The only thing that will be swankier swanky than the Academy Awards this Sunday night will be the parties afterwards. And the most prestigious of those is the Governors Ball, an event organized every year by Canadian part planner Cheryl Cecchetto.
For nearly two decades, the Sudbury, Ont.-born Cecchetto has been at the helm of the lavish Ball, the official after-party for the Oscars and the first stop for most Oscar-goers readying to party the night away.
Her job is to provide a jaw-dropping atmosphere, tasty nibblies and endless beverages to a room full of movie makers and stars, where everyone is a VIP.
"There are 1,500 people who come here, and the guest list has never increased over time and that's what keeps it, I think, such a special event," she told Canada AM Wednesday.
"I'm doubly excited this year because we have a completely new concept. We're revamping everything we've done in the past and it's very -- it's just a wonderful feeling to see that the guests are going to experience something absolutely brand-new.
Cecchetto says for this year's theme, she wanted to capture the relaxed intimacy of an elegant supper party, and allow the guests to let their hair down and mingle as they choose. Her plan includes seven levels of seating and seven styles of seating, as well as three bands.
"This year we did not want to have traditional assigned seating. We looked at the videos for the last few years, and all the guests are mingle in the aisles. So we thought why should we control them to one area? So we have completely open seating."
"The overall design, which I've layered on this, is what I'm calling 'quintessentially Mediterranean, al fresco designing'," Cecchetto says.
Guests will enter beneath a wrought iron archway lined with live flowers and ivy that will span the width of the ballroom and evoke the rich textures of the Tuscan countryside.
"What I want to do is create an atmosphere that is extremely intoxicating, romantic and elegant," she says.
"I don't know about you, but if you've ever been to Italy, Tuscany or whatever, you've got the ivy and the chandeliers and the sconces and the beautiful menus, that whole romantic feeling, it's just so engaging."
Once again, celebrity chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck will provide the dinner, as he's done for 13 years, along with a team of 350 chefs, pastry chefs and culinary artists. And much of it will be locally grown, sustainable and organic, Puck vows.
There will be 14 interactive kitchens at buffet stations throughout the ballroom where chefs will be cooking in front of guests as the aromas waft through the air.
His team will be serving 800 pounds of chicken, 40 pounds of black truffles and 20 pounds of white truffles for the Pan-Roasted Organic Chicken With Black Truffle Risotto entree. There will also be 60 sides of salmon for the Smoked Salmon Mini Pizzas with French Farm-Raised Osetra Caviar and Dill Creme Fraiche.
For dessert, there will be a sweet table offering Meyer Lemon Bars, Caramel Truffles, Dark Truffles, Pistachio Almond Paves, Passion Fruit Macaroons and more.
And it will all be finished off as it is every year: with 4,600 chocolate Oscar statuettes, dusted in real gold.
