Dîner en Blanc Philadelphia Guest Blogger: Emily Tharp, Owner of Her Philly Blog

Dîner en Blanc Philadelphia invited attendees to participate in a guest blogger series dedicated to all their favorite topics related to DEB.  Our second blogger, is Emily Tharp. Emily is the blogger behind Her Philly, a lifestyle blog for young women living in Philadelphia. She is a full-time social media and marketing specialist and enjoys Philly sports, shopping in the Anthropologie sale room, and searching for the city’s best pizza.  

                                          Dîner en Blanc for the Single Lady

I knew I would love Diner en Blanc as soon as I heard about it. The dresses, the dinner, the wine,

the celebration of our city . . . it all sounded perfectly up my alley. When it was time to register, I cheerily filled out all of my information on the sign up page (daydreaming about my outfit most likely), when I stopped: “Date’s name.” Date’s name? I had just dipped my toes into the world of online dating and panicked – I was not at the level with any of the men I had met so far that summer to invite them to such an event. I hastily typed in the name of one of the guys I thought had potential, as if I didn’t want anyone to see I had put his name there, and submitted my form. Weeks went by and I tried desperately to turn that guy into someone I could actually have fun with all night long at my most anticipated event of the season. Because really, what fun is a night filled with dancing, drinking, and taking pretty pictures without a guy? Wait a second . . .My friend Tara had also signed up for DEB, but her husband was not so keen on the idea of an all-white soiree (this could have something to do with the fact that Tara is ob-sessed with all things Dîner en Blanc, it would have been go big or go home for him!).

                   

So after those weeks of indecision, Tara and I decided to do the logical thing: turn our evening into a girls outing! While the Paris DEB looks for pairs to be one man and one woman, Philadelphia allows all types of couples – and not just the romantic type either! We took advantage of this rule and started planning. White dress talk is so much more fun with your girlfriends than with a guy.

The night of Dîner en Blanc 2013 was a dream. Our friends Kenya and Kelly 

joined us, and we had an absolute blast dancing and singing in the street. We made so many friends (Hi Sue & Steve!) and enjoyed our carefree ladies night. We had so much fun, that Kelly and I are doing girls night year #2 this year, complete with another duo of our best lady buds. If you’re like me, and summer induces visions of white dancing in your head, don’t let the fact that you’re currently single stop you from attending. You will have much more fun with a girlfriend than trying to mold a creature from Tinder into a potential date, trust me. And if you do go with your girlfriends, tweet me and let me know – I think a dance party is in order!