White Walker," a white Cosmopolitan, as well as the "Wildfire and Whiskey," a mix of Irish whiskey, midori, and ginger ale.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
PatrĂłn Express Railcar
The PatrĂłn Express Railcar made its way down to San Diego from Los Angeles, offering invited guests a luxury ride to and from Comic-Con on Friday, July 13, and Sunday, July 15.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
PatrĂłn "Summerology" Cocktail Party
Decor at PatrĂłn's event incorporated the tequila brand's logo, including a lamp made from PatrĂłn bottles.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury for BizBash
Comic-Con 2013: 'Entertainment Weekly' Party
Throw pillows mimicked the look of magazine covers.
Photo: Alexandra Wyman/Invision for Entertainment Weekly/AP Images
Comic-Con 2013: 'Bates Motel' Event
A secret "weed room" was adorned with marijuana plants, and guests could scoop up so-called pot brownies in branded gift bags.
Photo: Laura June Kirsch
Comic-Con 2013: 'Bates Motel' Event
Pockets of lounge seating were made up of vintage props and midcentury furniture to create a dated yet modern feel that mixed the old with the new and reflected the look and feel of the show.
Photo: Laura June Kirsch
Comic-Con 2013: 'Bates Motel' Event
A social photo booth activation used the authentic Bates Motel bedroom set featured in the show, where guests could recreate the campaign image. Guests could then pin their printed photos onto a wall made to look like a bookshelf.
Photo: Laura June Kirsch
Comic-Con Pictures: 'Bates Motel' Event
"I Survived My Night at the Bates Motel" theme gift bags included bloody Mary mix, Advil, Emergen-C, branded mints, a toothbrush set, hemp lip balm, and inserts with a link to download the party playlist, curated by the Embassy.
Photo: Laura June Kirsch
Comic-Con 2013: 'The Walking Dead' Party
Lining two sides of the lot were distressed building façades that shone with line-art images depicting prison scenes from the comic.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
Comic-Con 2013: 'The Walking Dead' Party
A 60-foot-long green carpet was meant to resemble a forest from the series. More than 200 live trees lined the walls, which were decked with live sod and fake rocks to seal in the fake-moss carpet. Four Hyundai vehicles were positioned into the carpet, making it appear as if the vehicles were driving through the forest.
Photo: John Shearer/Invision for Full Picture/AP Images
Comic-Con 2013: 'The Walking Dead' Party
More than 150 logos suspended in the trees fully branded the arrivals area and made it appear as if the partner logos were floating.
John Shearer/Invision for Full Picture/AP Images
Comic-Con 2013: 'The Walking Dead' Party
Drinks came from PatrĂłn and Green Flash Brewing Company, and Miho Gastrotruck provided the bites.
Photo: John Shearer/Invision for Full Picture/AP Images
Comic-Con 2013: Cartoon Network's 'Regular Show' Regular Zone
The South Carolina-based agency BFG teamed up with Cartoon Network to put on an immersive consumer experience centered around the animated TV series Regular Show. The free experience at the New Children's Museum saw some 6,000 attendees and included an arcade with simulated games, a social media vending machine, and a prize center.
Photo: Courtesy of TBS
Guests could release their balloons into a giant Jerry can-shaped netting structure. The concept was designed to allow people to visualize their donations in a whimsical way.
Photo: Courtesy of Charity:Water
To dress the store's facade, Extra! Extra! attached hundreds of balloons from New York City Balloons to the six-story exterior and highlighted the whimsical decoration with floodlights.
Photo: Liz Brown Photography
In the music room, hundreds of mylar balloons were strung across the ceiling and along the walls to create an elegant yet festive cocktail party atmosphere. The chandelier and wall and curtain treatments were preexisting elements, while all furniture was brought in.
Photo: David X. Prutting/BFAnyc.com
Hundreds of balloons from Balloon Trix hung from the ceiling during the V.I.P. dinner. The space changed colour with each course, starting with blue, morphing to pink for the main course, changing to orange for dessert, and ending in red.
Photo: George Pimentel
A balloon ceiling treatment covered the dance floor, where guests discoed to the Al Sofia Orchestra and DJ Rock City throughout the night.
Photo: Liliane Calfee
Snarkitecture analyzed the massive venue and tackled the question of how to accentuate the volume of the space while playing with the height. The solution was to create something that generated a low plane—at certain moments the spheres hung low, creating a "ceiling-within-a-ceiling" effect. The undersides of the balloons came down to 10 feet above guests' heads.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Balloons
In January, the Walrus Foundation hosted a fund-raiser with travel-themed decor in Toronto, where Balloon Trix created centerpieces meant to resemble hot-air balloons.
