Since my sister’s wedding, I’ve gotten a few inquiries about my mom’s dress. I’m planning a whole series of tips/tricks/lessons I’ve learned from my sister’s wedding but for now, I’ll tell you about the adventures of shopping for my mom’s dress.
Picking out a dress was one of the things my mom was most worried about prior to the wedding…and the idea that she’d need to buy TWO dresses in a year made it even worse. Living 3,000 miles from my sister and I certainly didn’t help either. She’d perused the Nordstrom’s website and found a lot of promising options, but was disappointed by the selection at the actual store. So she made plans in July to fly up to Chicago from Dallas to go MOB dress shopping and to look for bridal gowns with me.
In the meantime I made an appointment at House of Brides in Schaumburg. We’d been in the store looking for bridesmaids dresses with my sister and they seemed to have a lot of options so we figured we’d go back. When I called I made sure they knew that the wedding was in October, only a few months later, and they told me that would be no problem whatsoever.
However, when we actually got to HOB that day, we were scolded like naughty school children when we showed up. Apparently everything in the store takes at least 4 months to order, despite what the lady on the phone had said. Disappointed, we headed down the street to David’s Bridal.
We had been to this same David’s a few weeks before shopping for a strapless bra for my sister and it was sort of a nightmare, but this time we actually had great service. The dress we picked out for my mom was only in a dark purple at the David’s in Schaumburg so our salesperson called all over until she located the dress in mocha elsewhere in the suburbs that we could take home with us that day.
The dress was affordable, needed no alterations, and in the end looked sooo beautiful on my mom!
If you’re looking for MOB dresses, my biggest tip is to shop early! A lady at one bridal shop told my FMIL and I that MOB dresses can take nearly as long as a wedding dress to come in, so you can’t start too early.
What are your moms wearing to your weddings? Where’d they find their dresses?
For my sister’s wedding my mom got hers at Castle Brides in Huntington Beach, Ca.
We went shopping with her to MANY places and nothing was working. We actually did go to David’s but they had poor selection and little service at the one we went to!
My mom was so nervous too! But she was beaming on my sisters wedding day after finding the perfect dress!
My mom found her dress at Dillard’s. It’s lovely - long, champagne, strapless, with a matching bolero.
She didn’t necessarily want a “mother of the bride” dress, and this totally worked! Plus, it looks like a style that she would wear normally.
We found hers at Coldwater Creek. Mom was going to be the one to walk me down the aisle, so instead of a traditional MOB dress, we looked for one that took on more of a tuxedo flavor. It was black with small white dots printed on it and a high neck with a perfect cutout that showed her own wedding ring she keeps on a necklace. The pictures turned out wonderfully and she was happy about not looking frumpy.
My Mother got her dress from Damianou. You can go on there website for locations. They are cheap, but they are comfortable and the cut makes any body type look amazing.
Miss Chickadee, Peoria, IL
Age and Occupation: 22, Freelance Advertising
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Mechanical Engineer
Engagement Date: February 10, 2007
Wedding Date: June, 2008
Blogging Since: September 13, 2006
Venue: Methodist Church/Country Club
About Me: My parents always said I should wait until graduating college before getting married…Mr. Chickadee and I finally graduated this past spring and we didn’t waste any time getting straight down to business. It’s been four long years, but the wedding planning is finally underway!
my mom also bought her dress at David’s Bridal, however unfortunately chose a clearance bridesmaid dress that was shiny bubble gum pink - totally innappropriate for my fall themed wedding, and totally age innappropriate for her! It’s still a point of contention between us. My advice to brides is BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE with your mothers in terms of what you would like them to wear. Give them 2-3 color choices and photo examples of what is appropriate. Looking back I wish I’d thrown more of a fit with my mom.