Mother of the Bride Advice

[Epcotgal1212]

My daughter's getting married in December in Disney World. Originally the wedding was set for 5:00 but then they called and said that due to Daylight Savings time they had to move it to 2:30. No problem. By then I had made the decision that I wanted to wear a long dress for the wedding. I know my reasons may be silly but I have a couple scars on my legs from an injury that everyone says that the only person who sees them is me, but I know they're there. Plus I will be as white as Casper the Ghost in Dec. and have sworn off tanning beds.
I haven't even tried on dresses yet. Was planning to in a couple of weeks but now I found out mother of the groom heard I was wearing long so she bought a long dress. Then my Mom makes the comment to me tonight, "You really want a long dress now that it's a 2:30 wedding?" I'm like even though it's Florida...

1. It is December. I get cold easily. Long dress may not help tons but has to be better than bare legs. It may be at 2:30 now but it's outside.

2. By the time of the reception dinner it will be dark outside and the reception is at the GF.

3. I really don't care what anyone else wears or the length of their dress but this as a Mom of 2 sons & 1 daughter this is my only chance to be Mother of the Bride so can't I wear long without going to fashion hell?

 

[deanaandrich]

I think you are correct in going with a long dress. It's much more classy and elegant and will be beautiful at the GF. You never know what the weather will be like in December. But inside you will definitely appreciate a longer dress. Good luck in your search-send pics!

 

[Nemo14]

I've been both the MoB and MoG, and I stressed for both weddings about what to wear. I'd say go with what you're comfortable with, and since the MoG has bought a long dress already, it sounds like a long dress would be perfect.

And for the record, FL can be cool in December.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Absolutely, be comfortable. My Disney wedding was outdoors during the daytime in November, but long dresses were totally appropriate for the season. My mom could have written your post about her legs, so it was never a question that she would be in a floor-length gown. My MIL, however, isn't comfortable in long dresses, and wore something tea length. They both loved their choices and looked and felt great.

 

[Epcotgal1212]

Thank you all. Everything y'all said is what I was thinking too. I guess I just needed reassurance. I will probably be asking you all much more in the months to come. I will be sure to post pics.

 

[Nemo14]

Thank you all. Everything y'all said is what I was thinking too. I guess I just needed reassurance. I will probably be asking you all much more in the months to come. I will be sure to post pics.

I can tell you a funny story about DD's wedding if it helps...

 

[Epcotgal1212]

I can tell you a funny story about DD's wedding if it helps...

First of all, I would love any stories, insight, advice I can get. Plus I see you're a Red Sox fan...how could I not appreciate your input ? I was born and lived in Massachusetts until I was 13 and some of my favorite memories are at Fenway Park. To say my family were Red Sox fans would be an understatement.

 

[Nemo14]

I live in RI, but my DD and her husband live north of Boston. Love my Sox!

Anyway, my daughter's Mother-in-law is always perfectly and tastefully dressed, perfect makeup and hair, etc, so I really worried about what to wear at the wedding that would be appropriate. It was a late-morning wedding with reception immediately following, so that kind of ruled out the long dress I had always visualized wearing. So I found a tea-length dress that I loved - in fact I found a couple - and both the bride and the mother-in-law approved. In my heart though I really really wanted to wear a long flowey -type dress, and my husband kept telling me I should anyway if that's what I really wanted. My insecurities won though and I settled for the tea length dress with some really cute shoes.

So, the afternoon before the wedding I was getting everything ready to take to the hotel that night and went up to my upstairs closet for the dress and shoes. As I started down the stairs I remembered that I hadn't shut the closet light off, so instead of going back up 2 steps, I stretched to reach it and felt a tremendous pop and shooting pains from my toes to the back of my knee. We had to leave soon for the rehearsal and dinner, so I iced it and hoped for the best as we drove away. By the time we got to the hotel, my foot was the size of a basketball, and I couldn't put any weight on it at all. The rest of the story involves my son and my husband tracking down a place to rent a wheelchair that night and buying a cheap pair of ballet flats for me to wear. Now mind you, my dress was tea-length, so that only served to highlight my swollen, and wrapped up foot, and the shoes they bought didn't match the dress I chose. at all. My mother was 91 at the time, and she walked down the aisle on my son's arm, but I had to be pushed in a wheelchair, looking somewhat like a refugee

.

The injury turned out to be a severely torn plantar fascia, and I spent the next 5 months in a knee-high orthopedic boot, but we laugh about it all now. I even did a Disney trip in it (there's a trip report about it here somewhere). Lessons learned from all this? First of all, don't be too lazy to go back up 2 steps, and secondly, wear what your heart tells you.

 

[Epcotgal1212]

I'm really going to try to slow down and watch where I'm walking because I wasn't a clutz when I was a kid accident prone as an adult. For instance several years ago the DAY before we left on a Disney trip I had my arms full and fell over our dog coming out of the laundry room and "hurt" my arm. We left the next day me saying it must be "sprained" and I was not going to the dr. We drove 14 hours straight and I had a seatbelt on which was on my hurt shoulder. When we got there and I got undressed my arm was a purple/black color. I REFUSED to ruin our vacation and I rode rides and didn't see a dr. until I got home over a week later who asked what the heck I was taking for pain while I was there. I seriously took nothing more than Advil and a margarita or 2 in Epcot, a couple of glasses of wine here and there lol. Turns out my upper arm was completely broken through and my shoulder wasn't even in the socket correctly anymore. I had to have surgery and a titanium plate and 9 screws put in. I know. Crazy. I think they'll put "The things she'd do for Disneyworld on my headstone."

