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Monday, March 28, 2011

Hot Mama!

I love my mama.  Yes, it's true.  


And because I love her so much, I want her to look gorgeous on my wedding day.  So imagine my horror when we started looking for a dress for her to wear, and we kept coming up with two piece numbers, like the one above.  

And I don't hate the dress pictured, it could work, but not for my mom.  She's petite, five feet tall on a good day, and that is just too much dress for her. The jacket would overwhelm her small frame.  And how could I ask my mom to wear something like that and sit through our July ceremony, in a church that has no air conditioning?

Did I also mention that I want my mom to look gorgeous?  She doesn't give herself credit, so I will: my mama is beautiful.  And she looks great!  So we quickly abandoned all "mother of the bride" dresses and made an appointment to check out bridesmaids gowns.  Okay, I made the appointments, my mom was hesitant. But she warmed up quickly once we set some ground rules--

1. No strapless dresses
2. Light and comfortable for Summer
3. Party appropriate (because my mama has to dance!)
4. Form flattering (Ok, that was my rule.  But she kept pulling loose and drape-y dresses and I knew she could do better!)

Here are our top picks:

Alvina Valenta AV9042 (with straps added for comfort)



This is similar to another Alvina Valenta dress that my mom loved.  But sadly, they stopped making the dress so the only way to get it was to buy the sample. That was not an option.  And I should mention that my mom wanted to wear it as a tea length dress, too informal for our wedding. 

Bill Levkoff 526


I loved this one, but she wasn't so sure.  It was very figure flattering but my mom was nervous that the satin would be too heavy.


Watters 3733



This was my favorite, and I could tell it was her favorite too.  The material is light, the ruching detail is flattering and the skirt is perfect for dancing.  She put it on and I could see her transform a little; she stood up straighter, posed for pictures, and smiled big.  We have a winner!

Here are some things I learned about shopping for a bridesmaids dress for the MOB:

- There is often a fee for ordering only one bridesmaid dress.  In our case that translated to $14 extra. Not a deal breaker. 

- Many stores we called had stopped carrying traditional MOB dresses altogether because fewer and fewer women were buying them.  Don't know why this surprised me--we were proving them right.  



What was your MOB dress shopping experience like?  Did you go the route of traditional MOB dresses or did you try something else? 










4 comments:

  1. That final Watters dress is gorgeous! I bet she looks just stunning in it!

    My mom is looking at a lot of the less traditional MOB dresses as well - and I totally agree with that decision. I think she's beautiful and still in great shape, so why not show it off a little, you know?? Interesting that more and more stores aren't selling the MOB dresses anymore. Makes sense!

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  2. hahaha! your top 'no-no' pic is almost literally what my Mom wore on my big day! I'm sure she'll look gorgeous no matter what she wears! ( I do love the Watters dress tho!)

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  3. I personally cannot stand those two piece duochrome taffeta MOB outfits. Whilst flipping through a wedding magazine once, I came upon pages and pages of them. Immediately, I called my mom. "So I don't think this has to be said, but I just want to make sure: you're not gonna buy one of those God-awful mother-of-the-bride outfits, are you?"

    My mother's response was, "Oh, hell no!"

    I don't remember the last time I saw my mom in a dress or a skirt, and those outfits just really aren't how my family rolls. She'll likely end up in a pair of black slacks and a nice blouse. Luckily, I don't intend to have a particularly formal wedding, so a more casual outfit is appropriate.

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  4. I feel lucky compared to some people as it only took two trips and it was to the same shop. It probably is traditional but modern and stylish.

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