Sweet 16

A DJ spun in front of a dance floor that featured the birthday girl’s personal logo at a sweet sixteen party produced by Magnolia Bluebird Design & Events. Warhol-style graphics, props, custom throw pillows, and comic-art-inspired decor punched up the white lounge furniture at the Musikfest Café at the SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The teenage guests designed and signed their own spin-art pieces, which were framed to create a personalized custom work of art for the birthday girl at the Pop Art party produced by Magnolia Bluebird.

A hot chocolate to-go wall featuring custom mugs, gourmet marshmallows, and milk chocolate hot cocoa allowed partygoers to leave the sweet sixteen with a sweet treat.

Magnolia Bluebird created walls of cotton candy served on LED glow sticks for the Pop Art-theme sweet sixteen party. “It smelled like a Katy Perry concert when you walked in the door,” says Danielle Couick, principal of the Columbia, Maryland-based event planning company.

Another sweet sixteen was produced by the JDK Group in April 2014. The company's producer and designer David Everett created a flowing champagne fountain displayed in front of a greenery backdrop with a custom monogram for the party’s step-and-repeat.

The sweet sixteen had an array of desserts, including a made-to-order gelato bar. Everett suspended the centerpiece—a five-foot custom-designed cake by the House of Clarendon.

A caricature artist added a traditional element to the punk-meets-Great Gatsby theme of the JDK Group-produced event.

At the sweet sixteen party, guests grabbed pails of fries to dip in toppings, such as sriracha, ketchup, truffle aioli, Meyer lemon horseradish, bacon mayonnaise, and vinegar, which were served in paint cans and spray bottles hanging from chains. An artist created an abstract painting behind the station.

At the same sweet sixteen, a custom-designed raw bar with assorted sushi push pops caught the attention of the younger crowd and provided an innovative twist on the standard hors d’oeuvre.

For an older crowd, Radio Milano in Houston offers an interactive option for birthday parties—a craft cocktail training class where attendees shake things up using an array of ingredients. During the hour-and-a-half lesson, the bartender demonstrates how to make each cocktail, and partygoers get to taste what they've learned. Pricing starts at $30 per person; food, upgraded liquor, and a reception are available for additional fees.

For an outdoor party, the team at Tastings, a catering company that serves New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, recommends offering lunch in elegant to-go bento boxes. At an event at the Glasshouses in New York in February, guests dined on a classic mesclun salad with button mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and herb vinaigrette; seared arctic char with baby potatoes; and assorted macarons and canele for dessert, all presented in a three-tier translucent container.

Guests chose cards with quirky sayings and filled in the blanks at a party at the Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte, in June 2014, which was produced by TCG Events. Afterwards, the cards and party photos were complied into a memorable coffee table book for the host.

Pancetta-wrapped peaches with a basil pancake were paired with wheat beer in mini mugs at a Tastings-catered event held at a private residence on Staten Island in New York.

For a 40th birthday bash in France, the designers of Ladyfingers Letterpress made a one-of-a-kind laser-cut invite that could be assembled into a real paper airplane. The invites also included a map of Paris, complete with markers identifying landmarks, such as Chanel headquarters, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower. “Invitations offer a sneak peek of what’s to come,” says Sarah Schwartz, editor in chief of Stationery Trends magazine and editor of the Paper Chronicles, who sees a trend towards more personalization and away from cookie-cutter cards.

Hosts are making wishes with crazy candles like firecrackers, sparklers, and the musical flower buds ($6.95) from U.S. Candle Company. Once the candle is lit, the large center flame lights 14 small candles, which are attached to each petal. The candle then “blooms,” starts to spin, and plays the “Happy Birthday” song.

For a milestone birthday dinner, designer Nichole Michel of New Haven, Connecticut-based Coral Pheasant Stationery created a stationery suite with an architectural typeface that paralleled the strong lines of the arched casemates of the party venue, Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island. Fun facts about the year the birthday boy was born were used to create trivia cards and coordinating coasters.