DINNER FOR BRITISH PRIME MINSTER DAVID CAMERON and SAMANTHA CAMERON

OK, right off the bat.... IS this a STATE DINNER ??? 

I don't think it is, but ever single media outlet is calling it one, so, even though he is NOT the head of state

WAPO gives us the low down.:  
and sorry about the length of this post, sorry if it messes anyone up, I just get all giddy with this stuff. CHECK BACK AGAIN - I WILL UPDATE AS I GET MORE INFO

TONIGHT'S "OFFICIAL" VISIT
with
A STATE DINNER

 Starting off with this afternoon, as the President and First Lady Welcomed the Cameron's to the WHITE HOUSE.

Mrs. Obama looking perfect  in ZAC POSEN, who as a rule, I do not like at all, 

but this is lovely, VERY First Lady.....Michele in an almost kitten heel, 

Samantha in some almost street walker heel, but I do like her skirt.

Mrs. Cameron has been on the k+b before, as I am sure ALL of you remember. The Prime Minsters wife all but scandalized the entire world by choosing to wear neither a hat NOR a fascinator to the royal wedding last year. Wearing instead some sort of lame barrette flower thing. In days gone by she would have been bared at the door or just sent straight to the tower.... standards are lower on their side of the pond.

THE ARRIVAL

 Blue is the word!

Michele in an off the shoulder silk gazar column gown in dark teal with a short train by Marchesa, whose co-founder is  the British born Georgian Chapman , judge on Project Runway and wife of Harvey Weinstein both of whom are guests at tonight's dinner. Her Jewelry is by Tom Binns, a Belfast born designer living in New York. The First Lady wore a Binns necklace  before when welcoming HM The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh at the American Embassy during last years British state visit.
Samantha is in a dress by British Designer Alessandra Rich.

Zac Posen AND Marchesa... wow, two of my least favorite designers, but both looking very UN Posen/Marcesa, I love both dresses. The back makes Michelle's.

THE DINNER

The dinner for 360! is being held in a tent on the South Lawn.

The grounds of the White House are in clear view through the 150 foot-wide glass wall of the dinner tent. In honor of our guests, the beauty of countryside English gardens is also incorporated into the design by Rafanelli Events. Planters and centerpieces used at the dinner are intended to e mulate nature and the flowing “landscape gardens” that are common in England.

 These are just mock ups of the tables for the press. The banquet's decor theme is " America's Backyard."Planters and centerpieces used at the dinner are intended to emulate nature and the flowing landscape gardens that are common in England ( says CBS News ) The decor was designed by the design firm Rafanelli Events, which is perhaps best known fro Chelsea Clinton's lavish "wedding of the century." The firm did the decor for the President and Mrs. Obama's State Dinners for Germany and South Korea, too.

The “America’s Backyard” decor theme relies on green, purple and magenta hues for the flowers, which include roses and hydrangeas.  Tall acid-green candles are in glass holders, and there are low candles, too.

THE MENU

The First Course, Crisped Halibut with Potato Crust, will be served on a bed of braised baby kale fresh from the White House garden, shaved Brussels sprouts and micro cabbage sprouts. A hint of applewood smoked bacon from a local smokehouse ties the dish together.

The Salad Course, Spring Garden Lettuces with Shallot Dressing and Shaved breakfast Radish, Cucumbers and Avocados, is light and crisp and includes different types of greens, which are also from the Kitchen Garden.

The Main Course, Bison Wellington, is a perfect pairing of US and UK cultures. The Wellington is a classic English dish given an American twist with the use of buffalo tenderloin.Served with a red wine reduction, French green beans and cipollini onions

The dessert is Steamed Meyer Lemon Pudding, a nod to the traditional British treat. The pudding is prepared with Idaho Huckleberry Sauce and Newtown Pippin apples to unite the British and American flavors.

The White House did not release the Wines being served, except to say they were all American

THE GUESTS

( ALL 360 of them HERE )

The Head Table

From WAPO : At some previous dinners, the Obamas sat at separate tables; here, they’re back at the same head table, with both guests of honor, Davidand Samantha Cameron. And they have continued what seems to have been an unspoken tradition of this administration, seating a same-sex couple at the table: Chad Griffin, the new president of the Human Rights Campaign, with his plus-one, Jerome Fallon.

Who are the others? David Adjaye is the British architect selected to design the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and model Ashley Shaw-Scott is his date. Damian Lewis is the British star of “Homeland”; his wife, actress Helen McCrory is also at the table. Elaine Brye, accompanied by Courtney William Brye, is an Ohio woman whose letter about her four children in the military caught the first lady’s attention. Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, accompanied by his wife Ashley, was awarded the Medal of Honor last year for bravery in Afghanistan. Marva Smalls, accompanied by Francisco Lopes Borges, is an executive at Nickelodeon. Adm.James A. Winnefeld Jr., here with his wife Mary, is vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And of course, you know billionaire investorWarren Buffett. In a slight twist, his wife Astrid is seated elsewhere, while his daughter Susie joins him at the head table. George Clooney is just George Clooney...

A Few Highlights

The Vice President and Dr. Biden

Hmmmm.. Questioning Jill's dress here , but we are assuming that is a shawl in her hand

George and Abe

The Queen of all there is Anna Wintour with long time bf Shelby Bryan
Dress is couture Chanel from the Spring 2009 collection, which
SHE WORE BEFORE.. but when you have that Chanel Couture hanging in the back of your
closet, what are you supposed to do?

GRANTHAM'S IN THE HOUSE!

The Obama's Love Downton Abbey!

 Elizabeth " lets have the best Christmas ever " McGovern and her Husband British Director Simon Curtis. Hugh Bonniville ( Lord Grantham was there as well!  ) Her dress by British Designer Jacques Azagury

Attorney General Eric Holder and his lovely wife obstetrician Dr. Sharon Malone. To make a long story shorter : Dr. Malone's sister, Vivian Malone Jones was one of the first two African Americans to try to enroll in the University of Alabama June 11, 1963 and was barred at the door by George Wallace. I love this fact to the point of obsession.

 ewwwww... who had to sit next to the nasty old Scalia's ?!?

 MY TDF new beau ( and Susan, it meant My New Boyfriend Is Ever So Dreamy ) Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and his wife Catherine, doing a Jolie

 When your husband is the THIRD RICHEST MAN on the planet, you get to wear what ever you want to the white house.....The Buffets.

BEARS IN THE HOUSE!!!!!

Our old pal Andrew Sullivan and his husband Arron Tone, getting their A list on.

MORE ARRIVALS

THE ENTERTAINMENT

JOHN LEGEND 

and k+b Favorite

MUMFORD AND SONS!