On Saturday, I had the opportunity to check Dîner en Blanc off my bucket list! For those of you unfamiliar, Dîner en Blanc is a pop-up dinner party where participants wear all-white and bring supplies to set up a white, temporary, chic dining space. The location is only announced a few minutes before the event—participants first gather with their tables at meeting locations near the main event. This is the event’s fifth year in DC—it began in 1988 in Paris. François Pasquier invited a group of friends to an elegant outdoor dinner at Bois de Boulonge, asking them to dress in white so they could find each other. Dîner en Blanc has since grown to over 70 cities!

This year’s DC Dîner en Blanc was held at Nationals Park! I attended the event with my good friend, Kristyn. We had a different experience than most participants, as we were invited to the media lounge at the event meaning we didn’t have to bring our own food, alcohol, or dining supplies. The media lounge was at the Red Porch, so we had a great vantage point to see all the Dîner en Blanc participants set up their tables around the concourses and near the main gate. To signal the start of dinner, diners wave their napkins in the air, and to signal the start of dancing, diners waved faux sparklers. It was an amazing spectacle! Dancing at this year’s event was held on the field, and they even brought out a few of the racing Presidents to mingle with guests!

The media lounge overlooked the VIP area of Dîner en Blanc, where guest’s tables were set up prior to their arrival. The white place settings were absolutely beautiful! Most of the attendees brought their own tables and chairs, and had the most magical setups—everything from candles to unicorns to white pineapples—it was so great to see everyone’s creativity on display! (You can see some of those tables in the videos I’ve included below.)

Hanging out with Kristyn, Diego, and Laura.

The photos really don’t do Dîner en Blanc justice, so I’ve included some of the Instagram Stories I took below—it really was a magical night seeing everyone decked out in their best summer whites!