Preparing for tonight's State Dinner

As the White House Social Secretary, it's my job to help plan and execute all the White House's official social events. Which makes me pretty busy right about now -- because tonight, the President and the First Lady are welcoming His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, and Madame Peng Liyuan to the White House for a State Dinner. State Dinners are one of the most formal, involved events that we host here at the White House. And for the next couple hours, the Social Office team and the many other folks across the White House will be finalizing and double-checking everything -- from the floral arrangements and decor, to the menu, to the guest list. The calligraphers will be finishing up the cards for the place settings. We'll be working out final seating arrangements. We'll make sure Ne-Yo (the entertainment for the evening) is ready and rehearsed. We'll be working to handle last-minute dietary restrictions. We want you give you a sense of what goes into planning one of these things. Follow along with our day here. All day long, we'll be showing you snapshots of what goes into preparing for a State dinner, from the perspectives of a variety of staff from across the building. It's always a beautiful moment when all of the planning and hard work comes together, and this is it. We're looking forward to sharing it with you. Stay tuned (and wish us luck) -- Deesha Deesha Dyer Social Secretary The White House