Photo: Carla Warrilow/BizBash
Balloons
At an Art Institute of Chicago gala in May, Kehoe Designs covered the ceiling of an all-white lounge area with hundreds of clear balloons.
Photo: Ryan Sjostrom
The American Folk Art Museum's Katie Hush and Matt Beaugrand used balloons to add some dimension and texture to the otherwise stark facade of Metropolitan Pavilion, which hosted the museum's benefit. Rows of large, stationary white balloons, attached to rigid ribbons and weighted down by silver stars, lined the red carpet.
New Museum of Contemporary Art director Lisa Phillips and gala coordinators Cybele Maylone and Livet Richard commissioned artist Jason Hackenwerth to design balloon sculptures for the museum's annual gala at Cipriani 42nd Street. His whimsical, colorful balloon sculptures, modeled after animals and sea creatures, hung from the ceiling.
Patrick McMullan
Massive pink and red balloons in star shapes and Target's bull's-eye logo filled one entire room of the venue en route to the main party in the gymnasium. Guests were encouraged to playfully pose with the balloons and have their photo taken. A total of 650 balloons were used inside the party.
Photo: Jim Shi
In keeping with the night's prom theme, six large stanchions of white balloons—branded with Target logos and up lit with spotlights—were erected at the entrance to the party venue with dramatic effect. A custom canopy, covered in the "Kate Young Target" logo, was built at the base of the doorway. A total of 1,000 balloons were used outside.
Photo: Jim Shi
Rogers estimated that he used more than 3,000 colored balloons inside the two-story shop.
Photo: Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan.com
Also at the Courage Forum, guests received long pins to pop balloons that held the desserts.
Photo: Courtesy of Jennifer Rubell
Hundreds of green balloons hung overhead in the cocktail area, the attached strings designed to look like blades of grass.
Photo: Roger Dong for BizBash
Purple ribbons anchored balloons to each of the 40 dinner tables.
Photo: Tay Kaune Photography
Inside the dining area, Santiago and his team fashioned a hanging imitation of High Line Park using balloons and fluorescent light fixtures.
Photo: Roger Dong for BizBash
Giant pinwheels and green, white, and silver balloons sculpted into flower-like shapes hung over the gala dinner.
Photo: Roger Dong for BizBash
Willy Chyr
The Chicago-based balloon artist Willy Chyr, who creates large-scale sculptures for brands and events, brought his largest piece yet to the convention centre.
Photo: Arash Moallemi
More than 200 weather balloons held up paper strips painted with images of city buildings at the Bailey House fund-raiser, providing an affordable and interesting way to decorate the 69th Regiment Armory.
Photo: Rahav
The event celebrated Marwen's 25th anniversary, or silver birthday. To underscore the theme, guests entered the dinner tent through a tunnel of silver balloons.
Photo: Joseph R. Palmer
Anderson Hannant turned the park into a pink paradise with pink carpeting, balloons and mannequins showcasing mostly pink apparel up for bids.
Gotham Hall's balloon ceiling
Photo: Shira Agmon/LensGirl Photos
Top of the Standard had a gold-hued look, and the balloon-covered ceiling mimicked Absolut Tune's fizzy contents.
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
Onstage performers participated in dreamy sequence scenes, which included a bathtub-bound actor and an assemblage of balloons and drapes.
Photo: Courtesy of Bell
Samsung made a splash with a booth that gizmodo.com called the best of C.E.S. It felt "like you were in a Disney Tomorrowland funhouse stuffed with the toys of the future that you can play with today," wrote editor Roberto Baldwin.
Photo: Jacob Kepler for BizBash
Cobra Puma Golf
Cobra Puma Golf added a two-story structure to its booth this year. The enclosed ground floor served as meeting space, while the top floor included a DJ spinning tunes and the entrance to a large slide into a ball pit.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
A 33-foot Airstream motor home served a dual purpose at the booth by sunglass-maker Costa: It provided meeting space for up to 15 people and also was a key piece of decor for the retro, beach-like atmosphere the company was trying to create.
Photo: BizBash
Hawaiian sunglass-maker Maui Jim topped its 40- by 60-foot booth with a tiki hut-style roof. In addition to six open work stations, the booth included enclosed offices where brand representatives could conduct business in quieter surroundings.
Photo: BizBash
