6 Ideas for Fall Entertaining in Chicago

Nimble Well is a new Chicago company that specializes in uncommon rental items, including cake stands, bowls, and napkins. "My inventory is primarily vintage, and I favor a really clean aesthetic," says owner Kelly Connolly. Currently, Connolly is creating a a line of natural all-wood pieces, including 10- to 22-inch black walnut rounds and 18-inch tabletop risers made from shagbark hickory. She's also working on a line of solid-colored and hand-painted backdrops for dessert tables, photo booths, and more.

Life in Bloom is a new Chicago floral company that provides arrangements for meetings, corporate events, dinner parties, and weddings. "I love to incorporate a wide range of textures into what I create," says owner Rachel Wyffels. This fall, Wyffels is working with deep and bold color palettes and favoring Cafe au Lait dahlias, chocolate cosmos, clematis vine, grasses, and berries. Although she can handle events of any size, "the small, intimate parties are oftentimes my favorites to do, as we are able to get really creative and run away with a fun theme," Wyffels says.

The Mercadito Group, which owns local restaurants Mercadito, Tavernita, and Little Market Brasserie, has launched its new MH Catering division, delivering fare from all three restaurants to off-site meetings and events. Menu items include a guacamole trio (pictured) and oysters, and bar options include margaritas, kegged cocktails, and house-made sodas.

Cage and Aquarium, a local event DJ, photography, and live music service, now offers its "All Wax" events. Drawing on a vast collection of vintage records, DJs deliver all-vinyl sets of funk, reggae, retro pop, and old-school hip-hop. The service is geared toward clients who "have a love of the warm sounds of vinyl and nostalgic images of the 'good ol' days' that wax discs evoke," says a rep for the company.

Alex Vasileski, founder of A Mind and Body Total Fitness, now offers corporate workouts, traveling to conference rooms to host industry-specific exercises for groups of any size. The "Sales Force" workout, for example, targets the lower back pain that can be caused from standing for most of the day. The regimen includes exercises focused on posture, weight distribution, and the core and can include teambuilding components. At the end of each workout, guests get handouts with health and nutrition tips. The typical fee is $250.

River North restaurant Sunda New Asian now hosts private "Maki Sake" classes for groups of as many as 24. Executive chef Jess DeGuzman teaches guests proper sushi techniques, and participants sip on TyKu sake while they roll ingredients such as cucumbers, tuna sashimi, and shrimp tempura. Classes start at $25 per person.