Preparing for dinner

My mom and dad have been planning a backyard patio remodel for some time.  The old painted cement patio has always been too small for our large family gatherings.  Offering their backyard for the wedding rehearsal dinner location pushed the project to the forefront and progress showed up in a big way this past week. My dad ordered redwood and my brother Tyler and his two older sons delivered it all the way from Murrieta (Riverside County), hauled it into the backyard and stained many many boards.  Dad has been finishing up on his own since they left.  I stopped by yesterday for some "before" pics, as the contractor's crew will arrive Monday to start building.

Beautiful long boards still wet with stain.

The deck stretches out quite a ways from the house.

Stepping out to the backyard will be easy once the deck is in place just below the threshold of the sliding glass door.  I'm glad the contractor will be the one to figure out attaching the long ledger board to the house, moving vents and wrapping the deck around the chimney! 

Some backyard flora.  This is a Meyer lemon tree--the blossoms are heavenly scented.

Love this chartreuse and yellow orchid.

This funny niche between the garage and house has had many lives.  An orchid garden seems to suit it wonderfully.  The bird feeder sees lots of hummingbird action--Mom says it is guarded by a particularly aggressive hummer.

Some plantings in the bride's colors will greet guests in less than two weeks. I've been sewing on my wedding outfit and expect a "backup" dress I ordered to arrive tomorrow.  Finding shoes is on the agenda as well.  Tomorrow we'll tour the wedding site for the last time and nail down the final numbers. The last minute has just about arrived, I think!