I would plan the wedding around when it won't rain rather than when most of your roses will be blooming. If you're in the Puget Sound area like I am, I would 100% recommend August because that's when we get our dry season. You will also want to check the ENSO seasonal predictions to make sure we aren't expecting an unusually wet summer, although they aren't always terribly accurate. If most of your roses are hybrid teas or something similar in its blooming style, you can prune your roses in a way that they'll all bloom at about the same time. Take notes on the time between flushes for every rose you have, and then cut off ALL buds (and do whatever other summer pruning you like to make the plants look neat) 1 flush cycle's worth of time before the wedding. I'm sure somebody can describe this process better than I can.

Thank you, Sandandsun, for that compliment. It is nice to know that people have enjoyed reading about my roses even if they weren't living in such a cold zone themselves. I must say that after all these years, just that smidgeon of decreased cold to garden in is exciting to me - although you'd never know any difference from the brutal winter just past! So I had to go out onto the patio to refresh my olfactory senses regarding Kordes' Savannah, where the roses on the wagon were snugged up to the glass door over night (it's only 32 degrees out there right now.) The only wide open bloom has a damask scent to it - not very strong, but the bloom is old and it's very chilly. There are two more buds that will open if we get some sun and warmth and I'll be sure to note the type of fragrance for you when it's fresh. I did snap off the open bloom and bring it indoors but I'm afraid it is competing with the overpoweringly heavy scent of Easter's potted hyacinths which is filling my house right now! Still, sinking my nose right into the bloom, I think of the damask, old rose scent. Yum.

Son had a large wedding and reception but because it was in the afternoon, no dancing. But if we did have a song it would be Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me." His small high school graduating class sang that to the parents then they gave the mom's a rose. Talk about crying! DIL knows what a close knit family we are and she loves how close I am to my son's. Now that she's a mother of a son she really understands the special bond between son and mother which is not like the old saying goes, "A son is a son until he takes a wife, a daugther is a daughter for the rest of her life." Heck, I still get onto my children! I'll always remember Barbara Bush speaking about Jr., "Just because he's the President doesn't mean he can put his feet on my coffee table!" lol

"my boss/legal advisor is an experienced real estate attorney with a specialty in construction law, which is why he was so protective of me." I'm glad to read you have someone like him looking out for you. Our real estate buying process was aggravating. We went through the same song and dance about getting surveys etc. If our attorney hadn't done so much of the talking to the seller's people we wouldn't have made it to the finish line. Having said that I'm excited for you! Bet your looking forward to all the 'first' things you will do once you get moved in. I know I did. I took pics of the front of our place each month for the first year so I could compare how it looked during different seasons. I also keep the camera handy when we hire contractors. They seem to pay more attention when I'm taking their pic while they are doing the work! ;) I think it might be useful for anyone we sell to down the road. I also have a file with all the repairs, contractors, warranties handy so I can see what has been done, will need to be, etc. Crossing my fingers for you that the closing will be smooth.