Big and White (And No, This Post is NOT about Getting Married)
I’ve learned, in my five and a half days as a bride-to-be, that sometimes you’ve got to take a step back. It’s no easy feat, planning a spring wedding in less than a year, but there comes a time when you’ve got to close your spreadsheets, turn off your computer and stop thinking about all things white.
Unless of course you’re going to Diner en Blanc next week.
In which case, you need to take a break from wedding planning to think about DEB planning.
For those of you not in the know, Diner en Blanc is a rather fancy, rather expensive, rather exclusive pop-up-picnic that began thirty years ago in Paris and now boasts local chapters in dozens of major cities across the world, including Philadelphia. There are 4,500 people scheduled to attend the City of Brotherly Love’s event next week (the exact location of which will remain secret until the very last minute) and there is still a waiting list of several thousand.
I got in thanks to my friend Deedee; as a “table leader” she gets to extend an invite to a few mere mortals and thanks to the successful “pick me, PICK ME!!!!” campaign I launched back in January, PIC and I landed an invite.
What makes DEB interesting is that everyone has to follow a dress code, and as the “blanc” would entail, this dress code allows for white only, from your outfit right on down to your table linens and place settings: white table cloth, white napkins, white plates, white chairs and even white trash bags for cleaning up at the end of the night.
And although white shoes are not required, they’re highly encouraged.
“Pops” of color are also forbidden and you can actually get kicked out if you wear the wrong thing.
The DEB twitter feed is full of style tips, dinner hacks and even the occasional humble brag about how many how many white dresses folks have ordered and sent back… but then there’s mine:
Just scored my DEBPHL15 dress for 8 bucks and the proceeds go to Planned Parenthood! I love thrifts shops!!!
PIC’s mom actually bought it for me, and I’ve got to say, second hand clothing stores in ritzy neighborhoods are just the best.
I get the feeling, however, that I should probably keep such things to myself… especially as attendees are encouraged to check out Williams Sanoma for all their tableware needs and I’m like, “Umm, $20 for a single f*cking napkin? I don’t think so…”
That said, there are few things that excite me more than decorating, and now that just about every surface in my home is sufficiently (perhaps more than sufficiently…) dressed, I am taking a break from wedding planning to think about other white things…
Kat Echevarría Richter 
4 Responses to “Big and White (And No, This Post is NOT about Getting Married)”
I’m jealous! Enjoy…
Wait a minute… your future mother-in-law scours thrift shops for you? How lucky can you get?!
She actually VOLUNTEERS at a thrift shop so she was able to turn me onto some good deals 🙂 I got a ton of cute stuff there.
She is VERY lucky…future MIL is a keeper!