The mother of the bride holds an important role in a wedding. Not only can she help out the bride and groom, she offers help to the extended family and guests attending. Out of all the things the mother of the bride has to do, the most important is finding her outfit.
Keep reading as we answer some of our most asked questions in regard to mother of the bride attire. From your shopping timeframe to choosing an appropriate dress.
1. Collaborate with The Bride
A good idea is to let the Bride be your guide, if the Bride hints on a particular colour, style or formality make sure you take this all on board. Let the bridal couple be your inspiration and always remember that this is their wedding.
Remember if the bride informs you of a particular style, always make sure it suits your body. As a dress that doesn’t fit you well will make you uncomfortable and unhappy on the day. This is where collaborating your ideas with the bride is important, have your say too!
2. Think About the Venue
Over the years the traditional Mother of the Bride outfit has evolved. It has moved away from just being a cocktail dress and jacket. Nowadays, the world is your oyster, and anything goes. A good idea is to think about the venue and what would be suitable for the location.
An example of this, is a formal sequined dress would most likely not suit a beach wedding. Whereas a soft casual number with a warp would.
3. When is the Right Time to Shop?
As a bridal store we have had close to 30 years of experience helping mother of the brides and grooms. Something that we know from experience is that time has major importance in shopping for anything wedding related.
Therefore, as the mother of the bride or groom you will want to ensure that you are prepared. This means searching for your dress at least 3 months prior to the wedding, leaving time for ordering or alterations. A simple fact is that ordering in a dress in a different colour or size can take from 2 – 6 months.
When you begin searching for your perfect dress, ensure that the bride has purchased her wedding and bridesmaid dresses. This allows for the bride to communicate her ideas with you for your own outfit. This could be that she wants you to match or maybe compliment her bridesmaids.
4. Style Ideas
When you are shopping for a mother of the bride outfit, make sure you look at the whole store. As here at Legends Bridal we have found many mothers decide on a bridesmaid dress or ball gown instead as they cater to more styles and colours.
5. Take Inspo from the Bridal Party
As mentioned previously, the bride may want your dress to compliment hers or her bridal parties (bridesmaids). If she does want you to match or compliment the bridesmaids, we recommend you get a swatch of the fabric. This will make your shopping experience more efficient and easier when needing to find a unified and cohesive colour.
If the bride wants you to match the bridesmaids, choose a similar hue or shade of that colour. For example, if the bridesmaids are wearing pastel pink, look at a darker pink tone. Note, a big no no for the mother of the bride dress is always avoid wearing anything similar (colour or style) to the bride’s dress. As she should be the one to stand out as this is her day.
6. Lets Get Pretty
Along with the dress the mother of the bride should get her hair and makeup done for the special day, as you will want to look your best especially for the wedding photos.
There is not any rules or guides for what your hair and make-up should look like. It is best to ensure that along with your dress that these aspects match the venue, your dress and most of all make you comfortable with how you look (never wear anything that is not you!).
Prior to the wedding it is also a great idea to treat yourself to a mani and pedi, not only will your nails look fabulous, but it is also a great way to relax and be ready for your daughter’s special day.
We hope you enjoyed this post. If you are looking for a mother of the bride dress here in Dublin, check out our website or visit our studio. We are located at Unit 6, Crosslands Business Park, Ballymount Road Lower, Dublin 12.