Diner en blanc - Port of Spain: The Experience

It all started with my younger sister telling me about this event. My older sister in Pennsylvania mentioned it to her and lo and behold the local leg was being held just in a couple weeks. So she brought it to my attention and we decided to go for it. A week and a half later I'm running around like a headless chicken searching for an all white outfit since they indicated via email that ivory, cream and off white of any kind were a no go. Settling on a dress, preparing our food and organising our cutlery and table decor, my sister and I made our way to the Hasely Crawford Stadium to park as we were being shuttled from there to the venue.

One thing that I did like was that the venue was kept secret. It added to the mystery of the event. So after connecting with our team leader Vanessa Mohammed (who is a gorgeous ex flight attendant might I add), getting our package with our wrist bands and boarding the bus, we made our way to the venue, which turned out to be Queen's Hall  Carpark. We walked through arches and were greeted by the sounds of a very talented and vivacious pannist. After setting up our designated space, and unpacking our picnic baskets, we ended up sharing our table with a young couple named Indra and Kurt. They were awesome dinner company to have and just like my sister and me, they came by themselves. I do hope to cross paths with them again.

Let's talk clothing! The dress-code stated was elegant.. very elegant as a matter of fact, and most persons were dressed to the nines with gloves, hats, fascinators and then some. Others..well, let's just assume that they didn't have anything else white to wear, because there is no way that ripped jeans, or short pants could be classed as elegant. And speaking about white. I could kick myself for stressing out so much over getting a white dress. After visiting a few of my favourite boutiques and not getting anything lily white, I settled on a simple body hugging long sleeved midi length jersey dress with a deep plunge at the back courtesy Curvista Fashionz in Gasparillo. That paired with my nude Guess pumps and silver headband I felt appropriately dressed and in theme. So imagine my surprise when I saw quite a bit of people in off white, and ivory, and even one particular young lady in cream. So much for sticking with the theme 🙁. The other thing I noticed was that dresses/tops with the armholes cut so wide that the side of your breast was pretty much out there is a trend. I was convinced that someone would have a wardrobe malfunction at some point. Maybe being on the bustier side, I don't quite get the trend, but those who chose that risque look, they rocked it well. 

Food! My sister and I decided to do our own thing. So after the traditional waving of the napkin to signal the start of the meal, we dug into our garlic herb bread and hummus (yes, ya girl can bake a decent bread okay), with a main course of stuffed chicken breast, parsley potatoes and sautéed mushrooms. Dessert was cake. We carried a wine spritzer, a non alcoholic wine and bottled water to keep the thirst at bay. For those who didn't want the hassle of bringing their own food and cutlery, they had the option of pre-ordering meals from Chaud Cafe, and renting cutlery and dinner ware from A1 Events. As for table decor, we opted for a white and gold theme which involved gold chargers, white and gold plates, and some candles. Simple and effective. Other persons went all out full wedding vibe with their decor.

After the meal, people mingled and I got chance to catch up with a few familiar faces who also attended. By then, the night sky was pitch black, only to be illuminated by sparklers, which is also a Diner en blanc tradition. Unfortunately, I missed it  *cough cough: blames my sister: cough* DJ Private Ryan took to the stage and the dinner turned into a party. Everyone was dancing and having a blast. Private Ryan sell off!!!!

Now I am by no means a party girl, but seeing everyone of different ages, race just come together and have a good time, was awesome. I will admit, I was expecting the event to be extremely "bougie", and to some extent, some people played out the bougie thing as I did anticipate (for example the young lady who in response to me saying good afternoon, watched me blankly, rolled her eyes and walked off), but everyone else, stranger and friend, were very pleasant, ESPECIALLY at the end of event. I will blame that on the a-a-a-alco-alcohol 🎶 and the vibes of the evening. The bus ride back to the Hasely Crawford was highly entertaining.

All in all, despite fighting the flu for most of the day, I managed to have a fantastic time. I can definitely see myself attending the next Diner en Blanc. As I told my sister, I'm thankful for her dragging me out the house. Now I just need to hide away from crowded events for the rest of the year. This plus sized naturalista has met her quota of human interaction. To stay up to date on their events, you can check out the Diner en blanc - Port of Spain Facebook page. As for me, I'm already looking at clothing and decor options for the next Diner en Blanc event. Hoping to see you at the next one!!
PS: Although my dream car is an Audi, I will admit that the 2017 E Class Mercedes Benz that was on display at the event was gorrrrggeeeoousss!!!!

Regards,

Tshenelle aka Nelly B.