by Lance | Jun 12, 2023 | Parties, Blog, San Antonio
Texas Biomedical Forum Celebrates With Gala
By Sallie Lewis Photography by Katie Clementson of Billo Smith Photography
THE SETTING: Recently, The Argyle was in full bloom for the 52nd annual Texas Biomedical Forum Gala. Every year, this event is one of the most anticipated soirees of the spring season–and this year was no exception. Gala Co-Chairs Triana Grossman and Gloria Dilley presented this year’s theme, Birds of a Feather Flock Together, in honor of the covey of women who’ve helped the Forum fly to new heights since its founding in 1970. And are the women of the past, present, and future who’ve made a lasting impact on our community.
On a balmy Saturday evening, hundreds of people descended on The Argyle’s front lawn, where live finches greeted guests from inside a beautiful antique birdcage. Cocktails were served beneath a soaring sail tent that was fashioned with a Greek key trim, draped twinkle lights, and fresh flowers in every imaginable shade of pink. The gala’s custom crest, with its floral and avian motifs, was painted onto the event’s large circular bar and dance floor, while DJ RomiQ and the Dallas String Quartet (DSQ) played onstage amidst a meadow of flowering cherry blossom trees. Elsewhere in the tent, chic lounge areas in shades of ivory and celadon flanked tall folding screens wrapped in Gucci’s Green Heron wallpaper. Linda West, the Dallas-based fortune teller and cheeky “Lipsologist,” also brought her lip-print reading prowess to the celebration this year.
Texas Biomedical Forum Gala Committee 2023
Miguel and Gloria Dilley & Triana and Brandon Grossman
Amelita Mauze, Avril Byrne, Lauren Biegler, Allegra Hawkins, Adrianna Grossman, Christina Ketabchi, Megan Steves, Bonnie Muecke, Amy Berg and Elaine Vornsand
Tracee Feik, Jessica Berg, Heather deRojas, Nancy Finney, Ashley Campbell, Angel Myers, Amy Garcia and Rita Feik
THE STYLE: The 2023 Ribbon Pull was another highlight of the event–and one that helped bolster the fundraising goals. Four glimmering life-size trees draped with red ribbons and acrylic birds revealed a medley of prizes, from gift cards to Kelly Wade Jewelers to local fitness, beauty, and photography packages. Later, guests were treated to a magical, candlelit dinner inside the club. Fresh garlands woven with lush green vines, hot pink peonies, fragrant roses, and cherry blossoms graced every room and table in what was surely one of the most glamorous nights at The Argyle on record. The three-course menu thoughtfully paid homage to the night’s avian theme, from the club’s favorite chicken fried quail to a decadent chocolate Faberge egg presented in a phyllo nest for dessert.
Clark Mandigo lll, Camille Mandigo, Clark Mandigo ll, Kay Mandigo, Keri and John Moses & Molly Mandigo
Christopher and Adrianna Grossman, Heather Russo, Cece Griffin, Lee Lee, Emilie and Christopher Petty & Amelita and David Mauze
JB and Corinna Richter & Jordana and Benjie Matthews
As the night progressed, Forum members and guests alike bid on silent auction items that ranged from fine jewelry by David Webb and Fannie Thomas, to premium Formula 1 tickets, mink shawls by Mackenzie Brittingham, and trips to Tuscany and Laguna Beach. Dallas-based jeweler Joe Pacetti donated jewelry to the auction as well. Undoubtedly, the night’s most precious prizes came from the five-month-old French Bulldog and three-month-old Goldendoodle puppy, both of whom made the rounds all evening with fresh floral collars.
Emilie Petty, Gloria Dilley, Claire Cavender, Triana Grossman and Bonnie Muecke
Ann Cross, Kristan Northington, Alice Welder and Margye Northington
After the party, guests returned to the whimsical tent for an after party featuring live music and late-night bites. Before flying the nest, guests left with a parting gift courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue, who generously donated their popular Nest candles to all in attendance. It was an evening to remember–and one for the record books.
