The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, commonly known as the Al Smith Dinner, is an annual white tie dinner in New York City to raise funds for Catholic charities supporting children of various needs in the Archdiocese of New York.
This year it was held at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC on its annual date, which is traditionally on the third Thursday of October. It is organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in honor of Al Smith, who grew up in poverty and later became the Governor of New York four times and the first Catholic nominated as the Democratic candidate for the 1928 United States presidential election.
This important dinner brings together dignitaries and prominent figures by a “ritual of American politics”, in the words of Theodore H. White. It is generally the last event at which the two U.S. presidential candidates share a stage before the election. This year’s keynote speaker was Henry Kissinger who celebrated his 100th birthday.
Our floral decor and design was a collaborative effort between our team and the Al Smith foundation to greet Fall in an elevated and beautiful way.
For the first time ever tall arrangements flanked the tables surrounding the perimeter of the giant room with local burning bush designed in clear tall glass vases with a collar of seasonal dahlias in Fall assorted colors. The rest of the tables had an elegant tablescape display composed of seasonal dahlias, roses, and ranunculus in mirrored vases. Each of these arrangements were created as a hand-tied bouquet, designed to be taken at the end of the night in an elegant takeaway bag for the guests to enjoy at home.
We decorated 90 tables in total, with an anticipated 900-guests to attend the cocktail hour, dinner, and an after party.
All photography accredited to Susan Shek.
Design & Floral: Rachel Cho Floral Design
