Bon Appetit – Dallas Diner En Blanc

To set the mood for this blog post, click on this link to one of my favorite French classic songs sung by one of my favorite jazz singers Sophie Milman! 🙂 Bonjour Madame & Monsieur! I am so excited to recap my first Diner En Blanc that was held at Dallas Arboretum! I have always wanted to attend this coveted secret dinner in white for years and I was so glad to be able to attend this year! So what is Diner En Blanc?? Well it is an invitation only dinner where you and your friends can have dinner at a beautiful local setting and dress all in white. What makes it so cool is that you do not know where the event is going to be at until you arrive!

The Dîner En Blanc concept goes back to Paris 1988 when a French man name François Pasquier invited a group of friends to an elegant outdoor dinner at Bois de Boulogne. He asked his friends to dress in white so they could find each other. Now this elegant event has gained international attention with over 70 countries participating annually! Le Dîner en Blanc de Paris has over 10,000 guest every year and even over 15,000 guests attending at the 25^th anniversary in 2013.

Attire

I was told that this year’s Dallas Diner En Blanc was going to be a beautiful location! I was not told the location until it was time, but I already guessed that it had to be at the Dallas Arboretum! I was so excited to find out that indeed it was going to be there! The location was absolutely beautiful! It felt like a mega wedding where everyone was the bride! Since everyone is in all white -YES people actually followed directions and wore all white, people got real creative with their attire! This is the time to get those creative juices going and think of ways to make your all white outfit stand out. I saw wedding dresses, top hats, extravagant headpieces – it was quite amazing to see what people wore. When there is an opportunity to be creative, I am all over it! I created my headpiece using feathers, pearls and cascading orchids, added lace to my heels and brought back my infamous plate belt that I also rocked at the Food in Fashion Show earlier this year! I received so many compliments on my outfit!

 

Transportation

So how do you coordinate such a huge event if no one knows the location until the day of?! Well those who get invited are picked up by coach buses at pickup spots located throughout the metroplex. So you will select which pickup spot is most convenient for you. There are multiple buses that will pick up at each location and take you to the secret location. When I arrived there were over 20 buses and everyone anxiously walking to the spot where the event will take place. Diner En Blanc can also be looked at as an elegant outdoor picnic. This means you bring your own table and food! There are requirements on table sizes so that way everyone’s tables are uniform and when it comes to food, people go all out as well. I seen food as simple as sandwiches and Hors d’oeuvrers to pastas, lamb chops, seafood and pasta!

Tables & Food

I was so excited to be invited to join one of the sponsors of the event, Lincoln Motor Company at their table at Diner En Blanc! All the guest tables filled a big portion of the Arboretum property, but the prime location was lake front which is where Lincoln Motor Company was at! Sunset lakeside was stunning! The food was exquisite from salad, veggies, shrimp skewers, lamb chops and of course wine! To kick off dinner or  “eating time” for the entire event, there was the traditional white napkin wave! It was AWESOME!! Everyone was twirling their white napkins and smiling and taking selfies, photos and videos!

Another favorite part of attending Diner En Blanc are seeing all the table décor! Some people kept things simple and others went all out! Seeing how much thought people put into their table makes it extra nice. There were tables with tall structures , candles, tall candle pieces, Eiffel towers, lamps, tulle, string lights, you name it! It was very beautiful see all the tables during the normal lighting and when it became dark, it was an amazing sight to see! To see the arboretum transform at dusk and then at night was romantic & beautiful! The musical choices for the evening was also nice. Almost every row of tables had at least one table with lighting which contributed to the overall ambiance of the event! I enjoyed walking around and viewing each table in both lighting settings. There was also a prize given for best decorated table too!

The Party

To kick off the “par-tay”, they had a drumline come in and play towards the stage that was down by the lake. When the live band began to play, the dance floor and the surrounding grassy areas were packed! The band played a great variety of music to appeal all generations and everyone was dancing! There was not a dull moment at all but non-stop dancing. Also people took photos with props at photo setup. I wished I would have noticed this earlier that evening because by the time the dancing began, the line was so long. But they took amazing photos! Also had Lincoln Motor company brought in one of their white town cars for photo ops as well!

If you are thinking about attending Diner En Blanc or on the fence about it, you should definitely do it!!! It something that you have to experience once in your life!! Yes, there is a cost to get in and you have to bring your own table and food, but the experience is very memorable! I hope to attend again and I can’t wait to see where the next venue would be! If I had to put in my two cents and suggest a new spot for next year, I would hope it would be at the Las Colinas canal! J Thank you Diner En Blanc and Lincoln Motor Company for having me! Also thank you to the other Diner En Blanc sponsors: Southwest Airlines, Merrill Lynch Raehpour and Evian Badoit!

*Sponsored posts/Product reviews- I have received products/compensation/services for blog posts, but the thoughts, feelings and opinions written in each post are absolutely 100% my own with no outside influences!