The Governing Board of the Delta Debutante Club honored the members of the 2007 Debutante Club at a reception at the Greenville Golf and Country Club on Friday, May 25. The evening event was the introduction to the Little Season of parties for 14 debutantes who will be presented at the 2007 Ball on Saturday, Dec. 29.

A garden party theme was used throughout the club with huge arrangements of all pink flowers including roses, lilies and larkspur. Music for the evening was provided by Hal Holbrook.

Receiving guests at the reception were the members of the governing board, the debutantes, the pages and the pages’ escorts.

Among the debutantes honored was Miss Rachel Elizabeth Ladner.

Miss Rachel Elizabeth Ladner is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Newman Ladner of Cleveland. Her grandparents are the late Mr. and Mrs. William Hunter Corhern of Starkville, and Mr. and Mrs. Delmas Louis Ladner of Natchez. She attends Mississippi State University and is a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority.

On Friday, the day of the spring reception, a debutante luncheon in the Garden honored Miss Mary Elizabeth Huddleston, Miss Elizabeth Wilder Jones and Miss Margaret Affleck Snipes. The luncheon was held in the Boteler Gardens in Leland. Bright pink parasols decorated the grounds and the debutantes’ pictures were taken among the hydrangea beds. Mississippi Slim and John Horton Blues Band furnished music for the event. Guests were the debutantes, their mothers and grandmothers and board members. Each debutante was presented a silver julep cup and a parasol as a memento of the occasion.

Following the reception, a masque ball honored Miss Aimee Claire Frankel, Miss Frances Leigh Alcott, Miss Margery Amanda Selden, Miss Ann Alston Devany Shackelford and Miss Myrtis McClellan Walcott. The ballroom at the Greenville Country Club was totally transformed with black wall hangings accented with mask-adorned portraits.

At noon on Saturday Miss Jessica Miriam Alexander, Miss Rachel Elizabeth Ladner and Miss Courtney Grace Phillips were honored with a traditional Southern luncheon at Posecai’s Restaurant. Cool beverages were served on the front porch while the group gathered. Shades of pink gerber daisies with silver appointments adorned the starched white linens, and silver monogrammed bookmarks served as both favors and place cards. The debutantes and their mothers attended.

The Bachelor’s Club of the Delta honored the debutantes with An Evening in New Orleans on Saturday. The courtyard at the Greenville Inn and Suites provided the scene for the occasion, and music was furnished by Rob Mortimer of Greenville.