Catherine Pate McCalip and Benjamin Allan Byrd were united in marriage at 6 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, at Historic Stanton Hall in Natchez.

The Honorable Walt J. Brown officiated at the double-ring ceremony in the front parlor with the antique pier mirror and a large arrangement of cranberry dahlia and sanaai garden roses as the focal point. Kissing balls of coordinating flowers on shepherd hooks reserved the seating. Verses from Ecclesiastes and Ephesians were read respectively by cousin of the bride, Ella McCalip, and uncle of the bride, Chase McCalip, both of Baton Rouge.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Conn Kenneth McCalip of Natchez and the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Rushing of Meadville and Mrs. Gwen S. McCalip and the late F. Kenneth McCalip of Natchez. The bride is also the great-granddaughter of Mrs. Lily Yelverton of Natchez.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Byrd of Natchez and the grandson of Mrs. Nancy Newman Day and the late Adrian Day of Natchez and Mrs. Gayle Hammett Byrd and the late Dexter Byrd of Meadville.

Mr. David Troutman, violinist, and Mr. David Goldblatt, pianist, performed selected music for the prelude, “Hallelujah” for honor seating, “Canon in D Major” for the processional, “A Thousand Years” for the bridal processional, and the traditional wedding march for the recessional. Mrs. Jan D. Scarborough of Natchez served as wedding coordinator, and Mrs. Brenda Zerby of Natchez was the floral designer.

Handing out programs were Presley Martin of Natchez and cousins of the bride, Macy McCalip of Baton Rouge, Sydney Roberts of Meadville and Ryleigh Rushing of Brookhaven.

The bride, given in marriage by her father, was lovely in a strapless creation of silk organza overlay accented with Alencon lace and heavily embellished with crystals and sequins around the neckline and belted waistline. The elongated fit flared to a beautifully scalloped self-train. Her veil was a single layer of illusion with a matching crystal and sequin border. The bride carried a European Garden Clutch fashioned of white hydrangea and blush peonies. The bride wore a cameo ring traditionally worn for McCalip weddings and a pinkie-ring with the initial “B” both belonging to her great-great-grandmother, the late Hattie Bass McCalip.

Attending the bride as matron-of-honor was her sister, Meagan McCalip McLeod of Prairieville, La. Serving as bridesmaids were Malori Byrd Giannaris, sister of the groom, Shannon Mire and Taylor Trippe, all of Natchez, Laura Perilloux of Vidalia, Caroline Roberts, cousin of the bride, of Meadville and Hannah Stuckey of Vicksburg. They wore simple but elegant green chiffon halter gowns. They carried garden collections of miniature green hydrangea, cranberry dahlia, sanaai garden roses and hypericum berries wrapped with cranberry ribbon.

Serving as flower girl was Ava Knapp, who wore a ecru gown with a halo of delicate cream-colored flowers and carried a miniature nosegay. The late Sarah Zuccaro was remembered as a bridesmaid-in-spirit, and honorary mothers-of- the- bride were Mrs. Nikki Barry of Lafayette, La., and Ms. Cathy Fitzpatrick of Natchez

Serving as best man was the groom’s father. Groomsmen were Cory Anders, Casey Calcote, Zack Cangemi, Kaleb June, Matthew Kaiser and cousin of the groom, Hayden Newman, all of Natchez.

Serving as ring bearer was Cam Giannaria who carried a heart-shaped pillow first used at the groom’s parents’ wedding in 1989 and for other family weddings. Serving as “BB, Here Comes Your Bride” placard bearer was Cole Giannaris. Both are nephews of the groom and of Natchez.

After the nuptials, a cocktail hour was in the dining room of Stanton Hall where another large arrangement of the chosen flowers graced the table. The wedding party and guests then followed the bride and groom to The Carriage House where guests dined on Southern cuisine featuring a roasted pig, jambalaya and other favorite foods of the newlyweds. Tables were decorated with lighted votives and various sizes of bird cages. “Super Dave the DJ” from Lafayette provided music for dancing and listening enjoyment.

The wedding cakes were served in The Queen’s Room where a hot chocolate bar was also available. The bride’s cake was exquisite and lovingly made by the aunt of the groom, Mrs. Cookie Atkinson of Natchez and Laporte, Texas. The delectable cake featured six tiers of alternating handmade antique-white ruffles and antique-beige marble with candy pearl drop garland. Hand sculptured love birds for the “Love Byrds” topped the layers of traditional wedding cake, Italian cream and strawberry. The couple cut the cake with a silver monogrammed knife used by the bride’s paternal grandparents on August 5, 1967, and most recently by her sister and brother-in-law, Meagan and Mims McLeod, at their May 16, 2015, wedding. The bride and groom toasted each other with champagne goblets also first used in 1967.

The groom’s cake was created by Edna Welch and was a chocolate Doberge cake fashioned as a deer feeder complete with a deer head logo and candy corn. The cake was surrounded by antlers and trays of camouflage petit fours and deer-shaped/ hunter-related cookies.

The bride and groom left the reception amid a shower of glitter confetti in a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon lifted on King Coilovers with red rock lights, driven by “Chauffeur” Tod Doughty, uncle of the bride from Cypress, Texas. The couple honeymooned at the Polynesian Village Resort in Orlando, Fla., and enjoyed Disney World and Universal Studios. They are at home in Natchez.