The scene at the Texas Biomed 2023 gala
Table setting at the Texas Biomed 2023 gala
THE PURPOSE: This year’s event grossed over $1 million, which will help spearhead and support the groundbreaking research at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. A special thanks goes to Batchelor Cadillac and Cavender Cadillac for their sponsorships which make such a difference.
by societytexas | Feb 28, 2022 | 2022 March April, DEBUT #2
New Orleans Serves As Theme Honoring Three San Antonio German Club Debutantes
By Alexandra del Lago Photography by Lilianna Story
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler (Let the Good Times Roll) was the mood recently at the celebratory party honoring three San Antonio German Club debutantes. With pandemic protocol in place, Abigail and George Kampmann, Jr., with their daughter Elizabeth Kampmann, Grace and Ted Liljenwall, with their daughter Emily Liljenwall, and Jennifer and Robert Shemwell, with their daughter Paris Shemwell welcomed guests into a Texas version of the best of The Big Easy.
The affair’s venue, San Antonio Country Club, was festively decorated like the famed Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. Danny Cuellar of Trinity Flowers created the floral and décor themed Joyeux Noel Laissez Les Bons Temps Roulet, with the holiday theme taking center stage of the event.
The buffet and cocktails provided by the club served as a testament to the theme, while the attendees danced to the band, Limelight as the night progressed. The Boss Street Band, a five-piece brass jazz band from New Orleans, circulated from room to room throughout the party, providing even more flair to the evening.
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by societytexas | Feb 28, 2022 | 2022 March April, DEBUT #3
Truman Capote’s Famous Party Was Theme For Debutante Party Honoring Six San Antonio German Club Debutantes
By Jake Gaines Photography by J. Violet Photography
The Argyle was recently the setting for a Black & White Ball, honoring the “Party of the Century” theme that author Truman Capote so famously hosted in 1965. With pandemic protocol in place, six of this year’s class of San Antonio German Club debutantes were honored by their parents: Carrie and Tom Green for their daughter Katherine Lloyd Green, Nancy and Rob Finney for their daughter Caroline Elizabeth Finney, Jessica and Joe Bakke for their daughter Brooke Winslett Bakke, Beth and Clif Douglass for their daughter Katherine Elizabeth (Kate) Douglass, Amy and De Miller for their daughter Elaine Averett (Avery) Miller, and Tisha and Kyle Beck for their daughter Jane Cameron Beck. The theme’s colors were indeed black and white, yet the debs changed into vibrantly colorful formal gowns after switching from their white presentation dresses.
When guests stepped onto the teal carpeted entrance to the Argyle, they discovered the event covered the entire footprint of the venue, with a focus on the outdoors. Nature did not disappoint with perfect weather that evening. Beyond the sumptuous cuisine catered by the Argyle, the décor was traditional, including black and white bars and lattice tête-à-têtes, with beautifully appointed lounges under a sea of teal and gold paper lanterns among the oak trees. No detail was spared, and many guests commented that they had never seen the Argyle look so beautiful. The dance floor, where guests boogied the night away, was a traditional black and white accented by a teal glitter stage facade, all finished off with flowers in antique blue and white chinoiserie vases in varying shades of pink. The theme was brought to life by the luxury planning and design company, Cloche Events.
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by societytexas | Feb 28, 2021 | Host, 2021 March April
A significant birthday is always a time to celebrate. For its success, mix a private club setting, a party-perfect host and design team, guests aplenty, and terrific music to create the magical and memorable evening that ensued.
By Lance Avery Morgan Photography by Hannah Gibson
Recently, Keller Henderson celebrated a landmark, socially safe birthday gathering. An array of friends and family from throughout Texas and Mexico City gathered at The Argyle in San Antonio to fête the honoree.
In the works for months, the celebration was planned by Belgium-born Pascal Delisse of Pascal Delisse Events and Entertaining. Delisse worked closely with The Argyle’s Chef Jesse Villanueva to create a nouvelle dining experience.
