Mother of groom - what to wear??

I booked an appointment with a personal shopper at John Lewis. She was amazing - chose outfits I would never have looked at but were perfect. They really know their stock and their stuff.

Laura Ashley sale for weddings of both sons ( different outfit at each! ).

Hi blue60, I looked up Floryday as I'd never heard of them. They have some lovely unusual dresses if you like bright colours like me.

They seem to be a foreign company, and no free returns would deter me, as I am fat and hard to fit. But it's nice to see something different, and reasonably priced.

www.floryday.com/Floral-Half-Sleeve-Midi-A-Line-Dress-m1058593?pos=also_like

I went to a wedding years ago of a young bride - her father’s secretary wore a stunning white outfit and outshone everyone - the outfit looked a bit out of place as it was a winter wedding!

I'd consider checking with the bride what the colour scheme for the reception is. You don't really want to turn up in the exact same shade as the paper napkins, do you?

Whatever you do, PLEASE don't wear white satin as did someone I know. Talk about outshining - she outshone everyone, including the bride. Very over the top.
The marriage did not end well - bride decided she was Gay after a couple of years.

Like so many of you, I went for Jacques Vert for DS's wedding which, although in the church where DH and I were married, was a relatively low key affair. I happened to see a plain gold dress and bolero in the sale and it was perfect. I had a large lilac hat & gold shoes & I definitely didn't upstage the bride's mother who looked elegant in dark green with a super fascinator. DD had a large traditional wedding in the same church with a marquee at home. I went for a real MOTB silk outfit of long sky blue skirt with matching embroidered jacket, huge hat & dyed-to-match satin shoes. I felt the bees knees in it!! It cost silly money and I've never worn it since but it made me feel really special
Whether it's a son or daughter getting married, comfort is paramount so wear something to suit and please you, don't let anyone dictate what you should have. I hope you find something wonderful and that you have a fabulous day at your son's wedding

I only have one dd so wanted to make sure I looked good for her wedding. I spent about three weeks trying on outfits that were very formal and could not decide. Then about a month before the day I had still not chosen and was getting a bit stressed about it when I went shopping with my sister for holiday clothes. I found a navy pleated skirt in a floatey fabric and a matching navy and white top in same fabric, found some white shoes and a new white bag and then my sister said why did I not wear it to the wedding. It felt very comfortable so I did. I found a white hat with navy band and detail on to complete. It was a bit more casual than I had expected to wear and I have wore skirt and top again.

Jacqes Vert

In same situation and have gone for floaty trousers and floaty longer top which I am much more comfortable in than anything formal or fitted (also plus size model). I have a contrasting shrug with matching shoes and bag. Colours in top similar to wedding theme colour scheme and no idea what mob wearing. I don't do dresses as I look too matronly and I like my legs covered. Jacqes Vertical and JD Williams have some lovely wide leg trousers in light fabrics in lovely colours and romantic originals plus they have some lovely floaty tops to go with. Lots of little fascinators around to wedding it up a bit. Just buy something you'll be comfortable in and will wear again xx

My son is getting married in 2019. It's an early spring wedding, so could well be chilly. I too was wondering what to wear, but I took my lead from what colours were chosen by the bride and groom.

Not wanting to stand out, all eyes should be on the couple, not me, so I chose a silver grey, mid calf length floral dress, a silver grey disc hat, silver shoes/sandals, sparkly bag from TESCO and...a silver grey fur stole/shrug (just for a bit of glamour, for me).

I make jewellery so I shall be wearing a pearl choker and pearl drop earrings.

I bought my dress from Floryday, hat from Debehams and grey stole from Lightinthebox.

All at reasonable prices, very happy with my outfit.

It's the photos that matter. It'll be there for posterity, and probably on Facebook! MOB and I had great fun with the preparations.

Can you go shopping with mother of bride? I did & we chose outfits that complimented each other & had a fun day out too.

