It was the eve of Thanksgiving. And all through the Sheraton Hotel grand ballroom, debutantes, their family and friends were no doubt excited to be at the Bachelors' Club of New Orleans 76th Annual Presentation.

Before the formal presentation, debutantes, their parents, and club officers gathered in the hotel's Waterbury Room for a cocktail reception where club President William Cooper Usry Johnston led a formal toast to the debutantes. The New Orleans Banjos + 2, which had performed at the club's summer party, provided music.

The Bachelors' Club crest adorned the entrance to the ballroom, while the presentation stage had draperies in red and gold (the club's colors) with a crossed United States flag and the flag of the city of New Orleans. Staging was provided by Paul Norman of Thibodaux Flowers.

Images: sheindressau.com

Against this backdrop, 14 debutantes were presented with Howard Thompson, a former club president, serving as master of ceremonies. (Other past presidents in the crowd included Paul Dufour, Clay Bland, Will Alpaugh, Harlan Schwartz and Jean Paul Lagarde, who attended with his fiancée, Tricia Alexander. The duo met when Tricia was presented and Lagarde was president. They have a June wedding date.)

The girls and their escorts, who are club members or officers, made their entrance, with Johnston waiting on the dance floor to guide the debutantes to their mothers sitting along the floor's sides. The debutantes curtsied to them before being accompanied to the stage. When all the debutantes were on the stage, the officers bowed to the debutantes, who responded with a synchronized group curtsey.

This year's presentation coterie were: Misses Claire Alexandra Adams, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Pankey Adams III, escorted by Trevor William Thompson; Sedley Hayward Clark, stepdaughter and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bradley Oxford, daughter and stepdaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Christopher Clark, escorted by Joseph Ryan Acomb; Ara Alexandra Ellison,daughter of Mr. William C. Ellison and Dr. Felicia A. Rabito, escorted by Jake Joseph Weinstock; Corinne Adéle Guillot, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Jacques Louis Guillot, escorted by her uncle, Michael Oliver Provosty Jr.; Aimée Druilhet Lapeyre, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Felix Henri Lapeyre III, escorted byWilliam Brennan Davis; Sarah Ehret Martin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Joseph Martin III, escorted by her brother, Edward Joseph Martin IV; Leslie Richmond McConnell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Blake Barnhill McConnell, escorted by Wayne George Zeringue III; Alison Marie Mikes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steven Joseph Mikes, escorted by Kenneth James Taylor; Ashley Elizabeth Pou, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Paul Pou, escorted by Conor Thomas Lutkewitte; Adley Claire Schmid, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Woolf Schmid, escorted by Patrick James Kiernan; Isabelle LaPlace Shall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David LaPlace Shall, escorted by Patrick Lightfoot Caliva; Torre Aitken Sossaman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Patrick Sossaman, escorted by Michael Robert Carson Riess Jr.; Meredith Anita Tufton, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Peter Michael Tufton, escorted by her brother, Dr. Michael Hughes Tufton; and Grace Foley Williamson, daughter of Mr. Stephen Lyan Williamson and Ms. Lynn Marie Luker, escorted by Christopher Marak Riess. Debutantes carried a scepter nosegay of red roses made by Steve Baker of Ambrose Gardens, who also created the tables' centerpieces.

After the last curtsey and bow, Az-Izz struck up "The Way You Look Tonight" for the first dance, reserved for the young ladies and their escorts, followed by "My Girl," for the father-daughter dance. The band played on into the night, allowing for the revelry to continue.

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