The culmination was a delectable menu that consisted of Mikimoto oysters (served on a bed of coarse salt, seaweed, and dry ice, with Argyle mignonette sauce), Sous Vide Quail (with a King Oyster mushroom and wild mushroom puree), fried quail egg )finished with natural quail jus), Chive Parmesan Gnocchi (tossed with roasted red peppers and pine nuts, finished in a Kiolbassa smoked bacon cream sauce), Sous Vide Wagyu filet mignon (with braised shallots, baby sweet peppers filled with braised oxtail-infused pearl barley, pickled shallots, toasted garlic, finished with red wine au jus and garnished with micro beets). Individual tartes tatin of Mexican vanilla ice cream drizzled with salted caramel, completed the feast.
The table centerpieces, set upon the venue’s pastoral lawn, were bouquets of pincushions, orange ranunculus, white buds, and seeded eucalyptus, among other greenery delights.
For entertainment, the Monica Moore Smooth Jazz Trio provided music for guests through the cocktail hour and into dinner. Afterward, Keller Henderson toasted his friends and family who attended, then DJ Steven Moya took over, and the dancing continued late into the evening.
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by societytexas | Jan 3, 2021 | 2021 January February, Weddings 2021, Feature, Feature Two
Frances Carolina Roberts And Andrew Jackson “AJ” Lewis IV Wed In San Antonio
By Lance Avery Morgan
Photography by Sarah Kate
When the invitation to the wedding was received by 894 guests, everyone knew they were in for something spectacular. Frances “Carolina” Roberts, the daughter of Elizabeth and Barry Roberts and Andrew Jackson “AJ” Lewis IV, the son of Liza and Jack Lewis, all of San Antonio, enjoyed a two and half-year courtship and a one-year engagement, after initially meeting through the San Antonio German Club, a brahman social club in the city.
The couple was engaged in a truly fitting Texas-style…on the groom’s family ranch. With a bottle of 1995 Dom Perignon and monogrammed cups by his side, AJ asked Carolina to be his life mate while overlooking the ranch perched on the Pedernales River. “Before I knew it, I turned around and saw AJ on one knee, with a ring in his hand. It turned out our families were all waiting for the green light so they could come and meet us where we were. They came bolting down the hill with bells and whistles,” enthused the bride, Carolina Lewis.
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The evening wedding, which occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic began, took months of planning for the grand weekend to happen in San Antonio. Billinda Wilkinson of Wilkinson Rhodes event production company and her team of international designers creatively directed the event, and Danny Cuellar of Trinity Flowers collaborated to execute a magnificent design for the church. The wedding weekend’s festivities began with the rehearsal dinner for the family, wedding party, and out of town guests, at the Coates Chapel at the Southwest School of Art. The wedding venue, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, was a magnificent setting with a mix of the bride’s favorite flowers. Under the direction of Wilkinson Rhodes, Danny Cuellar created the bride’s vision for the church including a floral armature specifically designed for St Mark’s Episcopal Church.
The bride walked down the elongated aisle wearing a dress that was a custom combination creation of Marchesa and Creviax by Javier Castillo. She wore a beaded pearl butterfly brooch, as well as an antique lace train that had been passed down for four McAllen family generations. “One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was when our Reverend Matt Wise asked me and AJ to turn around and look at the audience. He told the audience that the night before (at the rehearsal dinner) he had walked around the room and asked some of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, What do you love about Carolina and AJ’s love for each other? He then shared with us, and our guests, many of the sweet thoughts our friends’ had said the night before,” said Carolina Lewis.
The bride selected six flower girls, four ring bearers, and three attendants who were boys over the age of 10, in addition to her bridal party that were: Alicia Urrutia Amberson, Margaret McAllen Amberson, Lillian Foster Calvert, Claudia Luedemann Kiolbassa, Hannah Claire Gibson, Lauren Anne Gray, Carroll McLemore Ison, Meredith Anne Knight, Sallie Wolff Lewis, Felicia Louise Mannix, Diana Lynn Rubin, Fannie Lewis Thomas, and Jane Elizabeth Towns. She chose Josephine Tinsley Simpson as her maid of honor. The groom selected his cousin, Richard Spencer Lewis II, as his best man. The groomsmen who attended AJ were Hunter Hill Comiskey, Robert Menefee Cavender, Jr., Tyler Manning Hays, Dana Gareth Kirk, Jr., Moses McLish Moorman, Stewart Louis Korte, Carlos Federico Longoria, John Argyle McAllen Roberts, George Coates Roberts, Gregory Allen Rubiola, Jr., Charles Clayton Thomas, Jr., John Stuart West, and Burk Ricks Wilson, Jr. The ushers serving him were: Barclay Cunningham Adams, Kenneth Stanley Adams IV, Argyle Christian Amberson, Diego Andrés Guerra, Enrique Eduardo Guerra III, Lorenzo Tomás Guerra, John Luke Mannix, and John Thomas Saunders III.
