Debutante Fiona Hanna Marks was the luminary at the party given by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Everard William Marks III, Britta and Everard, at the New Orleans Country Club. The former home of Mrs. Marks, Berlin, Germany, inspired the handsome Scriptura invitation that depicted a nocturnal cityscape with fireworks in the indigo sky, and later, the country club became an ideal canvas for the mapped projections of multiple thematic images.
Guests were gobsmacked by the décor and the constantly changing scenes projected on the walls of the club’s main ballroom. Included were Berlin’s striking skyline, popular nightclubs and restaurants, and daily street life, along with two clocks: a huge hydrangea-filled one and a projected animated cuckoo clock. Time was both measured and relished as the party pack anticipated a New Year. Further features were fireworks-inspired floral arrangements by Dunn & Sonnier, as well as the recreated Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s most famous landmark, and the backdrop for The Phunky Monkeys band. Kenny LaCour, Grand Events, was the party planner and producer.
Deb Fiona was radiant in a pale blue flowered gown of French embroidered tulle that she designed and Yvonne Counce made. Mom Britta chose a silk dress of iridescent teal with a matching cape that was made in Berlin by a German designer.
German cuisine influenced the menu with, as favorite items, Flammkuchen bites, caviar, seared smoked salmon, pub chips and blinis, schnitzel with German potato salad, and porcini crusted tenderloin and black truffle sauce. Paces were constantly made to the Champagne bar. For the suite of sweets, Zoe’s Bakery confected Linzer and Sacher tortes, and Black Forest cake.
Imbibing all of these features were deb brother Konrad Marks, Michelle Marks Collins, Peter and Stephanie Donovan, Kyle Marks and Tiffany Swoboda, Kathy and John Eastman, Michelle and Leo Seoane, Virginia and John Rowan, Kate and John Werner, Louellen and Darryl Berger, Peggy and Jack Laborde, Penny and Robert Autenreith, Joanie and Jim Huger, Steven Parker and Lally Brennan, and Jenifer and John Besh. To mention a few during a night when we were “all Berliners.”
Of course music brightened up the bash. In the Founders’ Room, a string quartet led by Harry Hardin entertained guests with lively arrangements of classical and modern selections. Then, later, the dance floor was the place to be — and boogie — as The Phunky Monkeys got the groove going with such hits as “I Will Survive” and “YMCA.” All the while, Fiona made her merry “mark,” as she lit up the night with gratitude and glee.
A.B. Strikes Again
Such was the heading on the invitation for a deb party in honor of Annabelle Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. Baldwin Brown, Laura and Baldwin, that was right up everyone’s alley. Bowling, that is! Rock ‘N’ Bowl was the site for the night. Yuletide decorations kicked in with Santa hats and jungle bells. A brace of belles, mom Laura and the honoree, wore outfits respectively from Saks Fifth Avenue and SOSUSU. All thanked party planner, Party on Brown, Molly Brown proprietor.
As did dozens, deb sister Molly Brown, Eileen and Parker Stewart, Meg and David Sumrall, Yvonne and Oscar Gwin, Liz and Dunbar Healy, Becky and Scott Slatten, Britton and Michael Miller, Millie and H. Elder Brown, Anne and Edmund Redd, Elizabeth Brown Soslow and Timothy, Maria and Noel Johnson, Amy and Billy King, Deirdre and Dan Macnamara, and Germaine and Geoff Gjerston joined the deb set at the food tables. Classic Cajun cuisine, pizza squares, and Bittersweet Confections desserts pleased the palate, as did the specialty S’anna rita drink.
Throughout the evening, guests queued up to bowl. Jubilant cries arose with strikes. Then at 8 p.m., the Atlanta band Az-izz struck up the sounds and the dance floor lured one and Annabelle all.
Within the curtsying cotillion, Misses Olivia Ellen Convenuto, Evelyn Aline Drez and Isabelle Coret Breaux caught the eye, and elicited applause, at the Victory Ball of the Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Louisiana. The demoiselles, who represented New Orleans, Louisiana, and Massachusetts, are the daughters of Brig. Gen. (stepfather) and Mrs. John Bettes Dunlap III, Mr. and Mrs. Craig Drez and Mr. and Mrs. James Breaux. Dr. Patrick Carroll Breaux escorted Miss Breaux. Brig. Gen. Rodney B. Painting is the society president and Messrs. Gregory Dalton Woolverton, Rushton Garic Barrosse, Rene Joseph Navarre, Henry Phillip Rouquette Jr., Paul Mire Melancon, Ryan Lee Waldron, (Maj.) Bradley T. Hayes, Gerald Lloyd Schroeder Jr. and John Clifford Grout Jr. are officers. The above John Dunlap and Roger F. Villere Jr. chaired the ball at the Metairie Country Club, where Villere’s Florist did the flowers.
Several of the above portrayed historic figures, such as Rodney Painting, Gen. Andrew Jackson, the war’s victor; Gregory Woolverton, Gov. William C.C. Claiborne; and Roger Villere, New Orleans Mayor Nicholas Girod. Mr. Navarre was the grand marshal and Lynda Moreau sang the national anthem.
After the white-gowned demoiselles were presented, society members and guests enjoyed music by the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra and a buffet supper. Quite a few remembered the origin of the Grand Military Victory Ball. When news of the 1812 victory reached Rachel Jackson, spouse of Gen. Andrew, she, and others, decided on a gala celebration in New Orleans.