Mum's the word (From Living Northeast)

Mum's the word

11:45am Monday 9th March 2009 in

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WHAT do modern mothers of the bride wear? You will be on show on your daughter’s wedding day, from walking down the aisle at the ceremony venue to meeting, greeting and mingling at the reception.

No wonder choosing your outfit is so important. Here are a few tips to help you find something that will both look fantastic and fit in with the occasion.

CONFER

MoBs are part of the wedding party.

That means working together with the bride, bridesmaids, and mother of the groom to achieve a coordinated look that will work well for photographs and with the overall theme and colour scheme of the wedding.

The first thing to remember is not to strike out on your own.

Obviously, you will ultimately choose your own outfit, but to make it really work you will need to consult, particularly with the bride.

Run your ideas past your daughter and speak to the mother of the groom. This will avoid the two of you turning up in clashing colours or – even worse – the same thing.

CO-ORDINATE

One option for choosing an outfit is to coordinate with the mother of the groom, the bride or bridesmaids. Choose a complementary colour or shade to your colouring.

You can also co-ordinate your colours with the wedding flowers.

CONFORM (well, a bit) Wedding customs are becoming much more relaxed and fluid. For example, the tradition of the mother of the bride choosing the same dress length as the bride is now safely confined to history.

However, there are some traditions that it’s still considered very bad form not to adhere to. One of the most important ones of these, from the point of view of the mother of the bride, is that no one but the bride should wear white or cream.

Etiquette experts Debretts go even further, pointing out that with the popularity of pastels and off-whites for wedding gowns, even having someone dressed in something whiter than the bride could be a cause for embarrassment.

THINK COMFORT

Whatever outfit you choose, will have to work hard. As mother of the bride, you’ll probably be playing a considerable role in organising the wedding, and you may well find yourself rushed off your feet. For this reason, your outfit has to be reasonably easy to wear, as well as look good.

If you choose something too tight or shoes that are really uncomfortable, you may live to regret it. But if your outfit feels good, as well as looks good, you’ll feel a million dollars.