NR Ideas

For the Sun Life Global Investments launch in Toronto, tall vases filled with lemons and calla lilies topped bars and food stations throughout the venue.

Spanish gin brand Gin Mare celebrated its U.S. launch by bringing its international Med Rooftops series to New York. Produced and designed by BMF Media Group, the party featured a wall of wooden crates that showcased the Gin Mare bottles paired with fruit and greenery. The giant installation also served as an unconventional step-and-repeat.

For a party at a spa, Chicago-based designer Debi Lilly created a colorful bar backdrop using Nutrisoda cans stacked in acrylic cubes with color-blocked fresh fruit.

Shoe brand Sole Society hosted a lunch at Marie Gabrielle Restaurant in Dallas in April. The influencer-heavy event had Palm Springs-inspired decor, including a simple-yet-eye-catching floral photo backdrop.

Clear umbrellas and glittering beads hung from the ceiling in the spring area. The sound of falling rain played in the background.

Matthew Parker Events crafted lighting fixtures for a speakeasy-themed wedding using hats from a party supply store, decorative ribbon, corded wire, and filament bulbs.

Giant playing cards hung over the tabletops, bent to give a sense of movement. A chessboard motif served as the backdrop for the stage.

In a new take on the traditional photo backdrop, guests bounced on a trampoline before having their photo taken. Side rails around the custom station kept guests safe.

Mashable hosts a two-day conference each spring at Walt Disney World. The event, for about 300 senior-level executives from digital firms, brand leaders, senior-level marketers, and entrepreneurs, ends with a social-media-based scavenger hunt. In 2012, the networking activity took place at Epcot, where teams of five attendees worked to identify things in the park based on a set of clues and then posted photos of their findings on Instagram, tagged with #Mashcon.

Add some fun and efficiency to the traditional exchange of information by giving your attendees a Poken. The device attaches to a lanyard or key chain and comes in dozens of conversation-starting designs such as a panda bear, a ninja, and a bumble bee (as well as a simple black-and-white model). The device uses near-field communication, so simply tapping two together exchanges the information stored on them, such as contact information, social network profiles, documents, videos, and Web sites. After the event, users plug the Poken into their computer's USB port to see all the people and information collected. It can also sync with mobile devices using the Poken app. Planners can create incentives for people to share their information by using the product's Game Pack.

Globes, from $5 to $12, available in the greater Toronto area from Southern Charm Vintage Rentals

For its 2009 Once Upon a Time gala in Chicago, the Children's Place Association printed table numbers on cards designed to look like passports.

Luggage tags, from $8.50 to $12 each, available nationwide from Eclectic Props

Cameras, $10 each, available in the greater Toronto area from Key Event Rentals

Signage meant to evoke road signs pointed guests to the various activities and offerings within the Old Navy preview event.

The American Cancer Society’s Discovery Ball in 2013 in Chicago was dubbed “Passport to Discovery” and had a time-travel theme. As a nod to the nonprofit’s 100-year past, as well as its present and future, the fund-raiser drew inspiration from an old-fashioned train station, with props and decor including suitcases, trunks, and old street lamps. The registration desk was decorated to resemble a ticket counter.

Globe, from $20 to $65, and vintage trunk, from $45 to $100, available throughout California from Found Vintage Rentals