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Why stick with just one centerpiece at the party? Event Design New York suspends white floral centerpieces at the start ....
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... which waiters deftly replace with mirror balls mid-event, to the delight of guests.
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A view of the ballroom used by Event Design New York; white voile panels disguise the elaborate rigging system.
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Centerpieces can be both elegant and eco-friendly. Chicago caterer Greg Christian offers a beautiful berry centerpiece that doubles as dessert
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As part of its push to promote "ecouture," Chicago-based Kehoe Design creates a centerpiece incorporating colorful aluminum cans. Photo by Denise Stanley Photography.
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New York-based 360 Design Events goes eco-friendly by alternating floral centerpieces with pieces made from ice. LED lighting helps cut energy use while enhancing the mood. Photo by Jamie Watts.
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Tight budgets don't have to pinch style. San Francisco-based Ideas looks to its own inventory, painting stock items to create this edgy centerpiece for a San Francisco Ballet gala. Photo by Irja Tannlund/Got Light?
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To cut costs for her client, Montreal-based Alison Silcoff turns to a "cheap and cheerful" disco theme at the Canadian Cancer Society's annual Daffodil Ball. The signature flower dominates the table.
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For a thrifty bride who loves all things vintage, Philadelphia designer Joanne Hulme turns to wildflowers for a dramatic-yet-economical centerpiece. Photo by Rebecca Barger.
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For putting an event theme center stage, nothing beats a centerpiece. For a rocking wedding at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Something New Events of Canfield, Ohio, uses 45-rmp records and vibrant floral. Photo by Nathan Migdal/Imagen Photos.
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Football helmets and pennants make for perfect centerpieces at the premiere of a movie with a college football theme. Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Precision Event Group oversees the event.
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Los Angeles-based Sequoia Productions lets the centerpiece put an event's sponsor--a wine company--front and center. Photo by Josh Barash.
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For the bat mitzvah of a would-be fashion designer, Something New Events of Canfield, Ohio, uses mannequins as centerpieces. In other touches, giantic buttons and oversize spools of thread decorated buffets.
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The California Science Center in Los Angeles creates a vintage Vegas theme for its annual fundraiser with centerpieces mixing floral with showgirl-worthy plumes. Photo by Nadine Froger Photography.
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The event team at Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, Fla., creates a Rain Forest Fantasy with centerpieces resting on chunks of dry ice to create a mist. Orchids and branches of curly willow reach up; fabric buttlerflies dangle above tables. Photo by Dave Burkhardt.
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San Francisco's Ideas helps the San Francisco Ballet celebrate its 75th anniversary with an "ice as diamonds" theme, including "flowers" frozen in blocks of ice as centerpieces. The event team used silk flowers instead of real ones to avoid petals turning brown. Photo courtesy Ideas.
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Napa, Calif.-based Five Star Productions and Pat Friday Flowers key on the theme of "surrealism" for an art-loving client with art-inspired centerpieces. Photo courtesy Pat Friday Flowers.
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Another surrealistic centerpiece from Pat Friday Flowers and Five Star Productions.
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In a subtle theme treatment, Tiddledybinks Catering of North Tonawanda, N.Y., evokes the golds of autumn with centerpieces featuring topiaries in gold pots and gold pillar candles. Photo by New Visions Photography.
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Something New Events creates centerpieces for a party honoring a florist. Something New rethinks traditional centerpiece vases by coiling copper pipe around vases filled with lilies--all topped with spinning lampshades. Photo by Elite Foto.
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Who says the centerpiece has to be above the table? Designs by Sean, of Dania, Fla., creates 8-by-3-foot aluminum tables that can be filled with plants, seashells, etc., then topped with a sheet of plexiglass. LEDs illuminate the tablescapes.
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And, finally, who says centerpieces can't be performers? German-based Vok Dams Group sends a pair of battling ninja warriors right down the center of the 98-foot dinner table. The act--part of an event for auto dealers and the media--underscored the brand's values of power and aggressiveness.