Wedding Flowers - Past and Future...(lots of pics)

If you haven't read my blog before, I want to point out I have been gardening for a little over a year.  And before that, I killed every plant I came in contact with, except for the plastic ones.  I wanted to talk about wedding flowers.  My husband and I married in October 2011.  We have three children.  The two boys are three weeks apart in age.  They are both about to turn 18.  The daughter is 13 years old.  When my husband and I got engaged, I needed to determine where we were going to get married.  I looked at a painting on his wall, of his grandmother's house that was now turned into Museum.  We will get married at the Swift-Coles House.

The Swift-Coles Historic Home had been in my husband's family for generations.  My mother-in-law (wonderful lady) grew up here.   It was sold years ago and then turned into a museum.  I could not think of a better place to have the wedding.

It wasn't until after my honeymoon did I "fall into" gardening.  When I began, I wanted to make sure that I had all the flowers that were at my wedding.  I am definitely getting closer.  My MIL really helped a great deal in this department.  I had no idea how to arrange.  She did take me with her and went through all the coolers to pick flowers.  Also, I want to point out my major point.  Flowers are expensive.  So there is a huge economic advantage to gardening and that's a large supply of flowers.  Too bad I picked up gardening AFTER the wedding.   The following arrangements were made by mother-in-law Ione Swift Jurkiewicz.  She did an incredible job.   With three children coming into adulthood (and marrying age in the next 10 years) don't think I don't keep in the back of my head of growing flowers for weddings.

My husband and I.  I am holding calla lily and iris with stock I believe.

A planter on the property.

The thing I love about this display was the bells of Ireland.  If I were ever a plant, I would be bells of Ireland.  Those are green tall things at the top.  They change their mind and shift in place...they are the ADHD of plants!  I love it.

This is my mother in law the morning of my wedding, busily, preparing the site.  I love Spanish Moss.

These are willow branches inside the home near the reception area.  When I saw this, I couldn't stop staring at the willow branches.  My MIL gave me some the other day that I put in a glass vase....amazing what a few branches can do.  I believe below are lil

The bridesmaids carried calla lilies with purple stock.

I love this statue.  It is in the front of the home.

We had ferns everywhere on the front porch.  

October is truly the best time to get married in South Alabama.  It is the driest month with the prettiest weather.  I couldn't have asked for better weather for an afternoon wedding.   I believe it was 65 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze.

She had displays of Iris, fern, and more white lilies I believe.  

 This hut is in the back of the property.  The house is nestled on a bayou?  Maybe that is a Louisiana term for lake?  Not sure what you would call it but it's called Bon Secour which is french for "safe harbor"  I suspect it was a place to dock boats in hurricanes.

This is my sister and niece near a corn crib near the back.

This is the dining room where we kept the reception food.

The tables had white hydrangeas.

I love statues, don't you