I think containers is a wonderful idea. So are many of the seeds you have to plant. First, I would throw all the seeds of larkspur, poppies delphinium, and calendula. They should bloom, I am judging about the time of your wedding. I base this on the fact that I went to Denton, Texas in May, 2005 (or 2006), and I was astonished to see newly planted pansies! Our pansies had been gone, banished by our warm spring temps for months! So, our poppies are not quite blooming here in zone 9. Take 3 weeks difference in each zone, and that puts you approximately 12 weeks behind us. Yep, you should have poppies about then! How exciting! I think you can add snaps, lobelia, stock, nicotiana, and morning glory, too. Like Nell said, prune and fertilize your roses, and groom your other plants and feed them. From now to the wedding, feed your plants every time you water them. Well, maybe wait until past your last frost date before you do all that feeding..... But you can groom your yard, and be sure everything is clipped and edged nicely. A nice big fern (Macho fern?) would be lovely in a big pot, two would be better. You can always set these in the back of a flowerbed, or in a naked spot. Machos are very hardy, if you can find them, and they get huge! I once did a garden for a lady who was hosting a 'do' for the symphony crowd. It was the end of January, and absolutely nothing was available. Nothing, except for some very pretty pyracantha. So we used them, and cut(from the side of the road, even!) holly and yaupon, wonderfully decorated with red berries. Stuck in big pots, nobody even realized these were just sticks! LOL, it was very effective. Imagination goes a long way. We decorated a big hall with sunflowers cut from the side of the road once, for my BIL's birthday party. Used buckets and old teapots and such for containers. The decorations cost almost nothing. Don't worry too much. You will be such a beautiful and radient bride that no flower could move you from the center of attention. Be most happy on this day, and we will all be happy for you! Best of luck, and I wish you all the happiness in the world. Janie

This thread was 'shared' with the Cottage Garden, and is wonderful. First of all, Pondlily and daughter - congrats!!! What I wanted to share with you was a tradition I remember from somewhere, that the flowers of the Mother's garden were used in the Bride's tussy mussy - her bouquet. They were then rooted to grow in the new Bride's home...hope you don't mind the interruption~~ Nancy. Here is a link that might be useful: Tussy Mussy's

Please don't take this the wrong way, but here is another very strong vote for having a caterer do this for you, even if it means much less expensive refreshments. It sounds like you don't have a whole lot of cooking experience (you wrote, "I don't know how to prepare anything"). With all respect, a wedding reception for 120 is NOT the time to learn -- even if it weren't your own daughter's wedding. This would be a daunting job even for those with lots of cooking and entertaining experience. I think even -- perhaps especially -- the most experienced would be inclined to get a caterer for a group this large, especially as mother of the bride. You will have so many other things you'll have to attend to, and even more than that that you don't want to miss. Do you really want to be refreshing the buffet when your daughter and son-in-law are having their first dance? If I were in your position, I would call a few caterers, tell them your budget -- and tell them it's FIRM -- and ask what they can do for that money. You may be very pleasantly surprised. If it's still out of range, consider ordering platters from a food store or inexpensive restaurant, and perhaps hiring a few servers/cleaners. You can supplement the latter and probably even the caterer option with some dishes you or friends and relatives make ahead and have the caterer serve along with his/her food. Your peace of mind, not having to worry about this in the months leading up to the wedding, is really important, too, along with being able to enjoy your guests on the big day. To me, that is worth some money. So if I were in your position, I'd cut way back on everything else if necessary: liquor (certainly a fountain is unnecessary), decorations, types of food, prom-y stuff like limos and favors, and even fancy wedding clothes if necessary. Being able to be a relaxed hostess who can enjoy her guests is more important, in my opinion, than fancy arrangements. Everyone is different, but that's just my experience. Congratulations to you all!

florantha - yes, I would want to protect the range from traffic more than in that last layout. The suggestions of opening up the long wall on the left are interesting, I don't think they are right for our family. We do want to keep a table in the kitchen and upon reflection, I don't really want the kitchen completely open to the family room since a little separation is nice when friends are over and the kids are watching a movie in there. I do think that the thoughts are ideas that could inspire other readers in their own planning. I am leaning toward option C (last) in the original post, but I am a little hesitant about the fridge location. I like it along the back wall because it leaves the sides of the room more open, giving more of a feeling of connection to the family room and to the outside through the window on the right wall. The room is long and my idea was to place the bulky fridge to shorten the room, not narrow it. Placing the fridge on the back wall in the corner also allows room for a bigger (deeper) fridge without interfering with traffic in the room - I'd like to maximize my fridge space without going to the expense of a large built in. But I also know that it's preferable to have the fridge on the perimeter of the kitchen. The proposed location would not drive traffice through the prep and cooking area, but perhaps it's still a bad plan? Feedback would be appreciated. For Layout C, the shallow pantry on the left side of the room is 12" cupboards, the space from there to the island is 41", the island is 41" wide, and the space from the island to the cleanup sink is 48". I've pulled the counters on the back wall so that the counters would be 30". Sorry not to have added these dimensions to the drawings.