Welcome to the forum.

If you read the older threads that cover the last 2 or 3 months, you'll find lots of helpful advice on starting a new garden. Basically, you need to remove the current sod or weeds, improve the soil as needed through the addition of organic matter (chopped/shredded leaves, compost, humus soil conditioner--which is usually a blend of pine bark fines and humus/compost, peat moss, composted manure, etc.), and build raised beds for improved drainage. You'll find more detail at any thread that mentions 'starting a new garden' or something similar.

As for wedding flowers.....(sigh). A wedding is a really important occasion and I am not sure I'd leave the flowers to chance, and here's why: we cannot control the weather. Depending on where you live in Oklahoma and depending on whether your wedding date is early in the month versus later in the month, there's probably a 50-50 chance you'll have a freeze or two in October that would possibly damage or kill your flowers. So, I suppose you have to ask yourself how much risk you're willing to take, or if you'd have an adequate back-up plan for your flowers if a freeze hit the week before your wedding.

I've linked the website of the Oklahoma Climatological survey and you can look at the various 'first freeze' maps to see when the average first freeze occurs in your part of the state. Remember, too, that averages are just averages and not guarantees....so if your average freeze date is October 20th, than means 50% of the time the first freeze falls before that and 50% of the time it falls after that. There's all kinds of maps at the OCS site---90%,30% 10%, etc. so you can look at the different chances for different dates if you want to. To see the first autumn freeze data, just click on the link below. Once that page comes up, go to the left menu and click on first/last freeze and you'll get a menu with lots of first and last freeze maps to view.

We've lived here in southern OK for 11 years and have had a hard killing freeze as early as September 29th or 30th and as late as December 17th or 18th. Our 'average' here in southern OK is about the second week of November, but that's no consolation during those 50% of the years that the freeze occurs prior to that.

Have you selected colors for your wedding yet...because it would be easier to recommend possible flower types and specific varieties if we knew you wanted something that would complement specific colors? (Or, a specific theme.) And, the flowers I'd recommend likely would be different if you were having a very formal wedding versus a casual garden wedding, for example. So, if you can share a little detail, it will help you get more suitable recommendations.

We're full of tips and tricks here for growing in Oklahoma and the surrounding states (some of our regulars who post here are in Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri), so we'll load you up on those as time goes by.

Dawn

As far as the wedding...I realize it's a crap shoot whether or not it would work (depending on freeze and things). I anticipate I'll have a florist anyway, but flowers I may be able to grow, would just be extra (and extra special to us). We're having a very casual garden-type wedding in our front yard with a small white tent. We're using mason jars with candles to hang in the trees...and we imagine there will be about 50 guests max. Right now, we don't have a color scheme or theme...I'm leaning more towards just simple white and cream. There's also a big possibility that it will rain...so (like frost), I don't have a lot of confidence in mother nature, and will definitely have back-up plans. Anyway, I've gone on long enough. I really appreciate all your help and I can definitely tell you're a huge source of information. Thanks so much and I hope to get to know you better through this forum.

Kind Regards,
Alisha

Here in z6b my tuberoses are often still blooming in Oct, right up to the first frost. Whether they would bloom well the first year if planted in the spring I can't say. Mine have been in the ground for 15 years, but they are wonderful flowers, white and with the fragrance of gardenias. Sweet autumn clematis also blooms in early Oct. Then of course there are the annuals. Zinnias will bloom until frost, and there are some colors that are dignified enough for a wedding. But of course as Dawn says, October flowers are really iffy.

Flowers you are likely to find at that time include pansies, mums, asters, maybe Gerberas since they like cooler weather, snapdragons. They come in cool colors like the white or cream you mention. You can use the small pots for decoration, adding some ribbon or other things to dress them up.

Are you planning to do your own bouquet? There are lots of ideas on the Internet for seasonal weddings including making your own bouquet. Herbs are nice to add to them, including Lavendar, Rosemary, Thyme, and other herbs. Herbs have meaning in that Rosemary is for rememberance. Do a Google search for suggestions. You could start growing herbs this spring and most of them will withstand a few frosts before succombing. A nice bouquet of cream colored mums, with a dark purple frond of flowering kale, and some Lavendar, would be luscious.

