Obamas' First State Dinner Marked by Classy but Cautious Style

For all the hoopla surrounding the much-anticipated first state dinner of the Obama administration, the magic night for the lucky invitees was not long; a little after midnight, one of the last stragglers was looking for a cab in a nearly empty street off Pennsylvania Avenue.

There was more than enough in the evening -- the whole day, in fact -- to stamp the Obama White House with its own signature style for entertaining: classy and, like President Obama, cautious. No outlier clothing, performance or even cuisine on the largely vegetarian menu (American food with an Indian influence), all to honor India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur.

"Aapka Swagat Hai," Obama said in greeting his guests, Hindi for "You are welcome."

For months, First Lady Michelle Obama has been dining out on upbeat stories about her White House kitchen garden, so the theme of the evening -- crafted by her East Wing, in charge of the production -- was, logically and simply, "garden." Why not stick with a good thing. The color scheme for the linen tablecloths was apple green; three walls inside the giant pavilion erected on the South Lawn were a deep shade of green; herbs and lettuce had been plucked from that garden for the supper; and the White House emphasized that the event would be "green." The magnolia, ivy and other foliage used to decorate the interior will be recycled around the White House.

The White House insisted on calling the structure for the party a tent -- though with almost a dozen chandeliers and carpeting, that's hardly the right word. The event was moved outside because the State Dining Room could squeeze in no more than 140 people and there were about 330 guests. With two wars, unemployment over 10 percent and President Obama poised to announce next Tuesday sending more troops to Afghanistan, the White House kept a tight lid on party details, not only for the element of surprise but to de-emphasize glitzy partying when so many people are struggling.

Iraq or Afghanistan war vets, or even the common people whose stories the Obama White House is so fond of collecting on its Web sites and events -- a habit from the long presidential campaign, when "real people" often introduced then candidate Barack Obama -- were not obvious (if they were tucked away on the guest list). They were encouraged, instead, to watch via livestream at www.whitehouse.gov and engage on the White House Facebook page. The guest list was heavy on White House staff, establishment Washington, congressional leaders, prominent Indian Americans, network anchors, business executives, Hollywood moguls and the inner core of the First Couple's Chicago pals. Plus, of course, some family: First Grandmother Marian Robinson and half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and her husband, Konrad Ng.

The event had been planned for months, overseen by White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers, who seemed unusually intense -- who could blame her? -- at the afternoon preview of the dinner presided over by the first lady. Mrs. Obama brought along the high school girls in her White House mentoring program to sit at mock-ups of the tables and listen to lectures on White House state and official dinners and get a lesson on diplomatic protocol.

Former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton would bring in the White House chef and florist and take questions about the dinner at their previews; Mrs. Obama's team decided to go with the safer, scripted format and not get into a lot of that behind-the-scenes stuff about how red lentil soup with fresh cheese was paired with potato and eggplant salad with White House arugula. Some 50 local students were invited for the morning welcome ceremony, switched inside at the last minute because of the Tuesday morning drizzle.

Said Mrs. Obama in the afternoon: "The president and I are going to host this really neat dinner outside in the tent. But we describe it, it's sort of like a swan, where we're kind of calm and serene above water -- but we're paddling like mad, going crazy underneath, trying to look smooth. But there's a lot of work that goes into making this happen and we have a lot of people who are helping to put it together. And it takes everyone at the White House and the State Department and the Military Office who've worked so hard to put all of the events together today -- the guest list, the invitations, the place settings that you see here, you've got to figure out who sits where -- all that fun stuff."

For those who watched the guests arrive on TV Tuesday night, here's what you don't know: A bunch of the invitees declined to do the waltz in front of the cameras and headed straight to the reception, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, though his brother, Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel, obliged. There were a few awkward moments: When Carol Browner, the White House energy and climate czar, was announced, her spouse was called "Mr. Browner" -- but he's really Tom Downey, the former New York congressman who runs an influential lobbying firm. The cummerbund worn by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) dropped from beneath his tux, landing on the floor just as stepped in front of the camera. NBC anchor Brian Williams lingered to greet the press corps, whose attention shifted when DreamWorks mogul David Geffen arrived, a moment of celebrity gridlock. Among the most obliging for the cameras: Oprah Winfrey sidekick Gayle King and director Steven Spielberg, who posed with Alfre Woodard and Blair Underwood (who came together). The guest list was light on Republicans; Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana was among the few.

Inside the pavilion, there was no head table, and the seating philosophy was not to sit couples together at the tables for 10. Obama's table was in the middle of the room; he was flanked by Mrs. Kaur and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; in keeping with boy-girl seating, Mrs. Obama sat between the Indian prime minister and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

A lot of the women -- American, Indian-American and those from India -- wore a sari. Mrs. Obama wore a knockout strapless floor-length gown by Indian-born designer Naeem Khan, chosen for the first lady with the help of her fashion stylist. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) wore a sari too. The most elegant was worn by Semonti Stephens, nee Musphati, one of Mrs. Obama's press spokesmen; it was purchased in Calcutta and was among the outfits she wore for her May wedding ceremonies. Mrs. Kaur wore a dark-color sari with red and gold accents. (How unlucky to have to compete with Mrs. Obama on the fashion front.)

Before the meal, there were gracious toasts. In his, Obama noted the close relationship between India and the United States:

Singh said the fates of the two powers are intertwined. "Your leadership of this great nation of the United States coincides with a time of profound changes taking place in the world at large. We need to find new pathways of international cooperation that respond more effectively to the grave challenges caused by the growing interdependence of nations. As two leading democracies, India and the United States must play a leading role in building a shared destiny for all humankind."

After the meal, a curtain was pulled aside to reveal a stage. Entertainers for the evening were a mix: Chicago songsters Kurt Elling and Jennifer Hudson; Marvin Hamlisch conducting the National Symphony Orchestra; A.R. Rahman, the Indian film composer whose work was featured in "Slumdog Millionaire"; and the United States Marine Band. Left off the program was the Bay Area Empire Bhangra, a dance troupe.

India got the honor for the first Obama state dinner because it is a close U.S. ally with critical economic and national security ties and millions of emigrants in the U.S.

For Singh, all the White House pomp was an old story for him. While this was Obama's first White House state dinner, this was the second time around for the prime minister Unlike Obama, he'd been there and done that before. Former President Bush and First Lady Laura treated the prime minister and Mrs. Kaur to a White House dinner in 2005.

Related: The state dinner guest list

Related: The state dinner menu