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A ball of this magnitude doesn't just happen (even in a dream). It requires intricate planning by a large and multifaceted team.

Along with her committee of 28 and three co-chairs (each of whom donated $50,000) as well as the invaluable support of 17 past chairpeople and many volunteers, event producer Alison Silcoff waged a formidable campaign. Working tirelessly for almost a year sending out nearly 1,000 letters, the team secured thousands of donated items (including the Chanel gifts, the wine, the champagne, all 11 raffle prizes, storage and even smoked meat).

Leading sponsors included Bell Canada Enterprises, CGI, La Fondation Blairmore, the National Bank, Pfizer Canada, Power Corporation of Canada, Sanofi-aventis and Scotiabank.

Silcoff put New York-based art director Dick Walsh on the job of decorating Windsor Station. A forward-thinking creative who abhors "what's easy and what's been done," he routinely works with such celebrated clients as hotelier Ian Shrager and the Guggenheim Museum.

Walsh, in turn, surrounded himself with a talented hands-on team of 60, including gifted florist Dominique Bernard (of La Maison Blanche) and 40 design and floral student-volunteers. They all worked assiduously to spin decor magic on a very modest budget. In fact, all 6,500 ribbons were cut by hand, each lampshade petal was meticulously applied with a matching straight pin over a 40-hour period and all lamps, wires and pots (purchased for next to nothing at Canadian Tire) were painted by many patient hands throughout the month of April in springlike colours.

Even if the ball was a dream, that doesn't mean it was easy to create.