On a bright July afternoon in downtown Washington, D.C., 65 event professionals gathered inside THE SPACE (the former Urban Outfitters location) for something far more unexpected than a standard industry luncheon.
Well Dunn Catering partnered with Design Foundry to create “Beauty & Botanicals” — a four-course experience that treated each dish as a chapter and turned the entire room into a living runway.
A dramatic serpentine table wound through the space, serving both as the dining surface and the fashion runway. Models moved through the curves of the table while guests dined, connecting every course to a distinct botanical mood and corresponding fashion look designed by Annie Senatore of Design Foundry.
The four chapters unfolded like this:
* Beauty — coriander, mint, and citrus notes with poached Maine lobster
* Creativity — an Italian-summer palette of lemons and tomatoes, complete with models handing tomatoes to guests and a surprising burrata “capsule”
* Strength — earthy rosemary, thyme, and pepper paired with pan-seared wagyu
* Love — rose and red tones, models tossing petals, and a strawberry-rose ganache dessert
Servers even changed aprons mid-event to match the shifting color stories. Garden-inspired hors d’oeuvres, botanical bitters, and cocktails like the carrot-and-mezcal “Earth, Smoke & Fire” completed the sensory narrative.
We’re proud that Event Photojournalism was chosen to document the day. Capturing a hybrid event like this requires the same approach we bring to every high-level gathering in the District: staying unobtrusive while still recording the precise moments when design, cuisine, and performance lock together. From the first model stepping onto the serpentine path to the final rose petals drifting onto the table, the goal was simple — preserve the energy and intention behind every detail.
BizBash recently featured the luncheon, and it was a pleasure to see the full vision recognized. Events that successfully fuse disciplines like this remind us why we love photographing the D.C. event community: when the right partners collaborate, the result feels less like a meal and more like a story unfolding in real time.
Thank you to Well Dunn Catering, Design Foundry, THE SPACE, and the entire vendor team for trusting us with the visuals.
If you’re planning an event that needs to feel this intentional — whether a gala, product launch, or creative industry gathering — we’d love to help tell that story.
Photography by Event Photojournalism�Washington, D.C. · Northern Virginia�eventphotojournalism.com