 

[Demeter Tess]

My mother wore a long dress for my Disney wedding, and that was for a 10am ceremony in June! I thought she looked totally elegant and fit in with the ambience of the GF perfectly. Regardless, you're the Mother of the Bride, so you get to wear whatever makes you feel fabulous!

 

[Epcotgal1212]

Thank you!

 

[Nemo14]

I might add that my son's wedding was last year, and he made me promise, no injuries.

 

[The Mom]

Another MOB here. I really, really had to talk my daughter into wearing a floor length dress - she ended up with a white high/low with a very short train! Didn't wear a veil, but did wear a pearl clip in her hair.
But I knew it was going to be an informal wedding, so wore a silk 3 piece suit - I could take the jacket off and have a silk sleeveless dress. The MOG wore a plain dress with a lacy top.

As long as your daughter is wearing a traditional wedding gown, anything from a short dress to a full length gown is appropriate.

 

[wdwpooh1027]

My daughter's getting married in December in Disney World. Originally the wedding was set for 5:00 but then they called and said that due to Daylight Savings time they had to move it to 2:30. No problem. By then I had made the decision that I wanted to wear a long dress for the wedding. I know my reasons may be silly but I have a couple scars on my legs from an injury that everyone says that the only person who sees them is me, but I know they're there. Plus I will be as white as Casper the Ghost in Dec. and have sworn off tanning beds.
I haven't even tried on dresses yet. Was planning to in a couple of weeks but now I found out mother of the groom heard I was wearing long so she bought a long dress. Then my Mom makes the comment to me tonight, "You really want a long dress now that it's a 2:30 wedding?" I'm like even though it's Florida...

1. It is December. I get cold easily. Long dress may not help tons but has to be better than bare legs. It may be at 2:30 now but it's outside.

2. By the time of the reception dinner it will be dark outside and the reception is at the GF.

3. I really don't care what anyone else wears or the length of their dress but this as a Mom of 2 sons & 1 daughter this is my only chance to be Mother of the Bride so can't I wear long without going to fashion hell?

Hi. I got married in December last year at 10am. It was about 85 degrees. Granted we didn't have an outside ceremony but we took pics outside before the ceremony and then again after the ceremony of just my husband and I. Both my mom and mother in law wore tea length dresses but some guests wore long skirts. Trust me you will be fine with wearing a long dress. In all honesty its what are comfortable in. BEst of luck and congrats to your daughter.

 

[Epcotgal1212]

Thank you. Your photo is beautiful!

 

[wdwpooh1027]

Thank you. Your photo is beautiful!

Thank you.

 

[Linda128]

I am a MOG and my son is getting married in May this year at WDW. I know it will be a outside ceremony and a inside reception . My question is can I wear something colorful or should I stay with a black or grey dress. I can't get much from the kids basically they are wearing tuxedos and she is having a traditional wedding dress. I asked a few friends and they said colorful it's Disney World, but my other half says wear black . so far I've decided not to wear a long gown because it will be a noon wedding. My future daughter in law said she didn't care what I wore ,she said wear a sundress for all she cared she was just happy I was going to be there. Please help me!!!

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I know that the idea that you can't wear black to a wedding because it's a color of mourning is outdated, but I still don't like to see the moms in black. Besides, it's late spring in Flordia. Black is too warm.

 

[Epcotgal1212]

I am a MOG and my son is getting married in May this year at WDW. I know it will be a outside ceremony and a inside reception . My question is can I wear something colorful or should I stay with a black or grey dress. I can't get much from the kids basically they are wearing tuxedos and she is having a traditional wedding dress. I asked a few friends and they said colorful it's Disney World, but my other half says wear black . so far I've decided not to wear a long gown because it will be a noon wedding. My future daughter in law said she didn't care what I wore ,she said wear a sundress for all she cared she was just happy I was going to be there. Please help me!!!

You can definitely wear something colorful. It will be Springtime in Florida. As far as length, short or tea length are fine but if YOU want to wear a long dress, as someone else said, it would be fine also since noon or not it is a wedding and you're Mother of the Groom. The important thing is that YOU feel good in what you're wearing. I got lucky and found a dress that I really loved and it was comfortable! I thought the shoes I'd bought were too but after being on my feet all day...ouch. They were open toed and had silver straps going across my toes that rubbed a blister on my toe. Wear you shoes around the house and make sure they're comfortable.

 

[Weather_Lady]

A long dress is totally appropriate for a mother-of-the-bride or mother-of-the-groom, even more so if the bride, bridesmaids or both are wearing long gowns. Because the mothers of the bride and groom are guests of honor, it is fitting that their attire be more formal than that of a typical guest, and there is no reason why a long dress would be inappropriate in the afternoon, especially in winter! Still, regardless of all other factors, I second @Epcotgal1212's sentiments: the important thing is that you feel attractive and comfortable, regardless of what any silly fashion "rule" might dictate.

I got married on a fall afternoon, and both my mother and my husband's mother wore lovely, long dresses and looked appropriate and terrific. (In fact, my mother was walking me down the aisle, so she chose a tailored, fitted black dress with a matching bolero: the color choice was unconventional, but perfect for the occasion, as she wanted her outfit to subtly mimic the understated elegance of a suit or tuxedo.)