On September 18, the Television Academy’s Primetime Emmy Awards took over Los Angeles with a glittering awards show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel from the Microsoft Theater, as well as the huge-scale Governors Ball formal seated dinner for 4,000 guests after the main event.
But the parties, suites, and events were swirling around Hollywood for a full week before the show. This year, the academy handed out its Creative Arts Emmys over two nights, September 10 and 11. Like the Primetime Emmys, those evenings were accompanied by opulent dinners, also produced and designed by Sequoia Productions with catering by Patina.
Other big brands hosted parties and suites throughout the week, including Audi, Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, and Vanity Fair before the main event and HBO's splashy post-event blowout. Here’s a look inside the creative highlights from the events' decor and production.
This year's more rustic, organic look included more than 50,000 hydrangeas, 80,000 roses, and 20,000 succulents. Classic Party Rentals provided the guest and catering rentals, and ShowPro brought in the lighting equipment for design by Matt Levesque of First Circle Design. Goodman Audio handled the sound, Irma Hardjakusumah the technical design, and Matt Ringer the technical direction.
The Television Academy's Governors Ball Committee and Sequoia Productions chose a “Nature's Elegance” theme for the two Creative Arts Balls as well as the Governors Ball at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It was the 19th year Cheryl Cecchetto and the Sequoia team have worked the events, and the first year two events expanded to three nights.Â
For guests at the nature-inspired dinners, official spirits sponsor World Class poured Ketel One Vodka, and the Hilhaven Lodge Blended Straight American Whiskey cocktails, Sterling Vineyards provided the wines, and sponsor Fiji Water the water.
Patina's meal included a first course of heirloom beets, a meaty entree of “Turf & Turf,” and a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Patina partnered with local BabĂ© Farms for the ingredients. The catering company worked with 750 cooks in the kitchen and 1,800 servers to present its menu.Â
Resource One provided specialty linens at tabletops where Patina served the three-course meal. Additional decor elements included starry drape and 2,700 yards of fabric covering the ceiling beams, plus 1,000 yards of black fabric covering the truss structure. Fabrics were done in neutral, earth-inspired tones, and sequin mesh, metallic silks, and floral sequin organzas added an element of glamour.
LA Premier's Kevin Lee created the floral look for this year's more rustic vibe. Centerpieces alternated between low birch-wrapped looks and towering, colorful designs rising more than three feet tall off tabletops in trumpet-style vases. Designer8 supplied the event's lounge furniture, and Bill Ferrell Company and Sosa Sisters the scenic fabrication.
Following the Emmys, HBO hosted its annual bash at the Pacific Design Center’s fountain plaza. Working with HBO’s Cindy Tenner, longtime collaborator Billy Butchkavitz again designed the event. (It was Butchkavitz’s 18th consecutive HBO Emmy party.) The theme for this year’s production-heavy party was water, with a color palette done in seven shades of blue.
A 105-foot-long water lounge flowed from the dining pavilion to the formal entrance of the event space. Photographer Gabor Ekecs created a dramatic photo collage to serve as a backdrop for the 150-foot-long HBO press line. A 24-foot-high by 16-foot-diameter cascading fountain sculpture was the centerpiece of the party, centrally displayed within the 120- by 100-foot dining pavilion. Rippling water-patterned custom carpet covered the 50,000 square feet of party space. Twenty-five-foot-high perimeter walls enclosed and defined the event space, and were decorated with flowing draperies of two-tone metallic jacquard and blue metallic columns.
A stylized band entertained guests, and a DJ and percussion ensemble kept guests dancing atop a two-tiered, circular blue dance floor.
Centerpieces were hand-blown glass pedestal bowls with floating dinnerplate dahlias, creating the look of a tabletop water garden. Wolfgang Puck catered.
Entertainment Weekly hosted its annual pre-Emmy party on September 16 at Nightingale Plaza; the venue is the new lounge from SBE formerly known as Greystone Manor, and the event was the first one held in the space.
Producer and designer Event Eleven did the arrivals build out in the adjacent parking lot. The company also brought in florals and additional decor, and built custom areas for sponsor L’Oreal Paris.
Event Eleven used stacked vintage television sets as the backdrop for a slow-motion video booth.Â
L'Oreal products filled illuminated tables for a graphic look.
BuzzFeed hosted its pre-Emmy party to dole out "Buzzies" entertainment awards on September 14 at Hyde, with production by Pen & Public. A three-dimensional step-and-repeat wall popped in black, yellow, and red.
A chandelier carried BuzzFeed's logo and branding into the party space.
Guests walked under a branded balloon arch instillation to enter the venue.
A display inside the party space showed off the seven awards of the evening: OMG, Win, Cute, WTF, LOL, Geeky, and Yaasss. Video screens played a loop of the winning shows.
Audi’s annual pre-Emmy celebration took over West Hollywood venue Catch on September 15; it was the venue’s first major event in Los Angeles. Event Eleven produced the chic bash.
The recognizable Audi logo shone on the nearby Pacific Design Center building for a dramatic effect. Felix handled the event's lighting.
LED tubes created the look of bold horizontal stripes on an arrivals carpet with a three-dimensional logo wall.
Vanity Fair, YouTube, and Shiseido hosted a cocktail party to celebrate the kickoff of Emmy weekend and the Vanity Fair Social Club at Platform in Culver City. Guests sipped cocktails created by Santa Margherita Wines, experienced YouTube’s 360-degree photo booth, and took away gift bags from Shiseido.
