Any excuse to wear a fascinator and a cape dress, I love. On September 17th, Dallas was treated to its first Diner en Blanc experience and I was lucky enough to have a front row seat. As you know, I work in PR when I’m not cooking and I had the honor of promoting the inaugural Diner en Blanc Dallas. Tough, gig right? You know what they say: if you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life!

Dîner en Blanc began in Paris in the 1980s when François Pasquier decided to host a pop-up picnic to reconnect with friends after being abroad for several years. He asked them to dress in head-to-toe white to easily recognize one another. Since it was a picnic, guests brought their own food and flatware. The next year, friends invited friends and year after year the event grew. Today nearly 15,000 people participate each year in Paris.

It was the founder’s son though who actually founded the organization Dîner en Blanc International. Now the phenomenon takes place in over sixty cities around the globe! Karen Raehpour, Rachael Kissel, and Marti Fox are the three local meeting and event planners who pulled off the event of the season here in Dallas.

When Rachael first told me about Dîner en Blanc, I knew instantly this was something I wanted to be part of. Y’all know how much The Rose Table promotes taking time to enjoy a good meal and that’s exactly what Dîner en Blanc does: it lets a city slow down and enjoy a meal with friends at an iconic location.

Hearing about it is entirely different from experiencing it though. Over the past four months I have seen countless photography and videography from Dîner en Blanc events around the world and I was still blown away by the glamour and magic of Diner en Blanc Dallas. The fashion alone was awe-inspiring. The amount of work that people put into their tables and their food was fantastic. The color scheme, while strict to some, is characteristic of the event and is absolutely breathtaking in person.

A big part of Dîner en Blanc is the mystery of it all. The location of the event is kept secret until the busses pull right up to it. I breathed a high of relief when 6:30 pm rolled around the location had not been leaked. We did it! We pulled it off. I wish I had a beautiful table of my own to show you but I worked the event as Diner en Blanc Dallas’ publicist and I can honestly say: Diner en Blanc Dallas was one of the best nights of my life.

1,600 guests attended the first Diner en Blanc Dallas on the Continental Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, located right next to the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge with breathtaking views of the Dallas skyline. They brought with them tables, chairs, linens, plates, glasses, and food (they also had the option to pre-purchase a Wolfgang Puck basket) and settled in for an epic evening under the stars.

Watch the napkin wave in action:

After dinner, dancing commenced. The DJ had the whole bridge moving and shaking. I was in the media lounge working for most of the night but I did have an opportunity to walk the bridge at one point and I shot this quick video to give you a sense of the event:

Diner en Blanc Dallas was hands down the coolest, chicest event I’ve ever been to. Let’s do it again in 2016, shall we?

Here’s a few personal photos from the evening:

Watch the incredible fireworks show, provided by Pyrotex:

Cheers to next year’s Diner en Blanc Dallas!

The Rose Table
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Diner en Blanc Dallas Lighting up the Night | Photo Credit: K & S Photography

Learn more about Diner en Blanc Dallas from D Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, Culture Map Dallas and NBC.