Love her or hate her, mum is quite often a pivotal figure at your wedding.  Whilst some mothers are a dream to work with others are more stubborn.  What is the best way to make sure mum looks the part at your wedding whilst being dignified?

• Some mothers will naturally let the daughter decide what they should wear – others are more stubborn and like what they like.  You should know what the mother is like!  It isn’t wrong for you to suggest an outfit or a colour scheme – she should respect some of your wishes at least.

• The mother of the bride like the mother of the groom should pay for their own outfit.

• According to etiquette, the mother of the bride should choose an outfit before the mother of the groom.  The mother of the groom should choose a dress to complement the mother of the brides dress.  So if the mother of the bride chooses green, the mother of the groom shouldn’t choose red as there will be an obvious clash in the photographs.

• If there are any step parents then it is important that they respect the mother of the bride’s choice of outfit first.

• Ideally the mother of the brides dress shouldn’t wear black.  Although guests do sometimes wear this colour, it is still related to funerals and death.

• And even more important, they shouldn’t wear anything resembling cream or white.  No one should look like a bride except for the bride and there’s no exception for the mother of the bride!

• The mother of the bride’s outfit should suit the occasion.  At a formal event they should wear a long full length gown and hat.  At a casual event a shorter dress is acceptable.

• Something age appropriate is preferable at a wedding.  Some mothers look fantastic for their age and have great figures and like to wear skimpier outfits.  You should politely ask you mother to wear a shawl or cardigan to keep arms covered, and wear a dress or skirt that is below the knee.
The most important thing is that everyone is happy when choosing an outfit for the mother of the bride.  Be honest and clear about what you do and don’t want.  Be just as clear with the mother of the groom so there are no fights afterwards!

Not all of us want or can afford custom made bridesmaids dresses, so what’s the alternative? 

Look no further than the great British high street!  There’s no reason why a reasonable price shouldn’t mean gorgeous dresses too.  What is also nice about getting a high street outfit is that it can most likely be worn again in the future, unlike a traditional bridesmaid dress.

Here are the top five places to shop in order to kit out your girls.

1. Monsoon has always been full of glamourous, girly outfits.  They always have a stock of full length ladies dresses in silk and satin, as well as a large variety of accessories due to its concession, Accessorize.  You can buy bag, shoes, jewellery, shawls, boleros, tights; everything you need for a whole outfit.  Prices vary from around £80 - £250 for intricate designs.  They also have a stunning range for girls and have outlet stores around the country.

2. Coast are similar to Monsoon, and has a large selection of glamourous, high quality dresses, skirts and tops.  Prices are higher than Monsoon with the average outfit being over £200. 
3. Marks and Spencer are at the more affordable end of the scale; with the Autograph and Per Una ranges coming out with fashionable glamourous dresses every season, there’s no reason why you can’t find a great outfit.  Also remember that they have a large selection of accessories.  Prices for a dress being around £45.

4. New Look are very affordable and have a huge selection of dresses.  This is a great choice if you are on a budget and if you have younger bridesmaids as you can go for funky fabrics, colours and shorter fitting dresses.  Prices begin at around £25.

5. Debenhams is quite an obvious choice; they also have a huge selection of wedding dresses, bridal shoes and accessories.  They have full length, plain satin for £100.  If you want a traditional feel this may be a great choice; you can always accessorise a plain dress with a corsage or a satin belt in a contrasting colour – you can makes these with some fabric from a haberdashers.

There are so many options on the high street now that you’re spoilt for choice!  Always have some ideas on colour and fit in mind before you go or it will be hard to make a decision and remember to be accommodating to all your bridesmaids by choosing something everyone is comfortable with and will fit all shapes and sizes.

LINKS:

http://www.monsoon.co.uk
http://www.coast-stores.com
http://www.marksandspencer.com
http://www.newlook.co.uk
http://www.debenhams.com

When it comes to the wedding dress, most brides struggle to find the right one at the right price.  While most of us can dream about one off Vera Wang pieces costing tens of thousands, the high street have been producing gorgeous affordable wedding dresses too – George at Asda for example launched the £60 wedding dress in 2006 to great success.

Is there another option?  How about the internet?

Heather Saint from Billingham was in the press earlier this month for snagging a full length wedding dress from eBay for only 5p.  The shipping charge for the heavy dress was £40, but even at £40.05p, who could complain?!

Just searching for ‘wedding dress custom made’ into eBay will throw up a large selection of full length gowns from sellers in Asia for less than £100 including shipping.  Quite often, the fabric is cheaper to buy there and the tailors can work for a lower rate, which is how you can end up with a bargain dress!  Most of them will sell the dresses in a standard size or will take your measurements to make a custom dress.

When buying a wedding dress on eBay there are some important things to think about.

1. Is the wedding dress new or used?  If it’s used then have any marks, damage and stains been noted?  Some dresses are of course in near perfect condition as they have only been worn once, but some may have some damage, in which case you would have to pay to dry clean and repair it. 

2. Is the dress fitted?  If the dress is used it may be tailored to fit the previous bride – if they are a size 6 and you are a size 18 then no amount of tailoring is going to help!  A new dress that is your size or slightly bigger can be adjusted accordingly by a tailor.

3.  Details, details.  Buying online means you can’t see it before hand or try on so it’s a big commitment.  Ask questions about the fabric, the drape and ask to see lots of questions.

4.  Order well in advance especially if the dress is from abroad.

5. Are you just getting excited?  Watching an item at the end of an auction does make you giddy but it pays to ask questions before you bid.  Bidding on an item on eBay is a legally binding commitment and the buyer doesn’t have to let you off even if you say you were hasty; ask questions first!

LINK FOR ARTICLE:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2662068/Bride-buys-wedding-dress-for-5p-on-eBay.html