Weddings

Monochrome weddings are getting an updated twist lately, as seen in the table and setup by Edge Floral Event Designers. Think understated—even rustic—furnishings that allow details like flowers and wallpaper to pop without looking overdone.

The rustic look has moved into the realm of total refinement, as seen in the setup from Simply Chic Events, which came complete with reclaimed wood and an Edison-style bulb chandelier.

The ever-chic black-and-white motif gets new energy with the help of dramatic metallic accents. At the setup by Events in the City, a gold sparkle wall and gold glitter flatware add festivity to an otherwise preppy look.

If the ombré trend extends to wedding confections, why not to corporate events too? The good-luck cake from TipsyCake at Poladora launch party blended from white to green.

Mexican themes lend themselves to such whimsy and colorfulness. The table from A Perfect Event shows off a well-executed, conversation-starting example.

Flowers are no longer strictly contained by vessels. Sofitel Los Angeles let blooms trail from an oversize arrangement—a similar look to the Recording Academy's Bollywood-inspired after-party for the Grammys.

Planners may already have seen this theme evolve: chandeliers, chandeliers, chandeliers. At the Wedding Salon showcase Premiere Party Rents hung one from a wedding canopy. For corporate events, the ceiling treatments can be hung from tent ceilings, above food stations, or over an arrivals carpet.

Illuminated chandeliers are eye-catching additions to weddings and corporate events alike. The floral and crystal chandelier installed by Karla Conceptual Event Experiences and lit by Frost Florida, packed a punch in purple.

Live musical acts are borrowing inspiration from the evocative 1920s period. Costumed entertainers took the stage at a collaboration between the New York Botanical Garden and Stephen Starr Events.

During the Frieze New York art fair weekend, Visionaire magazine and its issue partner G-Shock threw a bash at the Clocktower Gallery in TriBeCa. All the furniture was hand-wrapped in traditional kitchen aluminum foil. Forty pounds of Mylar confetti covered the floor, and the brick walls were painted silver and purposefully left unfinished.

The staircase at the May 6 gala in New York was flanked by oversize American and British flags made entirely of 150,000 red, white, and blue roses.

Social gaming giant Zynga, best known for Facebook game FarmVille had its first foray into the NewFronts with a May 3 event at Openhouse Gallery. FarmVille was represented as a petting zoo, with actors dressed in animal costumes inviting guests to, well, pet them. Trays of snacks were set into the top of the white fence surrounding the area, like a trough.

Carasco Photography hosted "Brides, Bubbles, and Bliss" at Chicago's Bridgeport Art Center on May 1. The event showcased tabletops from different vendors. Ashland Addison Florist created a hanging table strewn with hundreds of pink and white orchids.

The Carlu hotel in Toronto hosted a 10th anniversary bash on May 3. IceCulture created a "salmon chandelier" by freezing real fish in 10 blocks of ice.

Industrial elements dominated the Tate Americas Foundation's Artists Dinner on May 8. Designer David Stark used giant metallic tubes, florescent lights, and galvanized metal accents in New York's raw event space Skylight at Moynihan Station.

The fund-rasier took over the Artists for Humanity Epicenter in Boston on April 27, and an abstract sculpture hanging over the dance floor underscored the eco-conscious theme of climate change. The piece was meant to evoke the ghostly, transparent look of melting glaciers.

The Storyscapes pop-up, held at New York's Dune Studios April 18 to 21,  offered many interactive media projects for guest participation. Robots in Residence was a project that used programmed robots to direct and shoot ongoing documentary footage at the event.

Dubbed "Passport to Discovery," the American Cancer Society's Discovery Ball at Chicago's Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel on April 27 had a travel-inspired theme. Based on an old-fashioned train station, HMR Design Group's decor included suitcases, trunks, and street lamps; the registration desk looked like a ticket counter.

The presentation of the James Beard Awards took place at New York's Avery Fisher Hall on May 6. Grant Achatz and his team from the Aviary brought in several infusion vessels to house their 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-inspired cocktail, which was flavored with lemon peel, three kinds of seaweed, oolong tea, and lychees.

Todd Events made a wedding held inside a large barn in Aspen seem more intimate with two tall signature bars and scattered seating and food station vignettes. Hanging glass globes appeared to lower the ceilings.

At the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, a 3-D arrivals area evoked a vintage flower stand with bottles potted as plants and logo plaques on wooden sticks growing up from moss.

Copious bunting hung over 170 tables for 700 guests in the V.I.P. picnic space.

Social media prompts served as props against a grassy wall decorated with Veuve bottles.

A mirror hung on a grassy wall for chic alfresco decor.