Nell Nolan: The Debutante Club of New Orleans, Bachelors’ Club

The Debutante Club

General arrivals and the buzz of anticipation started before 8 p.m. at the New Orleans Country Club as the formally clad guests assembled for a cotillion. The inviting force was the Debutante Club of New Orleans and the Presentation of its New Members. There are 20.

Prior to the 8:30 p.m. annual ball and presentation, the debutantes and their parents and a few others assembled in the club’s Founders’ Room, where refreshments were set up. Obviously timing was important, so it was most appropriate that the first debutante to appear before the audience — the ladies were seated, while the men stood — was to the tune, “Just in Time,” as played by the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra led by his son, Robert Maxwell. Escorted by her father, as were all the debutantes except one (because of a longtime family commitment elsewhere), was Miss Carolyn Taylor Bienvenu, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Albert Bienvenu. Three captains of Carnival balls were on the ballroom floor: two to assist the young women onto the tiered staging, and another to announce them.

The next debutantes were Misses Teresa Mallard Brewer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Craig Wren Brewer; Annabelle Baldwin Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Baldwin Brown; Abigail Hartsfield Chaffe, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Blackshear Hamilton Chaffe IV; and Caroline Legier Delmer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Scott Delmer. Miss Brewer’s signature song, “Fly Me to the Moon,” suggested a rendezvous with the stars. Of course, and more down to earth, were the evening’s stars: the Debutante Club’s new members.

Successive curtsies were made by Misses Adelaide Bouligny Gaines, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Michael Gaines; Madison Elizabeth Hales, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Benjamin Hales; Celia Shane Hardin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery Simms Hardin; and Mallette Amie Havens, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Prentiss Havens. One of the showtunes, “Where or When,” suggested a theme of déjà vu. Quite a few of the presentees are daughters, and even granddaughters, of former debutantes.

Miss May Heidingsfelder Manning, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Archibald Manning, was the next to make a semicircle on the ballroom floor. Following her were Misses Morgan Elizabeth Nalty, daughter of Mr. Morgan Shaw Nalty and Ms. Jill Knight Nalty; Victoria Livaudais Nieset, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Robert Nieset Jr.; Charlotte Heyward Parrino, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Eugene Parrino; Tatum Lady Reiss, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Joseph Reiss III; and Elizabeth Talbot Rogers, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Ted Rogers III.

“Some Enchanted Evening” – and it was! – played as Miss Sarah Butler Sumrall, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William David Sumrall III, strode forward. The ultimate duo were Misses Patricia Diane Taylor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Frank Taylor III; and Laura Elise Vickery, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Benton Vickery III. 

A debutante of last year, Miss Emily Baldwin Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Noel Johnson Jr., arrived to culminate the formalities and lead the group curtsy as the 2024 President of the Debutante Club. During the recent Carnival season, she reigned as queen of Proteus. The club’s vice president, Miss Marguerite Conery Schmidt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Justin Burton Schmidt, was also in attendance. She wore the Oberon crown in February. Two of the club’s new members were queens during their high school years, Miss Vickery for Squires, and Miss Reiss for Apollo.

As anticipated, a couple of debs of the current season, also new Debutante Club members, were unable to be present: Misses Mary Grace Jenkins and Helen Landry Young. Their parents are Mr. and Mrs. Richard Scott Jenkins and Dr. and Mrs. Thomas William Young.

When the 18 new members were assembled on the stage, they curtsied in unison under the cue of Miss Johnson to the warm ovation of the guests. A royal blue backdrop was centered with a large, ornate gold crest of the Debutante Club. Red and blush-colored roses in large white urns, along with greenery-encased planters and topiaries, embellished the stage area. Twinkling white lights were threaded within the latter arrangements.

Always a sentimental favorite, the father-daughter dance was to “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.” General mingling ensued, as did compliments to the young ladies and their relatives. An hour or so later, the hosting parents and their daughters retired to their individual tables for the sumptuous breakfast fare. But not for long.

The beat became the lure and a throng headed to the dance floor to delight in the momentum of the Maxwell music and the joy of this celebratory occasion.

The Bachelors’ Club

A Champagne toast by William Henry Breaux, president of the Bachelors’ Club of New Orleans, occurred during the two-hour cocktail party prior to the annual presentation. It occurred in the St. James Room of the Hilton Riverside. There, the tables were decorated with white candles; roasted tomato crostini, bacon-wrapped shrimp, and vegetarian spring rolls pleased the collective palate; and the New Orleans Banjos + 2 (Mizie Licciardi) provided the musical menu.

Miss Blythe Virginia Bouza, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Michael Bouza, was the first debutante in the program’s listing with Bachelors’ member Mr. Charles William Walsten as her escort. She was unable to attend.

Six debutantes then processed. They were Misses Riley Mains Brennan, daughter of Mr. Jeffrey Curtis Brennan and Ms. Ariana Chrestia Brennan, and escort Mr. Blake Lawrence Ecuyer; Rachel Keirsey Lavis, daughter of Mr. Charles Edward Lavis Jr. and Ms. Amy Keirsey Lavis, and escort Mr. David Gerard Trepagnier Jr.; Sophia Alise Linn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ralph Linn III, and escort Mr. Benjamin Lee Walker; Elizabeth Brinkmann Maniscalco, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Maniscalco, and escort Mr. Joseph Jackson Maniscalco; Peyton Tremé McQueen, daughter of Mr. John McQueen and Ms. Anne McQueen, and escort Mr. Daniel Glynn Leithman; and Cameron Crawford Metzinger, daughter of Dr. Stephen E. Metzinger and Dr. Rebecca Metzinger, and escort Mr. Kerth Peterson Metzinger. For them and the following young ladies, a significant song was played as they caught the spotlight.

The remaining ones were Misses Riley Anne Palmer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Trevor Palmer, and escort Mr. Andrew Carrere Dodenhoff; Hadley Chopin Pinkerton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hodgson Pinkerton, and escort Mr. Cooper Hughs Jordan; Eleanor McCall Plauché, daughter of Mr. Walter Evan Plauché and Ms. Lisa Breeden Plauché, and escort Mr. Evan Jones Plauché; Caroline Crownover Koppel Shreiner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Robert Schreiner, and escort Mr. Edward Hamilton Koppel Schreiner; Sumerlin Grace Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Stewart, and escort Mr. Raymond Andrew Walker; and Mary Elizabeth Toso, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brien James Toso, and escort Mr. John Sanford Rivé III. Steve Baker created the bouquets of red roses with gold ribbon that the debutantes held.

After the presentation, a “first” dance beckoned the honored 12 and their escorts, many of whom were brothers. The second dance was for the debutantes and their fathers.

Getting a move on the groove became the final course of action, thanks to the music making of Emily Nelson Entertainment. At least two generations hit the dance floor to boogie to contemporary favorites. The sounds capped well into the next day.

“We felt it was really successful,” said president William Breaux, who continued saying the Bachelors were pleased to get to know their honored debutantes better. He concluded with “Everybody had fun.”