Immediately after the ceremony, the newly betrothed couple joined the family dinner upstairs at The Argyle, while the wedding reception was in full swing below. “We enjoyed an intimate dinner with our parents before going out to the reception, which gave us a chance to relax, enjoy a cocktail, and sample all the wonderful foods being served at the wedding reception before greeting our guests,” remarked Carolina Lewis. The colors in the elaborately tented reception were hunter green, white, and blush pink, with shades of gold. It was a feast for the guests’ senses as over-scaled floral consisting of over 50,000 hybrid delphinium, hydrangea, larkspur, phalaenopsis, and garden roses arranged in unique floral designs welcomed guests at every turn. Upon entering the dinner, attendees were enveloped by a floral wonderland spanning the length of the tent. The ceiling was filled with over 5,000 stems of cascading flowers and foliage. The bridal party tables featured lush flower runners with arching floral garlands rising above them.
Since the couple had planned a honeymoon to Asia, there was an Asian flair to the buffet dinner with a selection of food stations astutely provided by The Argyle team. There were gorgeous De Gournay-style framed panels around the reception and a beautiful bar created with a series of brightly colored fans mixed with orchids and other tropical flowers. The bridal couple shares a love of food, especially sushi, so it was a treat to have three sushi chefs freshly preparing various rolls, nigiri, and sashimi, along with an incredible noodle bar with ice-cold Asian beer and sake pairings. The fresh seafood bar was topped with an exquisite ice sculpture of two kissing elephants whose trunks formed the shape of a heart.
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The specialty cocktails also beautifully represented the couple with “his” and “hers” drinks. The “his” drink was a traditional margarita on the rocks, called a Spanish Spark named after the groom’s favorite drink, the Chispa, served at the famous Soluna Mexican food restaurant in San Antonio. The “her” drink was a twist on a French 75 cocktail called a Purdey Girl (named after the couple’s English cocker spaniel) and consisted of champagne, vodka, cranberry juice, with a large ice cube with small orchid flowers frozen in its center. The bride’s cake, created by Cakes by Cathy Young of San Antonio, was strawberry, with blush pink icing and filling. The groom’s cake was custom made by The Painted Cake. Half of the cake portrayed an African scene with a Baobab tree, elephant, campfire and tent, while the other half was a scene from their Fredericksburg ranch with personal touches to the bride and groom, such as their dog, Purdey. The cake was cut with a ceremonial sword from AJ’s maternal grandfather, Brigadier General James S. Billups, from when he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. The fun continued in the dance tent, where the bar surrounded a two-story tree filled with over 600 stems of elongated, bright white, dripping phalaenopsis orchids, while the tent poles themselves danced with 25 feet of garlands of silver dollar and seeded eucalyptus and more than a thousand roses of different varieties.
Attendees at the reception enjoyed dancing to the Georgia Bridge Water Orchestra, from Jordan Khan Productions, and were also treated to a performance by Cris Cab, who was a wedding guest. The after-party was in the Coates Garden, the newest addition to The Argyle, and had guests dancing the night away by music provided by D.J. Rooney G, in from New York.
The couple’s Asian honeymoon took them on an extended journey ranging from Bali to Japan, where they look forward to visiting again soon. They reside in San Antonio, where Carolina, a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, has just started her own company with two of her cousins, and AJ, a graduate of Texas Christian University, is an executive at his family’s business, Mission Restaurant Supply. “In our spare time, we love to travel, go to the ranch and beach, cook, play with our dog, play backgammon, and spend time with each other’s families and friends,” said Carolina Lewis.
