Balloons

Looks range from sleek to whimsical.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A massive archway of balloons loomed over guests as they entered the party. I'm not typically a fan of balloons unless the planners go all out. These helium-filled beauties get an A.

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.

Hundreds of green balloons hung overhead in the cocktail area, the attached strings designed to look like blades of grass.