Debutantes enjoy garden party in Greenwood
The Governing Board of the Southern Debutante Assembly introduced the honorees for 2013 at a garden party held May 31 at Ashwood Plantation, the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Madison Whittington III of 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 Ball.
Built on the Yazoo River in Greenwood at the turn of the 20th century, the historic home was moved in 1976 to its current location, where it is nestled among fields of cotton. Mature oaks and willow trees grace the lawn, along with a collection of marble statuary. In 2010, during the filming of the movie “The Help,” the house stood as the family home of the main character, Skeeter Phelan.
At the garden party, guests were drawn to the comfortable white wicker furniture on the wide wraparound veranda, where Keith Sanders’ ensemble played jazz favorites during the event. Guest tables skirted in cream linen with pink overlays dotted the manicured lawn, centered with arrangements of white and pink snapdragons, pink Esperance roses, pink majolica spray roses, white daisies and limonium in silver Revere bowls.
Inside the house, a complementary arrangement in a large silver Revere bowl was the centerpiece on the dining room table, which was covered with a handcrocheted cloth that has been in the Whittington family for many years.
Assisting Mr. and Mrs. Whittington with receiving their guests was Mrs. Richard Cunliffe McBee III of Minter City, adviser to the assembly, along with board member Mrs. William Webster Franklin of Greenwood, whose grandson, Hardy Lott Franklin of Tunica, is serving as a page escort this season. Also receiving was Sumner Elizabeth Cole, granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Whittington and one of the season’s pages.
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. The Assembly pages, similarly dressed, wore wrist corsages of daisies and plumosa fern, hand-tied with white satin ribbon.
Debutantes for 2013 included Mary Chandler Cossar, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Payne Cossar III of Senatobia. Pages to the debutantes included Elizabeth Mitchell Cossar, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Payne Cossar III of Senatobia, and Allen Bailey Saffold, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Dodd Saffold III of Olive Branch.