When you’re getting ready for your big day, naturally a lot of your focus will be on the date, the venue and the dress. While you will no doubt speak to wedding dress designers to get an idea of what sort of shape and design works for your own body, you may also benefit from asking them for advice on dressing the mother of the bride. While it is not usually the bride’s job to dress her mother for the big day, it is always a nice gesture to have the wedding dress designers take a few minutes to offer some suggestions and style advice.
When it comes to mother of the bride outfits there are a few basic rules of etiquette that should be followed, including contacting the mother of the groom so they don’t show up as twins, and not upstaging the bridal party with ostentatious style or a bright colour palette.
Colour
While the mother of the bride might be used to wearing brightly coloured, flamboyant shades of magentas, greens, or blues in her everyday attire, when it comes to her daughter’s big day it is best to take the advice of the wedding dress designers and tone it down. The key, when it comes to choosing a dress colour, is to pick one that will not clash. The obvious choice is a shade being used in the bridal party, or a pastel that will not take over the photographs – but that only works if the theme is not focussed around bold colours, as many more are these days. The woman’s complexion and skin tone should be taken into account and, of course, never, ever wear white.
Comfort
While it is pretty normal for a bride to eschew comfort for the style and beauty of her perfect gown, if you ask any wedding dress designers they will advise the mother of the bride not to take that liberty. They may be wearing an outfit for up to twelve hours or more, so it needs to be comfortable. They should try the outfit on while standing, walking and sitting to ensure its comfort in a variety of positions, and purchase shoes in advance, so they can be “broken in”.
Hair and makeup
While mothers may think it’s a great idea to go all out and get “beautified” for their daughter’s big day, trust that when it comes to bold makeup or hairstyles, there is such a thing as too much. Wedding dress designers may suggest a look that will complement both the aesthetics of the wedding and the mother’s personal style. One major rule of thumb for the day: though it is nice to be similar sometimes, like mother like daughter does not apply on the big day.
