Mother of The Bride; Dressing For The Occasion

Mother of the Bride; Dressing for the Occasion

Colours, fit and season are all major considerations when dressing for the wedding of your daughter. Is it a traditional, formal wedding, or has your daughter opted for an inclusive beach ceremony? Will you need to err on the side of caution in case of rain, or are you jetting off to warmer climes?

With some simple guidelines to occasion wear, it’s easy to choose mother of the bride dresses which are flattering, elegant, and comfortable and will look amazing all day and into the evening.

Unless the bride has a very selective palette in mind for her wedding party, it is generally accepted that the mother of bride (and all guests) avoid white, ivory, and champagne as well as black (which can look funereal) and red. This can be limiting for more mature skin, but also gives you a great opportunity to choose a really great fabric, hat and a colour which will complement the bridesmaids and the rest of the wedding party. It is essential therefore that you do consult your daughter, or (son’s fiancée, if you are the mother of the groom) to avoid clashing and to make you feel comfortable about your choice for the big day.

Recreate Carole Middleton’s timeless Royal Wedding chic with pale blues and wear a shift dress for the evening under a lightweight fitted frock coat. Lavenders and greys are also considered prime choices for mothers in the wedding party and will look great with grey morning dress at a traditional wedding.

Mixing and matching can be ultra-stylish, with bridesmaids in baby blue, mother of the bride in navy or grey and the groom and groomsmen in grey. A great tip, and an easy way to try to match up your hues, especially if your wedding party is scattered across the country is to use paint swatches to coordinate your outfits, shoes and hats and give everyone the same point of reference.

The outfit featured is from CC occasion wear and ticks all of the boxes for a mother of the bride look. This ice-blue fitted frock coat is worn over a matching shift dress and gives lots of scope to mix and match with greys and blues in the rest of the wedding party. It allows arms to be covered for the ceremony with a heeled shoe and cowl neck for a more evening-appropriate look.  The back of the coat has a beautiful fitted bow detail which will make sure your outfit looks fantastic from all angles in every photograph.

Words courtesy of Sarah Atkinson for CC Fashion