The Hide-a-Surprise Cake is in Gentry Magazine!

Last year (October, 2008) I participated in a video shoot collaborating with many of my industry colleagues to present a staged, custom, wedding proposal. This month it was featured in Gentry Magazine (pages 62-63) so I can now share more details about the project. The article is titled "Carpe Diem!" which translates to "Seize the Day" and seize the day we did.

Event designer Lea McIntosh was creating a single day video shoot with videographer Andrew Hsu of Studio MSV that spanned 4 locations and included the participation of 17 wedding and special event companies.

Andrew has a series of wedding vignette videos he produces called Vendor Chic. It's an opportunity for his industry colleagues to unleash their creativity and when I was asked to participate I gladly accepted!

Our shoot took place at Casa Real in Livermore at the Ruby Hills Winery. Lea's concept was to create a Tahitian "Proposal in Paradise" theme.

Nicole Ha outdid herself with the florals at this shoot. There were flowers, petals and candles everywhere!

The room looked lush and opulent and this image of the marble fireplace is one of my favorites I took that day.

That watery effect of lighting on the back wall was provided by North American Theatre Technology, a company that specializes in both theatrical, wedding and event lighting.

That's Andrew of Studio MSV on the left shooting our couple dancing before the surprise proposal scene took place.

This image by: Michael Soo

Corinna entered the room beneath an arial runner of lit, fresh roses. This idea was a great collaboration. Lea dreamt it up, Nicole Ha provided the flowers and each flower was suspended on invisible line and had a light tucked inside its petals.

While a team of 4 strung the roses in another room, Natti of North American Theatre Technology hung the hundreds of blossom using a lift.

The romantic day bed was a veritable color palette with cushions of blues, orange and red and dainty, fresh, green orchids and red and yellow flowers and orchids ensconcing the frame. The cushion covers were made by Lea McIntosh.

Nicole Ha created a lush canopy of orchids and flowers and swaths of florals embellishing the bed posts, with twinkling votives to complete the romantic alcove.

This image by: Michael Soo

Models Corinna and Alex are in real life husband and wife. So all of the chemistry you see between the two in the finished video, it's the real deal.

Corinna's hair was by Armando Sarabia of Get Your Do Up! and her make up was by Tiffany Chang of San Jose. The demure, teal, cocktail gown was provided by The Unique Bride in Burlingame, CA.

How gorgeous is this custom cocktail? Instead of just an ordinary ho, hum margarita or daiquiri, the colors came into play creating a bold statement.

The food the Casa Real Chef prepared was gorgeous! Lobster...

The oysters were backlit with LED lights placed directly under the ice. Natti, our lighting expert that day, just happened to have the lights on hand to create this extra-special effect.

Scallops and Caviar

Grilled Prawns

Dessert with edible gold leaf.

A stunning draped backdrop for the cake courtesy of North American Theatre Technology, table linen by Wildflower Linen, fresh flower petals by Nicole Ha and cake stand by Lea McIntosh.

The pineapple cake topper I created was to complement the theme and pineapple motif on the invitation by DK Designs. The topper was made of glass seed beads, Swarovski Austian crystal and wire.

The Tahitian sunset cake was created by Cake Coquette of San Francisco. Owner and designer Gabrielle Feuersinger consulted with me in the preliminary stages to implement my Hide-a-Surprise cake concept. She also confirmed the colors of the topper would complement the cake colors perfectly.

As Alex lifted up the cake topper a strand of Tahitian pearls appeared from within the cake itself.

Photographer Michael Soo in action.

After placing the necklace on Corinna...

Alex then quickly bent down on one knee and presented the ring to Corinna in a surprise proposal.

This image by: Michael Soo

Delicate and sweet, the engagement ring was a heart shaped diamond, flanked by more diamonds.

This image by: Michael Soo

After a walk through the vineyards, Corinna and Alex were whisked away in this gorgeous classic car by Art Deco Limousine, located in Santa Clara.

My thanks to Lea McIntosh and Andrew Hsu for inviting me to participate and to Jodi Murphy of Gentry Magazine who wrote the article for publication.

To view more images of the beautiful Casa Real venue CLICK HERE to see the blog post I did when the Una Bella Sera bridal showcase was held there in 2007.