Wedding Venue

It's not just the number of reporters and photographers at an event, but their influence and reach that counts, publicity pros say.

Fans at Comc-Con International in San Diego.

Guests could see the newest Conair products. Professional stylists were on site to style guests' hair.

Toben, Food by Design, served a holiday breakfast with mini blueberry pancakes and lobster eggs Benedict.

Toben prepared a holiday breakfast on site.

Mini Moche designed its pop-up to look like its downtown retail store.

Thompson Chocolates provided samples of all its holiday products.

President's Choice created a "winter wonderland"-themed pop-up and made guests mini cupcakes.

President's Choice had a large area that featured its holiday products.

The Drake General Store styled its pop-up to look like its retail stores.

Electrolux brought its large appliances into the Burroughes Building.

Eatertainment's Sebastien Centner demonstrated how to make crostini using the Electrolux induction cooking stove top.

In a departure from the sleek white environments it has previously used for preview events, Microsoft brought in Heather Clawson of style blog Habitually Chic to fashion a more decor-heavy setting in the Altman Building. A comfy sitting-room area sat at the front of the space with framed photos, a sign on the wall that read "Microsoft Preview" and "Welcome," and a photo frame bearing instructions on which Twitter hashtag to use when tweeting.

Another lounge sat on the other side of the check-in area and, in addition to a DJ booth and couch seating, offered a wall of photos. The photos represented key events from year before, including the introduction of PC operating system Windows 7 and the Katy Perry concert that marked the launch of Windows Phone 7.

The rest of the reception site was devoted to showcasing Microsoft's various products and how they fit into a normal consumer lifestyle. To illustrate part of this concept, a series of residential-style vignettes was set up, each featuring a framed description of a fictional consumer. For instance, accompanying the section styled after a family room was a quick story about parents Susan and Brad and how they incorporate Windows Live Mesh and Windows Media Player into their home life.

In the space for fictional teenager Eric, music posters, headphones, and a laptop showing a video game set the scene for the tech giant to flaunt Internet Explorer 9 and the smart DJ feature of its digital music media brand Zune.

Clawson also styled a vignette for a tween girl, adding pink accents to a mostly white desk space that depicted how consumers would use Microsoft's parental monitoring software for Windows.

In the area set for college freshman Amy, a laptop and larger touch-screen PC were designed to highlight how consumers can sync files through Windows Live Mesh and OneNote.

Food and drink were spread throughout the space, including one table that held glass jars of candy and branded bags.

A sparse officelike area served as the spot where Microsoft representatives gave guests a guided tour of the new versions of Microsoft Office for Windows and Mac.

A simple flat-screen monitor mounted to a wall was intended to communicate the ease of using Microsoft's search engine Bing.

Although the majority of Microsoft products are software, the event also showcased the technology company's hardware, including a collection of computer mice decorated with graphics from five international artists.

To put phones operating on Windows Phone 7 in a consumer context, one area of the Altman Building was modeled after an outdoor café. An enormous photo backdrop served as a striking visual element.

In the café, Microsoft placed the phones on patio tables beside metal buckets of sunflowers. Attendees roaming the reception could sit at the tables and play with the devices, while sipping on cocktails provided at a nearby bar.

As a playful take on a typical coffee bar, Microsoft and Clawson displayed more phones operating on Windows Phone 7 alongside serving pump flasks, napkins, and coffee stirrers.

The largest stretch of space for the event was used to display Xbox Kinect consoles and allow guests to try out the games.

To match the gamer vibe in the Xbox area, a food station held cones of popcorn.

During the three-hour event, waitstaff passed savory and sweet hors d'oeuvres, including a cabana Caprese bite of melon, fresh mozzarella, and micro basil (pictured); leek and asparagus tart with truffled mousse and shaved asparagus; and lemon ricotta poppyseed cheesecake with fresh raspberry, a graham cracker crust, and dusted with powdered sugar.

Lollipops can be sweet or savory like the seared tuna version with togarashi, avocado mousse, arare, and micro shiso from Paramount Catering and Events.