My ‘Thé en Blanc’ birthday party!

I never really do something HUGE for my birthday but this year I decided that if I don’t take matters into my own hands, no one else will. When Yolandi from A Zesty Life and I was brainstorming some ideas, she mentioned a Dîner en Blanc event… I was intrigued so decided to find out more for myself.

What is ‘Dîner en Blanc’?

Dîner en Blanc is a worldwide event spanning six continents in which people have a meal dressed in white in a temporary dining setup in a public space. Diners are required to provide their own food, tables, chairs and tablecloths. Only a select number of participants who have previously signed up are made privy to the location the day of the dinner, and generally converge in an iconic urban location. (source)

Stationery

Even though my bestie Liezel, from Match Set Love could not be here (as she resides in Holland) she gifted me with all of the stationery for the event! She designed my invitation and a few other totally awesome special touches that really personalised my birthday party. I decided that true to the Dîner en Blanc tradition I would keep the location for the event secret till the week before. It added such a fun element to the whole affair!

Should you want to use the same stationery for a special event, the printable stationery suite is available for purchase on her Printables store via Etsy at a reduced cost for lovilees! Click here (affiliate link).

I initially planned that we would all make a wreath or a dried bouquet at the celebration, but with the flower prices not working in my favor I opted for a smaller thank you gift. A yummy treat in a small drip bowl with a pretty tag that matched my stationery. Something to make every guest feel special and appreciated.

Venue & Decor

Having an evening anything with small kids in the home is generally quite a challenge so I decided to throw a tea party – thus ‘Thé en Blanc’. I started looking for a bright and white venue that would fit the picture I had in my mind. I knew that Carike Ridout Photography would be the best lady to capture this white decorated event. and was so ecstatic that she introduced me to the Culturebarn, a rentable creative space in Blackheath, Johannesburg, only a stone throw from where we stay. I popped around to see and immediately knew IT WAS PERFECT! Thank you to Carike for the beautiful images that I received as Birthday pressie, they are treasures!!!

Friendy Carla, from Moi Decor Hire allowed me to use some of her pretty white bottles and her new birthday signage. She was also there to help my mom and I with all of the set up and was a huge help in bringing the vision I had for the event to life. PS: How pretty are her silk flowers that she added to her catalogue for rental?!

The key to bringing all of the decor together was to find perfectly white flowers. Minette from Plantation Revival made this happen! She was able to find some bleached white dried flowers as well as cotton balls for me even though the prices sky rocketed that week before the event. The bunny planters were from Gonk. The White kids Teepee for the little ones was gifted to me by My Tiny Teepee a few years ago and still a firm favorite.

Food & Treats

Even though the amazing guys at Gonk Industries were not able to do the catering on the day due to other commitments they were gems in assisting with the food and menu planning. I wanted only white colored eats to match the theme, so opted for microwave popcorn in mini boxes, white macaroons, nougat, chocolate balls and some other off-white savories all from Gonk Industries, risotto from A Zesty Life (see the moreish mushroom risotto recipe here) and some white triangle square sandwiches made by my mom. Some other ideas that I had played with were spring rolls and Sushi.

For the drinks I purchased some of my favorite non-alcoholic sparkling juices from Woolworths and while I was there found some milky white sparkling litchi juice which looked (and tasted) totally pretty in the champagne flutes. The highlight was the DIY Pavlova kit from Gonk Industries that Yolandi brought to life. We had it plain at first and then she added some color before we literally ate the WHOLE cake.

How to plan the ultimate Birthday party?

1. Decide on a theme and/or color scheme well in advance.
2. Book a venue that matches your theme/colors if you opt to do it away from home.
3. Send out the invitations at least a month before the actual event.
4. Do as much of the decor and planning before the event.
5. Plan your menu.
6. Have a plan of action for the day to ensure that you have adequate time and extra help if needed.
7. Rent a professional photographer to capture the decor and special moments, it is not always easy to get all the people you love and appreciate together at the same time.
8. Relax and have fun!

Thank you to each and every special person that attended (and that everyone dressed in white!)

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