<p>I am the mother of the groom. The wedding is outdoors at a lake. They have done and planned everything. It’s a barbecue with grilling on site, groom’s choice in food. There will be finger food and a candy bar, small cake to cut and cupcakes. Beer and wine, sodas, iced tea, water. Tented, nice flowers. No booze. The groomsmen will be in white shirts and khaki pants, the maids in short dresses. The groom will wear a vest. The bride has a lovely, more formal than necessary gown, but hey, it’s her wedding her choice.
My question is…as mother of the groom, what should I wear?</p>
<p>A nice dress that isn’t too fussy. This sounds a lot like my own wedding to H, although we also had beer. Most of the female guest wore long skirts or dresses that tended toward the casual. As MOG you could just go up a notch from there.</p>
<p>Well this can be challenging because as MOG, you don’t want to be underdressed. On the other hand, you don’t want to be overdressed either. I would suggest that a short dress be in order, maybe in a complimentary color to what the bridesmaids are wearing. Have you and the MOB chatted about the wedding details?</p>
<p>A sheath dress? That would be my choice. Something summery, maybe something by Lily Pulizer in a solid color.</p>
<p>Why not ask the bride?</p>
<p>Perhaps you could find something by the same designer as the bridesmaids dresses, that would complement them? That would probably put you in the right degree of formality.</p>
<p>I would go for something flowy but not fussy in a tea length, probably is a soft color, not too fancy, so that I didn’t have to worry about tanning my legs. Shoes without pointy heels, obviously…some kind of low wedge or flats. </p>
<p>A sheath dress sounds like torture to me. 
Sit up straight, hold in your stomach, and the front will STILL inevitable have wrinkles.</p>
<p>LOL, Consolation! Been there, done that. 
Luckily, there are fabrics that let you eat and enjoy the party without worrying too much about wrinkling the stomach area. :)</p>
<p>Good point about no heels. A strappy wedge sandal would be a good choice.</p>
<p>Tea length dress feminine and flowy sounds good to me. But perhaps also the same sort of thing in pants with a flowy top would work.</p>
<p>How about something like this? Not exactly this dress in this specific color, but something similar?</p>
<p>[Stop</a> Staring! Pine All Mine Dress in Pink Plaid | Mod Retro Vintage Dresses | ModCloth.com](<a href=“http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/pine-all-mine-dress-in-pink-plaid]Stop”>http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/pine-all-mine-dress-in-pink-plaid)</p>
<p>Flowy sounds comfortable.</p>
<p>OMG Bunsen…love, love that dress. Unfortunately my size is gone or it would have been bought so fast…only very small and very large left. I totally agree that would be an appropriate style of dress.</p>
<p>How about a dress like this? </p>
<p>[Adrianna</a> Papell Lace Overlay Sheath Dress | Nordstrom](<a href=“http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3217574?categoryid=null]Adrianna”>http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3217574?categoryid=null)</p>
<p>It looks elegant to me but not overly formal.</p>
<p>For more comfortable, how about this one?</p>
<p><a href=“http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3547865?origin=&filter=[/url]”>http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3547865?origin=&filter=</a></p>
<p>I like this dress, although I would ditch the sparkly pin and there seems to be too much going on in the back. It might be too formal for your event, although with different shoes and hair it would be less so:</p>
<p>[Short</a> Sleeves Chiffon Tea Length Mother Of Bride And Groom Dress - Milanoo.com](<a href=“http://www.milanoo.com/Short-Sleeves-Chiffon-Tea-Length-Mother-Of-Bride-And-Groom-Dress-p26238.html]Short”>404)</p>
<p>Love this one, if you feel comfortable with sleeveless and could wear it. Could add a pretty black shawl for evening, or a color matching colored shoes. (cotton and would look nice with more casual shoes):</p>
<p>[Unique</a> Vintage Floral Printed Scooped Neck Dress White/Black - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways](<a href=“Unique vintage floral printed scooped neck dress white black + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com”>Unique vintage floral printed scooped neck dress white black + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com)</p>
<p>BunsenBurner, the pink dress is similar to the pale yellow above, although neither is precisely what I had in mind. </p>
<p>BTW, I love this one from your link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/ace-of-teacakes-dress[/url]”>http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/ace-of-teacakes-dress</a></p>
<p>It would look nice with a little shawl in pale green or the peachy color.</p>
<p>Himom, neither of those seem suitable for a BBQ by a lake, to me. Too formal. That is the problem with virtually all the dresses I’ve seen, actually. The ones we liked in an earlier thread–Komarov?–are all made from unsuitable fabrics.</p>
<p>Here you go:</p>
