Mother of the Bride & Groom Dress Ideas

Anytime of year is perfect for a wedding, but with lighter days, sunshine and nature in full bloom, Spring is a popular time of year for such an occasion. You probably have a few weddings coming up as what could be prettier than flowers, blue skies and new life at a wedding! With this in mind, we’ve compiled our best tips, tricks and looks for mother of the bride outfits! Dressing for a wedding can be a minefield enough as it is for a standard guest, but when you’re a part of the bridal party there is a whole other load of obstacles to overcome and boxes to tick. From colour to print to style, there’s so much that goes into the thought of dressing as the mother of the bride or groom, and it can seem impossible. Mother of the bride outfits for ladies over fifty don’t have to be boring- keep it fun and figure flattering to still feel your best on the big day. That’s why we’ve compiled this guide to keep it simple and make sure that dressing for the big day doesn’t lose its enjoyment! For classic mother of the groom dresses, to unusual mother of the bride dresses, we’ve got plenty of inspiration right here.

As a standard wedding guest, your initial starting point for the outfit is on the invitation! There’s three key pieces of information included on the invite; the date which indicates the time of year you’ll be dressing in, the venue which suggests the theme of the wedding, and the actual dress code. Wedding dress codes can either be rather vague or really specific, but often the location of the big day is incredibly helpful in figuring out the theme of the wedding just like the time of year helps you figure out colour palette. Seasons often dictate the materials and colours that are popular, as well as the event’s overall colour scheme. For a Springtime wedding, expect many guests in floral and pastels as well as cotton, linen and satin materials for a light floaty finish. For Winter weddings expect opulent materials like velvet and wool, as well as rich jewel-toned colours. All this initial information included on the invite helps you as a guest to visualise the classic wedding themes to ensure your outfit doesn’t stick out but in fact blends seamlessly with the bride’s efforts.

Black is also recommended to be avoided as it can appear harsh and negatively influence the mood of the event due to it being typically associated with funerals. This could be seen as a bad omen and therefore is just worth avoiding altogether. Of course, it’s worth considering that the wedding may specify unconventional colours such as all-black or all-white dress codes but if it’s not mentioned, consider it a definite no-go, and stick to seasonal tones

Traditionally, the bride is the first to buy their dress before anybody else as this allows her to set the tone for formality, colours, and style for her wedding. Then the bridesmaids buy their outfits followed by the mother of the bride who should buy their wedding outfit before the mother of the groom. It’s wedding etiquette for the mother of the bride to then inform the mother of the groom on what she is wearing. They don’t want their outfits to starkly contrast with the bridesmaids and typically they do not wear the same colours as the bridal party or as each other. The last thing the mothers want are identical outfits and ensuring they’re expressing some personality in their choices is fun especially in pictures for years to come! Also, it’s ideal for the photos that the mother of the groom’s outfit complements the mother of the bride’s look, so they don’t clash or appear too similar.

The most important wedding no-no is wearing white; this may seem like an incredibly obvious observation, but this rule is sometimes ignored and can cause a huge upset on the big day. It’s kind to remember that this is the bride’s big day, so put your white dress down and opt for something subtler instead. As a guest or mother of the bride, you’re not there to upstage the bride but support her instead with an outfit the complements the event and what she wears. Similarly, if the bride chooses to wear a blush (a very popular choice for brides nowadays), then all guests should avoid wearing blush too!

For the mother of the bride or groom, pastels are often chosen due to them being soft and subtle, as well as allowing easy coordination with the colour scheme of the wedding. For example, if the wedding theme is based around navy or a royal blue, the mother of the bride can opt for a duck egg blue outfit to complement the colour scheme. Silver or gold are also popular choices; not a brash metallic hue, but more of a subtle shimmer which is classy and elegant so it will complement the venue.

Black is also recommended to be avoided as it can appear harsh and negatively influence the mood of the event due to it being typically associated with funerals. This could be seen as a bad omen and therefore is just worth avoiding altogether. Of course, it’s worth considering that the wedding may specify unconventional colours such as all-black or all-white dress codes but if it’s not mentioned, consider it a definite no-go, and stick to seasonal tones