<p>parent, if the outdoor wedding ceremony is taking place in Western WA in June, you need to get some warm cover (pashmina, shawl of some sort), because June weather here can be quite chilly. It might even rain. Eastern WA will be nice and warm. Congrats to you and your son!</p>
<p>I’m the mother of the bride (June 2010) and when I selected my dress, I emailed a link to the groom’s mom so she could see the color, style and length I selected before she chose her dress.</p>
<p>I think it’s a good idea to run your ideas by the bride if you can.</p>
<p>Does your area include a good seamstress? Getting a simple dress made is not very expensive; it will fit you perfectly and be the length you want; you can buy lovely fabric.</p>
<p>I heard it was wear beige and bring your checkbook from a friend of mine (recent groom’s mother). Lots of good suggestions above. </p>
<p>Just wanted to add a story - when I got married my mom and MIL never spoke about dresses (or asked me either) and both showed up in remarkably similar dresses purchased hundreds of miles apart in nearly identical colors. I attribute this to salesperson advice as to the styles at that time (but I will never know - mom is gone, and MIL has alzheimers).</p>
<p>I told Mom and MIL to wear what they liked. They talked to each other about dress length. One was pink the other was blue I think they look fine in the pictures - even though neither is wearing what I’d have picked out if I’d been choosing, but I didn’t consider my wedding an occasion to make everyone matchy-matchy.</p>
<p>Did you guys notice that the ad on the left side of this page was for bridesmaid dresses? How does CC do this???</p>
<p>gmaill does the same thing; I’ve noticed that the ads always relate somehow to the subject of the email.</p>
<p>Returning to the original query, I just remembered that I did have several pictures of my son’s future MIL’s dress which I found very helpful; she had worn it before and the pictures were simply ones taken at the earler event. My future DIL sent them to me and it was easy way to get a clear idea of level of dressiness (elegant rather than dressy) and color range/intensity–even helped with shoe choice to see waht she had worn. Not to match per se, just to be be same general mood.</p>
<p>I noticed the ad up top. Kinda scary, huh?</p>
<p>Here is a great buy - aqua dress with jacket-<a href=“http://www.coldwatercreek.com/Products/Detail.aspx?productid=47064&ensembleid=53175&colorid=924&refLink=outlet-dresses.aspx&Skn=outlet”>http://www.coldwatercreek.com/Products/Detail.aspx?productid=47064&ensembleid=53175&colorid=924&refLink=outlet-dresses.aspx&Skn=outlet</a>.</p>
<p>Or go to coldwatercreek.com and type in H50541</p>
<p>Moreover, I looked at the aqua number at Coldwater Creek. I just worry that something this inexpensive will look cheap.</p>
<p>Why would any woman at any wedding (or elsewhere) be the least bit concerned about what any other woman is wearing? WHY?! It makes no sense. True question.</p>
<p>toblin - what is your question? Why are we concerned? Because the OP asked for input. Why would the OP be concerned about what other people at the wedding will think about what she is wearing? Because it is an important event and she wants to look 1) appropriate 2) her best. </p>
<p>Are you male or female?</p>
<p>Toblin must be either male or someone who has never experienced the fury/angst/stress of a MIL getting ready for the wedding of her son. (My son is not married yet. I have watched this rite of passage several times in recent years.) First off, tick off your future DIL (and her mother) by (a)wearing the wrong color by clashing with the wedding party (b)wearing a color that could compete with the bride (white, cream, yes…champagne) (c)wearing something that outshines the bride and/or her mother and well…you will be persona non grata for as long as the marriage lasts.</p>
<p>One of my friend’s daughter almost refused to permit her mother to stand under the chuppah because her lilac was SLIGHTLY off the bridal party. Yes, the daughter is a challenging person. Another MIL had to purchase another dress two weeks before the wedding because her dress (not intentional) was by the same designer as that of the bridal gown…and it was almost the bridal gown. Different color, different back with a jacket…but the beading was the same, the skirt and bodice were the same.</p>
<p>This is an area fraught with challenges. Look too good, too cheap, too clashing and/or blending with the bridesmaids or worse the bride…and you got problems.</p>
<p>OP also needed a dress that
</p>
<p>Have you considered an ankle-length skirt or pantsuit? Then you have more options for comfortable footwear.</p>
<p>I am determined not to be uncomfortable at my son’s wedding. His future MIL emailed me a store catalogue picture so I could see the stylish pantsuit she chose. Everyone lives far away, like the OP. I chose same color to unify us, but an ankle-length dress to hide my clunky shoes. </p>
<p>Maybe I’ll walk in low heels or a wedge platform shoe just for the ceremony (45 minutes, standing) and change into supportive shoes or ballet slippers for the reception. I tend to dress from the feet up. You’ve got to be comfortable to enjoy the day! What will help you smile? That’s what to wear on your feet.</p>