<p>[Eileen</a> Fisher - Sleeveless Linen Dress - Saks.com](<a href=“http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374306440464&PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524446586002&R=886884608620&P_name=Eileen+Fisher&N=306440464&bmUID=k3A6n1i]Eileen”>http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374306440464&PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524446586002&R=886884608620&P_name=Eileen+Fisher&N=306440464&bmUID=k3A6n1i)</p>
<p>Can be dressed up or down with accessories, Irish linen lined with cotton: perfect fabric. Can be worn with a really nice little shawl or something if you want to cover your shoulders. Would look nice with espadrille wedges or something of that sort. Doesn’t require any special undergarments. Bare legs fine. Can wear it again. Very classic.</p>
<p>I also really like this–especially the handkerchief hem and availability of just dressy enough matching top–but I don’t like the color, personallly:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374306427734&PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524446586009&R=886884599980&P_name=Eileen+Fisher&N=306427734&bmUID=k3A8tw3[/url]”>http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374306427734&PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524446586009&R=886884599980&P_name=Eileen+Fisher&N=306427734&bmUID=k3A8tw3</a></p>
<p>In both cases you have to watch the video to see low it moves.</p>
<p>I love the linen dress! A large, chunky necklace would dress it up a bit, but not too much for the location. Shoes would be perfect. I wore a very similar linen dress with wedge sandals to my daughter’s outside graduation.</p>
<p>Those Eileen Fisher dresses look very nice yet casual enough for a bbq picnic wedding. There is only one problem - linen tends to wrinkle really easily, and the dress might look frumpy in pictures. I know some might not care, but personally it would drive me nuts. :)</p>
<p>Kate Spade makes flowy dresses in longer lenghts, like this one:</p>
<p>[kate</a> spade new york ‘lucia’ dress | Nordstrom](<a href=“http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3544585?origin=keywordsearch]kate”>http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3544585?origin=keywordsearch)</p>
<p>Speaking of Eileen Fisher, earlier this summer, Eileen Fisher had a very lovely shimmery dress that passed my wrinkle test. It would have been perfect for this type of an event! Unfortunately, stores alread cleared out most of summer clothes, and many great options are no longer available. Of what is left, I really like how this Eileen Fisher dress looks:</p>
<p>[Eileen</a> Fisher Double Layered Silk Dress | Nordstrom](<a href=“http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3536565?origin=keywordsearch]Eileen”>http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3536565?origin=keywordsearch)</p>
<p>It is silk, and I agree that silk is not the best fabric for a BBQ picnic, but the style of the dress makes it look much less formal.</p>
<p>I see a sheath dress as well, perhaps with a cotton cardigan in case it gets chilly, and wedge espadrilles to keep in the mood. Can you link us what the bridesmaids are wearing to give us an idea how formally they will be dressed?</p>
<p>I would also like an outfil somthing like this, with pearls and nice strappy sandals, or with more dramatic jewelry.</p>
<p>[Eileen</a> Fisher Ballet Neck Top (Regular & Petite) | Nordstrom](<a href=“http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3452245?origin=browse]Eileen”>http://m.nordstrom.com/Product/Details/3452245?origin=browse)</p>
<p>You want to look like a lady, and like you aren’t trying too hard OR frumpy. Casually elegant and with-it. </p>
<p>I don’t think that wrinkling would be a big issue with that dress because it is loose. At lest not in front, which is what would show in pictures. :)</p>
<p>This is an example of a sheath that would not wrinkle:</p>
<p>[Tommy</a> Hilfiger Dress, Sleeveless Belted Seersucker - Dresses - Women - Macy’s](<a href=“http://m.macys.com/shop/product/tommy-hilfiger-dress-sleeveless-belted-seersucker?ID=831788&CategoryID=5449&LinkType=#fn=sp%3D2%26spc%3D41%26kws%3DSeersucker%26slotId%3D30]Tommy”>http://m.macys.com/shop/product/tommy-hilfiger-dress-sleeveless-belted-seersucker?ID=831788&CategoryID=5449&LinkType=#fn=sp%3D2%26spc%3D41%26kws%3DSeersucker%26slotId%3D30)</p>
<p>This is cute and appropriate for a lakeside BBQ, unfortunately, it only comes in white :(</p>
<p>[Women’s</a> Petite Seersucker Surplice Dress from Lands’ End](<a href=“Lands' End | Swimwear, Outerwear, Casual Clothing and more”>http://www.landsend.com/products/womens-petite-seersucker-surplice-dress/id_252492)</p>
<p>White must have been a very popular color this summer, because I see quite a few nice sheaths in white… Definitely not a good choice for anyone other than the bride </p>
<p>BTW, forgot to say - congrats to you, VAbluebird!!!</p>
<p>Since a sheath is perhaps the worst possible dress style for me, I have an unreasoning prejudice against them. I also think that the VAST majority of women should not go sleeveless, including almost all who do. Especially in photos.</p>