Don't panic, even nothing but green in a beautiful wedding.....the bride and her flowers can be the show stopper.....and worse case, you can last minute cut back those sad flowers and replace them overnight with mums or asters for punch. Also remember that by fall, people expect to see less blooming and more green. Don't forget Coleus, they love the cool fall weather here and are often at the best in the fall..and showstopping color. Begonia's also do well in the fall...and heat...plant them in the spring in areas you suspect fall trouble. Liveforever always looks great in the fall....start lots of new plants right now so they are nice and bushy next year by fall. Sweet Potato vines also can offer much green or purple or varigated color and do well here during the fall...I don't know much about your zone so those are just suggestions I would consider in my zone that might or might not help you. What a wonderful gift to give to your SIL and what great family memories. Another thing you might want to do is later than what is normal in your area..you might want to think about sowing seeds directly for some late fall color rebound?

Ok, you know what type of morning I've had when I read this and see "hosting a backyard WEEDING"... now that got my attention, do you invite all your friends over and weed your yard? LOL

But a WEDDING makes more sense... We got married in a church but came back to my parents' house for the reception outside ... the pictures were all taken here with the green trees and shrubs as the back drop, a little foot bridge next to some water, ect... and the pictures were beautiful with the lighting and nature. A touch of flowers that were blooming at the time, but we didn't add anything extra and everyone loved it.

Good luck, I'm sure it will look lovely even if you don't do anything extra!

-Bonnie

I agree with Keesha, and might take it a step further. You mention a theme of "Tropical Elegance". Is she thinking warm, brightly colored flowers, or a cool feeling of palms and ferns? Or, a mix of both? Also don't forget crotons and other tropical foliage plants.

I would be tempted to rely more on adding potted plants to achieve the look because the weather patterns are getting so crazy that it would be hard to predict what would be looking great in Sept. 2008. (As an example, we just came out of 2 years of severe drought, whereas this year we are dealing with floods.)

You could even ear mark certain pots that could later be given to the bride and groom, their parents, and grandparents as a reminder of the special day.

I'm sure you will be getting a lot of suggestions and great ideas here!

Marilyn

I tend to agree with Marilyn on adding a lot of containers that you could move around as needed - that would give you a lot more flexibility if things don't bloom exactly when you expect them. I know next to nothing about tropical, so can't really give any suggestions there, alas...

She will be deciding between a color palette of light greens, cranberry, and white (Google green cymbidium orchids) OR hot pink and chartreuse/lime green with splashes of orange (think hibiscus / Hawaiian flower colors). I cna make either one work, I just want her to make a decision :) I already have alot to work with in the magenta/hot pink realm and can use alot of Sw. potato vine as a chartreuse accent, with orange hibiscus potted on the patio and front entry.
As far as the other palette, I can add some burgundy spider or football mums this year, but what perennials are that soft light green like the cymbidium orchids ? Of course we will be buying actual florist flowers for the bouquets and table decorations, but if I can fill vases for the bathrooms, on benches, etc other small areas that would look better with flowers, I could use cuttings from my garden. I have a few volunteer seedlings this year from shrubs like butterfly bush (3) and tons of Sunshine Blue caryopteris babies, so I am thinking of moving them to areas of the yard where they can fill in some space and they both will still be blooming at that time. Basically I am going to take alot of pics of the yard and gardens on this year's equiv. date (Sept 15, 2007) to remind me how things look at that exact time, as I plan through the year.
What if I sowed zinnia seeds in June to be blooming in Sept ? They are so cheery and brightly colored, plus they have all the colors I would need, and are cheap :) Keep the ideas coming, and if you have any backyard wedding pics, I would love to see them !!!

I like those ideas..and the zinnias are a great idea too. Also consider asters maybe if they do well in your zone. Are you participating in the seed exchange? Maybe you could request zinnias from Tracy? I also think taking pictures of the garden on the date this year is a GREAT idea instead of trying to guess or remember next year what it will look like. Your biggest enemy will prolly be some kind of draught....learn a rain dance! :) Everything else is fixable... :)

If she decides to go with a cool palette, you might want to consider caladiums in shades of white, pink and burgundy. They're both tropical and in the right color range, plus they're particularly beautiful when grouped together. I'm a bit prejudiced, though..I love caladiums! :-)

These are not perennial for you, but they look great either in large pots or planted in the ground.

Marilyn

Containers planted up in whatever color scheme is decided on that can be moved to fill in the spaces that are starting to look a little past their best.
Michaelmas Daisies come in a large range of cool colors, blue, pink, rose, mauve, lavender, purple, wine and white, their blooming season starts in August and ends in November for me.
Canna Lilies either planted in tubs or in the ground can give that tropical feel, in or out of flower. The different foliage colors of these guys can look quite exotic.

Annette

I agree with Fammsimm - don't overlook caladiums. I had a summer wedding at my house two years ago and did up over 80 caladium containers along with lantanas in some. I didn't want to depend on the run of the mill annuals to give me the pop of color but depended on the colorful caladium leaves. Buy Boston ferns early in the season and divide them and they should be filled out nicely by September. Begonias hold up really well - the dragon wings are very dramatic looking. Not sure when your mums start showing up in the garden centers but with all the new pretty colors coming out you should be able to get some of them to go with the color scheme. Have fun and try not to stress too much - have plenty of interesting green foliage as a backup.....

Lynne

Not to worry, I got your back! I am also in Maryland - Catonsville and will keep an eye out for what looks good this Sept. Plain ol' geraniums and ivy geraniums look great in Sept and Oct. but an ivy geranium in hot pink mixed with elephant ears and chartreuse coleus would look especially tropical. Also impatiens in bright colors are huge in Sept. How about vinca? That is also full at that time of year. I know these are annuals but they would mix well for a tropical look and always look their best late summer. I have a potted jasmine that smells wonderful and is growing up a trellis. It is potted and overwintered in my office. Anyway I will snoop around other gardens to see what's looking good in Sept. HTH Sue

Maureen Gilmer at her moplants.com site has a whole section on outdoor weddings.

This morning's piece in a blog I follow has photos of work she did on some weddings this weekend. I thought of you when I saw the GREEN pieces she did.

Nell

Here is a link that might be useful: Flowers for a Wedding

Nell....Moplants.com was such an interesting site, thanks for telling me about it.

Vikki