Wedding Recap: Favours and Flowers (or why my Mom's a Machine)

My mom is a superstar. I have known this for a long time, but now the world knows too...especially the 80 people that attended our wedding and have already devoured at least one jar of jam. Growing up my mom was the kind of mom that let you eat dirt because every kid needs to eat a little dirt every now and then, and it's not going to hurt anything.

As soon as Chris and I got engaged, my mom started working. Even though we live far apart, we talked almost every day on the phone, and mom did what she does best- creates. She volunteered to make jars of jam as the favours, and I loved the idea. Because our original guest list was 165, my mom made over 100 jars of jam from scratch and in some cases she grew the fruit in her garden too! She bought fabric from Value Village to put on the tops, and she tied the tags I bought from a myownlabels groupon on each jar. It was definitely a labour of love.

Carefully Tying on the Tags

The Finished Product

I bet you thought my mom's talents stopped there didn't you? Turns out, my wedding was the second wedding that she and my grandmother played florist for. Because I'm incredibly thrifty and my mom's green-thumb is incredibly vibrant, it was determined that all of the flowers for our centerpieces would come from my mom's garden, and then my grandmother and mother would arrange everything in my mason jar collection.

The Growing Phase

My mother prayed all summer long that the flowers would survive the crazy maritime weather. She picked all the flowers bright and early the Thursday before the wedding. Sure enough Thursday night there was a crazy thunder and lightening storm followed by a massive downpour. What was most impressive was the fact that my mom and grammy arranged all the flowers in the time it took Caitlin and I to drive into town for a pedicure! Seriously, if you didn't believe the machine like qualities of my mom before, you must now.

The Arranging Phase

The final product was absolutely gorgeous, far beyond what I could have ever pictured or pinned on pinterest. The colours were gorgeous, playing up all the other colours around the room. From the start, when people asked me what my wedding colours were, I said "multi-coloured". Nobody got this...but my mom. That's what moms are for.

The Final Product

Spring in Bloom

Chris brought these flowers home last weekend just because. Since then it feels like our late Spring is finally here. I've been digging in my garden (weeding is surprisingly therapeutic) and we've been discussing all of our outdoor plans for the house!

Spring Rising

While it hasn't really felt much like spring yet this season, these sprouted greens sure are lifting my spirits. Last night I spent a few moments trapsing throughout the yard checking out all that I got in this new house deal. I am so very excited to have a real backyard, and although it may very likely be neglected due to other priorities and a summer wedding, I am looking forward to eventually making it ours by cleaning up the yard, expanding my vegetable garden and creating a special place for my herbs (yay for staying long enough to plant lavender and actually enjoy it flourish in full glory the following year)!

June in Bloom

With summer brings new blooms and the satisfaction of growing your own food. We have an unruly rose bush in our backyard that most of the year drives me crazy, but in full bloom it is gorgeous! I've grown tomatoes and peppers for the last few years, but this year I decided to just grow herbs. I have basil (which is filling out nicely), thyme, oregano, rosemary and lavender. I planted lavender at my old house and the second year it took off when it was replanted from the container to the flower bed...i'm hoping the same will happen here!

What are you growing this summer?

Things I Love: Little Red Watering Can

Every summer I plant something, this year I'm taking a break with tomatoes and just planting herbs and a few flower baskets/planters. I picked up this red watering can at Value Village earlier in the year (more on that here), and meant for it to be purely decorative. Luckily, it's also functional and has been put to good use every evening!