Susan

To add to what Dorothy and Susan said, the 'iffiness' of October weather makes it difficult to say what would be blooming in October. At that time of year, the summer flowers sometimes look pretty good but sometimes they look exhausted and worn out and seem to be on their last legs. Fall flowers like chrysanthemums and asters often are blooming in October, and cool-season flowers like dianthus, snapdragons and pansies are available in stores. I have some perennial dianthus plants that generally are in bloom in October.

In my yard and garden in October, these are the plants that generally are in bloom, although a frost can take them out at a moment's notice:

Zinnias in various heights and colors
Cosmos in various heights and colors
Tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
Texas Hummingbird Sage
Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina'
Veronica
Salvia farinacea
'Laura Bush Pink' and 'Laura Bush Purple' petunias, which are a selection of native petunias found in Texas. They are extremely heat tolerant and fairly cold tolerants and usually bloom here until November.
Four O'Clocks
Cannas
Moonflower Vine
Morning Glories
Hyacinth bean vine
Black-eyed Susan Vine
Pineapple Sage (red flowers)
Swamp Mallow
Hardy Hibiscus

There are a few plants grown only for their foliage that generally look good in October, and that would include ornamental sweet potatoes (available with green foliage, purplish-black foliage and a variegated pink/cream/green foliage), sun coleus and shade coleus, and ornamental hibiscus plants like 'Haight-Asbury' which has a dark red to maroon foliage with some variegation.

The wildflowers that tend to be blooming here in October include goldenrod, autumn sage, asters and liatris.

Remember, too, that tropical plants in containers could be placed around the wedding tent area. I've been to weddings that had a combination of many green tropical plants and snow white flowers and it is a stunning combination.

Dawn

Moni

For an outdoor wedding, I would have only a bouquet of cut flowers, but for everything else I would use containers of blooming flowers which you could be growing yourself in a sunny spot all summer and just move to the front yard for the wedding. I think pots of blooming dahlias would be charming and you can buy those at Sam's in the spring in a bag.

By having everything in containers, you could set them inside overnight if temps threaten. I would also consider just greenery, like ivy, that might not have flowers, but could have a few silk ones tucked in here and there to pick up your wedding colors and would be house plants after the wedding. It's easy to spend a lot of money on cut flowers that last only a short while, so I would plan for other things as much as possible.

For tabletops, buy or paint matching containers that are white or cream. Use them together in groupings and weave some large pieces of tulle, in your wedding color, loosly around the containers, and then add a few silk flowers the same color as the fabric into the pots of greenery. Every color looks pretty with creme and green.

Save your money for the honeymoon.....or grocercies. LOL

It seems like the men's boutonnieres were just a simple white rose with a tiny spray of greenery, and the bride's bouquet was simply about 6 white calla lillies with long stems wrapped in white ribbon and the attendants' each carried a single white calla lily with a long stem and a white bow with dangling ends hanging down about the same length as the stem. There were about six large tropical plants (two of which were huge ferns) in containers (the plants were borrowed from friends) and there was one table arrangement on the cake table--about 45 yellow Graham Thomas roses in a glass vase with just a tiny bit of green fern and baby's breath. The roses were from my garden. (the advantage of having a May wedding is that something perennial is usually in bloom then, including roses and peonies).

So, the flowers don't have to be fancy or expensive, you know....and you sometimes can rent potted tropicals instead of buying a lot of expensive cut-flower arrangements.

Dawn

If you wanted to be married under a flower covered arbor, plant a Sweet Autumn Clematis on either side this Spring. It will fill it in nicely, smell wonderful, and look amazing!

Zinnias will be the easiest and most colorful to grow. They last a long time, and you can get specific colors such as cream, green, pale pink, etc. As well as the brighter colors. I think Baker Creek has a beautiful bicolor zinnia this year that is cream and pink. Really stunning.

Keep in mind that Annuals you have to plant every year, so they will bloom this year, and some will be perfect for what you are doing.

Most Perennials (come back every year) won't be the size or be blooming well enough for what you are wanting. There are exceptions to that, such as the Sweet Autumn Clematis, but probably not another kind of Clematis. Elephant ears will grow well the first year. Hostas, buy potted plants, rather than roots from Lowe's, or whatever. That way they'll have good roots and do well.

This sounds really exciting! I'd love to see pics when it is done!

Shelly