Someone mentioned shoes. I had a dress jacket and hat with matching low heels. However I knew my feet would not survive the day in them so took some smart but comfortable flatties for dancing at the evening do. I doubt if anyone noticed! I also had a smart lacy cardigan for the evening to replace the jacket (& took hat off of course. ) Formal outfit only for ceremony, photos and reception then got more comfortable. The dress jacket and hat were Jacques Vert bought from JL I think. They have a lot of mother of bride/groom outfits not too expensive. I wish I'd hired a hat as others have recommended as I've never worn it since although I have worn dress & jacket for other posh dos!
And yes it's a good idea to co-operate with other mother ,and the bride so your outfit doesn't clash!

My mother didn't speak to the MOG before my sister's or my wedding and I didn't speak to the MOG when either of my daughters were getting married.. I wore what I liked and so did the MOG s. Let's face it few people care.

I'm a size 18/20 and wore Jacques Vert to my son's wedding. It was a skirt, top and jacket. The skirt and top looked like a dress and was very comfortable. I went on to wear it on a cruise and now 6 years later I will wear it to my grandson's christening. It was expensive but quality is worth paying for.

My starting point was a bag and shoes that I had worn only once before. I make most of my clothes (nobody makes clothes for my shape!) but I ordered several jackets from www.justlastseason.co.uk that I could try on at home and send back what I didn't want. Good prices, free delivery and free returns. I made a dress, just a simple shift but the jacket made it and I was pleased with the result. The bride wanted her mother and me to wear small hats (big ones block the view for those behind, and neither of us is really into hats anyway) so a friend of hers made them and included a bit of dress material in mine.

When my daughter got married I stressed about what to wear. I searched for ages but couldn’t anything I liked. Then had idea of getting one made. I found exactly the style I liked and fortunately a lady who has altered clothes for me in the past agreed to make it for me. It was perfect. Fitted exactly where it should. The dress didn’t cost me any more than it would have done to buy. Look on Pinterest if you have the app and search for wedding outfits.

I picked a Frank Usher skirt and long jacket for my son's wedding in this Country in ice blue very understated but finished it off with a huge Jaques Vert wide brimmed hat and high heels I felt very comfortable throughout the day.
For my 2nd son's wedding in LV I wore a long flowing dress in pale grey with my hair up with flowers pinned in it.
If you can go to try on at some stores you can then go onto ebay and try and find similar I did this with both my purchases and then resold after the events.

dress and jacket - can't go wrong

I will also be MOG this year. I have a Phase 8 dress, heavyweight fabric, sleeveless, large flowers on an off white background, plus a blush jacket. The jacket is quite fitted and the whole outfit looks much better on. I have uncomfortable but stylish shoes for the photos and a more comfortable pair of sandals to change into later. This was my daughter's idea who was shopping with me at the time.
I would advise to try a few things on and be open to ideas. The larger shops might have a personal shopper to help with a few ideas. The lady in the fitting rooms at John Lewis was excellent!

Two (IMHO) important rules:

Nothing polyester.

Nothing coloured pistachio.

Sorted.

Studio 8 is the plus size version of Phase Eight, so represents the department store style offering if you don't want the exclusive wedding type shop stuff or price tag. I found the cut of the dress had a slight flare in the skirt, which was more flattering than those straight down formal shift dresses

When my daughter got married last year I bought several outfits quite cheaply online, to cover different weather outcomes, but in the end wore a Frank Usher dress with matching bolero, It was perfect for the day and I felt very comfortable in it. I managed to find matching hat, shoes and bag from Jacques Vert. There is an online store called Just Last Season that sells mainly JV, Dash, Windsmoor and Precis clothes at very reasonable prices, but they may only have them in either a small or a larger size.

I personally think a shift dress with matching long coat looks very smart and slimming too.

As a plus size, the formal things I tried made me look like an over stuffed sofa . Try Chesca for things that are good on curves - l have a longish shooshy dress and floaty top but they have trousers, skirts and float jackets etc.