Diner en Blanc Returns to Charleston

Author:

Sydney Gallimore

April 13, 2017

It’s been a little over a year, but this super cool picnic-dressed-in-white is back for another, bigger, and better event this year! And when I say bigger, I mean that this year’s event is expected to draw over 1,000 people (read my recap of 2015's event here)

Here’s how it works:

Diners will meet in a central location before being led on to their final destination, as the details of exactly where the event is taking place are only released minutes before the dinner is supposed to begin.
You bring everything. And by “everything,” I mean everything. Tables, chairs, food, clothing, utensils, ambiance, etc. The only thing Diner En Blanc provides is the alcohol or food that you’ve purchased ahead of time. Basically, all you truly need are table, chairs, food, and utensils, but you can get as extravagant as you want with it.
Everything you wear and bring with you (not including food) needs to be “white and elegant.” This is the time to roll out your most impressive duds, or pick things that are more on the chic side of “shabby chic.” The time to start scouring Goodwill is now.

I went into this event last year having no idea what to expect, which was kind of nice (minus the sporadic bouts of anxiety that surely I was forgetting something). Without spoiling it too much, here are some tips I have for making your event a great one:

Coordinate with friends. Try to get a table for 4 and assign everyone a different aspect of the meal. 1 person take care of seating, 1 or 2 people do food, 1 or 2 people do decor. This also helps for carrying things with you. We didn’t have a super long walk, but it was still long enough to need to be somewhat coordinated with your equipment.
Dress to the nines! One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t get super crazy with my outfit. People were wearing all kinds of insane things, and rather than look insane, they ended up looking awesome and I was very jealous.
Order more alcohol than you think you need. We only ordered 1 bottle, and since you can’t buy more alcohol than what you ordered before the event, we were very sad. They really frown upon bringing in your own alcohol (as in they might kick you out), so just go ahead and order that 2nd bottle of wine.
We ordered food, but the people we were sitting with brought their own, and they did an awesome job. Homemade macarons, ice cubes with flowers in them. It was magical and made me wish I’d put more effort into my meal. Keep in mind: you’re the only one eating your food, so make what you want to eat.