<p>Thumper, re post #46, you are looking at key-word based advertising. The advertisers contract for a service like Google AdWords to pay for advertising tied to certain keywords, and they will pay a certain amount each time the ad is displayed and/or clicked on, depending on the term of the contract. When you click on a page, the software that drives the site searches the page content before the page comes up, and matches key words to its database and displays an appropriate ad. </p>
<p>The reason advertisers want this is that it is far more effective. It is much more likely that the readers of this section will click on an ad for an online clothing retailer than, say, the kids posting about financial aid. </p>
<p>By the way, it doesn’t mean a lot to other posters when you reference a particular ad. The ad we are seeing may or may not be the same one you see. The software will throw up something different out of its database of whatever it has matched to key words each time the page is reloaded. So the ad will change with each person, though depending on how many ads match the criteria and the amount of money the advertiser has agreed to pay, some advertisers will show up with greater frequency than others. </p>
<p>What I find spookier is the way I am seeing ads on many different sites that correlate to my personal recent browsing history, as opposed to what is on a given site. For example, when I got my puppy a few months ago, I ordered some dog supplies from various online vendors – since that time, wherever I go, I am seeing ads for dog supplies. Before my son settled on his current wedding plans, he and his fiance were thinking of getting married in Maui, so I did some research online to look into possible wedding packages. Now as I browse I keep seeing ads for Maui travel and even specific ads for Maui wedding packages! That’s got nothing to do with the web site I’m visiting - I could be checking the news on cnn or anywhere else. </p>
<p>I’m a gmail user and I haven’t experimented to see whether the ads change if I log out of gmail before browsing, so I don’t know if the information comes from my browser’s recent history cache (I also use Google Chrome, so even logging out of gmail might not make a difference) – from browser cookies – or from information personal to me that Google has stored associated with my login. </p>
<p>I actually find this to be convenient when the system gets it right – saves me search time when the product I’ve been thinking about buying is displayed in an ad on the page – but it’s also pretty creepy.</p>
<p>Toblin, depending on the type of wedding (big vs small, formal vs. informal) – the mothers of the bride and groom may be part of the ceremony. So what they are wearing can be just as important as what the bridesmaids are wearing, both in terms of the way things look at the ceremony and for the wedding photographs. If everyone in the wedding photo’s is wearing subdued colors, the bride in white, her mother in beige – and the groom’s mom shows up in bright orange, it kind of spoils the mood.</p>
<p>Of course the dads are part of the ceremony, too – but at a formal wedding they all will be wearing tux’s, with the only issue being the color of the vest or cummerbund - and everyone is likely to agree in advance on that – at a less formal wedding they may simply show up in suit and tie, and there tend to be a limited range of colors to choose from. (One dad in charcoal, another in navy isn’t going to make a difference)</p>
<p>My own son’s wedding is very small, immediate family only – so I don’t really have to worry about whether I “match” at the ceremony-- but the pictures will still be an issue if I want to be in them. Since I’ve seen the bride’s dress and know that it is a bright color, I want to avoid a color that would clash or overshadow hers, and also avoid wearing something close to the same color. (She needs to be the star of the group photo-- so no bright red for me). I also wouldn’t want to wear something overly ornate that could embarrass the bride’s mom if she shows up in something simpler – and I wouldn’t want to commit the faux pas of underdressing for my own son’s wedding, either. </p>
<p>So yes, its important. It’s really important for guys, too – its just that the range of options for what is considered acceptable formal attire or dresswear for men is more limited. Even before I bought my dress, my son’s dad asked me if I thought a charcoal suit would be a good choice – I told him I think it will be just fine. He didn’t ask me what color tie I think he will wear, but I assume he’ll pack several and then make his choice on the wedding day. (He owns the usual array of red or blue with or without diagonal stripes.).</p>
<p>My cousin wore a big wine-colored fedora hat with a foot-long feather to a son’s wedding, while the bride’s side was all floral/paisley/pastel with lacey headgear. My cousin just looked passive-aggressive. I assumed the moms were fighting. Glad to say the marriage is having a long run.</p>
<p>toblin sounds like my husband LOL. i guess its a mother thing? want to look nice for my son and fiance, but dont want to create problem in any way. ie dont want to clash color wise, dressiness level etc… so agree with calmom. spoke with her mother and she has absolutely no idea what she plans to wear yet . son is telling me no white ie no white blouse with black skirt. that was definitely an idea i liked… and could wear a flat slipper type shoe under the long skirt.
when i spoke to her mother we laughed and said whatever we wore must have pockets for all the kleenex!!! i will be such a blubbering fool.</p>
<p>oh and congrats to all others with upcoming weddings, sorry it took me so long to acknowledge your happy news!</p>