10 Best Ideas of the Week: Kentucky Derby-Theme Centerpieces, a Serena Williams Retrospective, CoverGirl's Nude Pillow Photo Booth

Koncept Events designed a Kentucky Derby watch party for a private client on May 5 at the Breakers Palm Beach in Florida. Guests could pose for photos with Kentucky Derby-theme props in front of a wall of greenery that featured a cheeky tagline and an image of a gold horseshoe.

CoverGirl previewed its Fall 2018 collection and celebrated its new “I am what I make up” brand campaign May 8 at a private home in Los Angeles. The event featured makeup-centric decor and photo booths, which included an area where guests could lie on a variety of nude pillows—nodding to the brand’s new inclusive foundation shades. A photographer art directed guests while they were snapped from above with an aerial camera. The event was designed by Nicole Neves of Sequin Productions.

Guests were invited to sign a branded mirror with a lipstick of their choice. 

Tables were decorated with colorful flowers in white pineapple vases, as well as geometric horse centerpieces. 

The third Girlboss Rally took place April 28 at the Reef in Los Angeles. Secret sponsored the Girlboss Radio Podcast booth, where the day’s speakers were interviewed. Attendees were invited to drop a question in a box outside the booth. 

For a royal wedding-theme event idea, designer Debi Lilly and her company A Perfect Event in Chicago designed a tea party inspired by the upcoming nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Mini lemon elderflower cakes were served under personalized, calligraphed glass domes at each table setting. Prince Harry and Markle will be serving lemon-elderflower cake with buttercream frosting on their big day. 

For its latest PUB (a.k.a., pop-up bar) experience, Drink Company transformed one of its bars in honor of the royal wedding. The limited-run Royal Wedding PUB on 7th Street in Washington will be open until May 20 and is decked out in family crests, faux stained glass windows, and hand-carved replicas of St. George’s Chapel's vaulted ceiling and columns; it also includes a Buckingham Palace-inspired throne room and a mailbox for fans to send handwritten notes to the couple, which the British Embassy will deliver to Kensington Palace. The bar offers 11 on-theme original cocktails including the Kensington Garden Party, which is a mix of Pimm’s, raspberry quinquina, and sparkling lemon soda. 

As part of a new partnership with Deadpool 2, Mike’s Harder hosted a pop-up bar inspired by the Marvel anti-hero April 24 at Alligator Lounge in Brooklyn. The pop-up had a Skee-Ball tournament, which nodded to Wade Wilson—Deadpool’s real name—and his fiancée Vanessa’s first date. 

To celebrate the premiere of HBO’s Serena Williams docuseries Being Serena, the network partnered with experiential marketing company Team Epiphany to create an interactive event, which took place April 24 at Industria in New York. A retrospective exhibit showcased Williams’s Nike tennis outfits and Beats by Dre headphones she’s worn through the years. A representative from the Nike archive in Portland, Oregon, flew to the event to make sure the outfits were displayed correctly. 

Team Epiphany created a mini tennis court that took inspiration from the main court at Wimbledon.