Bottger - Birdsong Wedding

Catherine Morgan Birdsong and Cameron Reid Bottger were married at 5:30 p.m. on May 16, 2015 at Colonial Heights, the home of the bride’s grandparents, Cherrye Birdsong and the late James H. Birdsong II.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Henry Birdsong IV of Rome. The groom is the son of Melissa Bottger of Dothan, Alabama.

Rev. Dr. Robert Brown presided over the double ring ceremony. Arrangements of white mountain lilies, white mount everest roses, white snapdragons and greenery adorned the ceremony arbor. Matching arrangements marked family seating.

A program of ceremony music included “Ode to Joy,” “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and “Canon in D.”

MacKenzie Sidwell of Starkville, Mississippi served as the maid of honor. Bridesmaids included Andrea Cox of Auburn, Alabama; Meredith Wilson of Orlando, Florida; Emily Walley of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Sara Stocks of Miami, Florida; Pooja Tiwari of Baltimore, Maryland; Kristie Birdsong of Rome; Sarah Beth Womble of Rome and Virginia Summer of Oxford, Mississippi. They wore formal gowns of pale blue chiffon with one shoulder strap and a pleated cummerbund waist. They wore pearl accent jewelry gifted by the bride and carried bouquets of sweet akito pink roses, white majolica spray roses, hypericum berries and pittosporum wrapped with light blue ribbon.

The bride, given in marriage by her parents, and escorted by her father, wore a formal gown of off white silk dupion with a fitted bodice and A-line skirt that finished into a chapel length train. The bodice featured a venice lace bateau neckline and cap sleeves. The skirt featured a side beaded flower motif belt, cinched at the natural waist. Venice lace covered the back of the bodice of the gown, which was enclosed by silk dupion buttons that ran to the edge of the chapel length train. A beaded headband paired with a chapel length sheer veil edged with venice lace and featuring matching appliques at the bottom completed the look. She carried a bouquet of sweet akito pink roses, white majolica spray roses, lily of the valley, hypericum berries and pittosporum. Small broaches containing pictures of her late grandfathers were attached to the bouquet.

Spencer Haydel of Huntsville, Alabama served as the best man. Groomsmen included Jared Hils of Moberly, Missouri; Aaron Reeves of Huntsville, Alabama; Ty Samples of Birmingham, Alabama; Stuart Robertson of Dothan, Alabama; Daniel Douty of Slidell, Louisiana; William Birdsong of Rome, Brett Carroll of Atlanta and Paul Haughton III of Dothan, Alabama.

The mother of the bride wore a sky blue dupion silk knee length dress with matching jacket. The mother of the groom wore a sleeveless taupe silk and lace knee length dress. The mothers were presented with corsages of white eskimo roses and gypsophila accented with ivory ribbon.

A cocktail hour and reception followed the ceremony. Reception tables were decorated with pale blue table runners topped with antique silver pitchers that held arrangements of hydrangeas and greenery surrounded by tea candles. Refreshments included the bride’s three-tier white cake filled with buttercream and chocolate, frosted with buttercream and adorned with sweet akito pink roses, white majolica spray roses and greenery. The groom’s cake was a square two tier white cake filled with buttercream and key lime custard and decorated with limes and greenery.

Following the cake cutting, guests were invited to light wish lanterns with the couple. Following the wedding festivities, the bride and groom departed in the groom’s grandfather’s 1926 Model-T Touring.

The evening before the wedding, the groom’s mother hosted a rehearsal dinner at the Rome Area History Museum. Other pre-nuptial parties included a kitchen shower hosted by Andrea Cox, Brooke Marshall and Natalie Roberts; a couples shower hosted by Pam Sidwell, Beth Summer, and DeeDee Womble, and a bridesmaids luncheon hosted by Elizabeth Masingill and Mrs. Lou Masingill.

The bridesmaids hosted a bachelorette party in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The groomsmen hosted a bachelor party in Las Vegas, Nevada.