Honorees of a poolside luau at the Greenwood Country Club after the garden party were, from the left, in front, page Caroline Files Berry of Robinsonville; page escorts Jackson Dean Brewer Wright of Inverness, Will Whitten Owen III of Tunica and Whitmore Baker Van Cleve of Indianola; and pages Elizabeth Clay Pedigo of Madison, Isabelle Beatrice Dulaney of Tunica and Emma Jane Berry of Robinsonville; in back, pages Jane Gray Barbour of Jackson; Elizabeth Hollingsworth Powers of Greenwood; Emily Styring Moser of Clarksdale; Lillian Frances Robertson and Elizabeth Pryor Mehrle, both of Jackson; Macon McCully Allen of Tunica; Anne Craig Melton of Greenwood; and Lucy Elizabeth Payne of Meridian. Not pictured is page escort James Augustus Gordon of Jackson.

The Governing Board of the Southern Debutante Assembly introduced the 2016 honorees at a garden party in the late afternoon on May 27 at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Greenwood.

The garden party is among the first events of the “little season.” The debutantes, pages and page escorts will be presented formally in December at the Assembly’s White and Gold Presentation and Ball.

Throughout the parish hall and the courtyard, guest tables skirted in cream linen with pink linen overlays were each centered with a compact arrangement of white hydrangeas, cloud pink roses, gypsophila and spring greenery in a terra cotta garden pot.

While Keith Sanders’ ensemble played jazz favorites for the gathering, guests were received by Mrs. Richard Cunliffe McBee III of Greenwood, advisor to the Assembly, along with board member Mrs. Thomas Upton Black Jr. of Greenwood.

Wearing long afternoon dresses in pastel shades, the debutantes received carrying the traditional white wicker garden baskets of daisies and plumosa fern, accented with white satin ribbon. Each of the Assembly pages, similarly dressed, carried a single gerbera daisy with plumosa fern, hand-tied with white satin ribbon.

 

Debutantes for 2016

 

Anne Tyler Ward, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Granberry Holland Ward III of Meridian

 

Pages to the debutantes

 

Mary Griffin Jackson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Blanks Jackson of Meridian

Lucy Elizabeth Payne, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jason Payne of Meridian

 

Escorts to the pages

 

William Bruce Parker II, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Bruce Parker of Meridian

 

Participants honored at ‘little season’ events

 

Debutantes, pages, and page escorts were honored at several events surrounding the Southern Debutante Assembly’s garden party during its “little season” at the end of May.

 

Poolside Luau

 

On the evening of May 27, after the garden party, the pages and page escorts attended a poolside luau and cookout at the Greenwood Country Club in Greenwood. After enjoying menu selections from a buffet that included a taco bar, a nachos bar, fruit kabobs and Shirley Temple beverages, the crowd danced to favorite tunes played by brothers Hugh Warren V and Riley Warren of Madison, who served as deejays.

The guests wore Hawaiian leis and played games in the pool, which was surrounded by Tiki torches and paper lanterns. Each guest received a monogrammed beach towel as a memento of the party.

Pages honored with the luau were Macon McCully Allen of Tunica; Jane Gray Barbour of Jackson; Caroline Files Berry and Emma Jane Berry, both of Robinsonville; Isabelle Beatrice Dulaney of Tunica; Elizabeth Pryor Mehrle of Jackson; Anne Craig Melton of Greenwood; Emily Styring Moser of Clarksdale; Lucy Elizabeth Payne of Meridian; Elizabeth Clay Pedigo of Madison; Elizabeth Hollingsworth Powers of Greenwood and Lillian Frances Robertson of Jackson.

Page escort honorees included James Augustus Gordon of Jackson, Will Whitten Owen III of Tunica, Whitmore Baker Van Cleve of Indianola and Jackson Dean Brewer Wright of Inverness.

Parents hosting the party were Mr. and Mrs. William Henry Allen III, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Frank Fair Barbour, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Albert Berry, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ratcliffe Dulaney, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Kersey Mehrle Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Mortimer Melton III, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Chadwick Moser, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jason Payne, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Walker Pedigo, Mr. and Mrs. John Heston Powers Jr., Mr. and Mrs. William Thomas Robertson III, Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Ford Gordon, Mr. and Mrs. Will Whitten Owen Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Seldon Van Cleve and Mr. and Mrs. Shannon Dean Wright.