My ‘Gothic White’ Dîner en Blanc Table

My sister invited me as her date to Chicago’s Dîner en Blanc this year. Quelle excitation! She rented a room for the night, so we checked in and brought all of our stuff up. It wasn’t until we were in a car on our way to the meeting point that we realized our flowers were sitting in an ice bucket in her hotel bathroom.

We had the essentials — food, plates, that sort of thing — but without the fluffy cute flowers, our table was going to be all pillar candles and skeletons. Really emphasizing the whole goth part of my ‘gothic white’ idea. I did what I assume any weirdo/resourceful person would do. I scavenged weeds from a nearby parking lot.

“It will work out,” my sister assured me as I came back with a handful of Queen Anne’s Lace. “After all, what grows on graves?”

It worked out! Clearly the skeletons are the best part of this table — you should pick them up while you can because I suspect they’ll sell out well before Halloween. We borrowed a folding table and tons of people (us included) had these inexpensive and light folding chairs. Everything else was standard-issue tabletop stuff that I had on hand, with flameless candles in anticipation of wind. Everything is linked below (and I found super similar items for some of the stuff I’ve had for years).

This is also pretty much what my dining table is going to look like all October.

1. Josie Glasses, Crate & Barrel
2. Classic White Tablecloth, Crate & Barrel
3. Gold Flatware, CB2
4. Caterer’s White Napkins, Pottery Barn
5. Amber LED Glimmer Strings, Pier 1
6. Caterer’s Dinner Plates, Pottery Barn
7. Narrow Vase, Houzz
8. Yoga Skeleton Halloween Figure Decor, Pier 1
9. LED Distressed White Pillar Candles, Pier 1

It’s a lot of schlepping, but it was worth it. Everyone and everything looks beautiful, and the mystery of the location (it was at the Theater on the Lake this year) adds to the fun. Plus dancing! If you ever get the change to attend a Dîner en Blanc in your city, say yes!

p.s. Here’s a little background on how the event usually works. The first Dîner en Blanc I’d been to was at Alt Summit. Much smaller and no schlepping, but equally magical and fun.