Too early to buy a mother of the bride dress?

[Twodogsonthecouch]

My daughter is getting married in June 2027. I know I have loads of time but when I was in town today and wandering through shops I was looking at the summer clothes and it occurred to me that it might be a good time to buy something.
the wedding is in a gorgeous old country house. Not very formal. No church. Hopefully wedding ceremony in the garden of the weather cooperates.

I was looking at these and thought they were pretty. What do you think?

https://www.debenhams.com/product/phase-eight-abigail-wrap-dressp-019f167c-4e06-4330-bb63-ea739df359d0?srsltid=AfmBOoqWGW99cyXqQz-Wg1QlxOd6E1TwHajeBUCxk1uDvuDslSDoTE9&colour=Coral

https://www.phase-eight.com/row/product/rosa-floral-pleat-maxi-dress-222095000.html

I love the Phase Eight one. If I could wear that colour then I'd be buying it. I think it would be perfect and of course you could buy it now

ETA sorry. I realise the other one is also Phase Eight. I mean the first one. The green one is nice but not "wow"

I'd definitely look and would buy a dress if I loved it and it made me feel great. I think the main question is whether you'd regret it if you couldn't find something similar next year (and/or whether you'd be annoyed that you'd already spent your budget - should that be a consideration - if you came across something you love more).

I think both dresses are pretty. Is there a colour scheme and would you want to coordinate (or at least, not clash)? The coral dress is probably my favourite, however it might not work with all colour schemes.

Normally the MOB should complement the colours of the bridesmaids. The first dress would be the safest. If you see something you love, it isn't too early to buy.

who made that rule up?

I’ve never seen that at any weddings i’ve been to tbh.

Great choices op. I like the green one too, and you could likely wear that again.

Lovely looking dresses but polyester, if it’s warm you might cook….

Prefer the peachy coloured one.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy anything from the Debenhams website. It's now just a shell company for other brands and their customer service is an absolute nightmare. The only channel to contact is FB messenger and you get an AI response 9/10 times.

The dresses are lovely, but buy direct from the company, not via Debenhams.

They aren't my style but in answer to should you buy a dress now - yes if you find one you love. Yes if you get anxious about shopping and it will worry you not to have one.
No of you love shopping, wear lots of up to date stylish clothes - as you might prefer something more on trend next year.

They are both lovely but to be honest nothing special, something that any wedding guest would wear I imagine. Phrase Eight have their dresses for months and months on their website so I wouldn’t rush to buy. My daughter is also getting married next year May, I intend to start looking when the sales start around June but I’m not in any rush.

Not a bad idea to buy early. Then it's done and you can forget about it and focus on other things.

Thanks for the advice 😀. There’s no colour scheme yet. I had a quick chat with my daughter yesterday about it. She said she hadn’t decided yet but if I saw something I liked to carry on and get it and she’d work with it. She’s very low key and is very much just wanting everyone to be relaxed and happy.
She bought her own dress online without going to any bridal shop. It’s a Rixo dress and really pretty and she loves it but it’s not at all dramatic so the last thing I want is to be more dressed up and “look at me!”

The green one really swamps the model . It's got too much material in it .
like the first one ( Orange ) best .I
As it's your daughter's wedding , what does she think ? It might just be me but I wouldn't want to wear anything they didn't like .

I would get in early and have a dress that’s at least a contender , if you leave it too late the seasons are wrong and every suitable dress disappears from the entire world . At least that what happens to me .

I don’t get anxious about shopping as such, I just don’t particularly like it and it would definitely be nice to forget about it.
@kkneat they’re not my thing either really but I’m not certain any MOB dress would be! I’d love suggestions. As I said the wedding is in a lovely old country house and low key. I’m short and a bit curvy with slim legs (do a bit of running and hiking so quite toned). My skin tone is quite sallow and my hair is naturally silver/grey. I don’t like formal bodycon type clothes at all. Normally found in COS or Nobody’s Child! I wear scrubs most of the time at work unless I’m lecturing or at conferences so don’t usually have to think about clothes!
No real budget and happy to push the boat out for the right dress but do not want to be dramatic

My daughter is also getting married next year and I'm starting to look at dresses. Mine is a little more complicated as they are having a small ceremony in London in March and then a 3 day wedding in Portugal in June so a number of outfits are required - exciting but expensive!

I think the dresses are fine but not amazing, I wouldn't pay that for synthetic fabrics. I would keep an eye out all summer, unless you see something that you really love I wouldn't rush. I would keep an eye out and wait for whatever I like to go on the sale.

I would wear whatever your style is, sod the Mother of the Bride traditional look.

Personally I love Monsoon dresses and if my daughters got married I would be floating around in a big floral number. If I was more comfortable in trousers I would wear trousers.

@jessycake Thay’s the way my brain works too!

@MissFritton65 That sounds lovely. I’m really looking forward to my daughter’s wedding and I think part of the reason it would suit me to buy now is that I could forget about myself then and just help her enjoy it all.

Your figure sounds lovely, and so
does your taste in clothes from Cos and NC, which would also be perfect for not being more ‘look
st me’ than the bride. If that’s your vibe, I’d go with that rather than the less contemporary dresses you posted here. Or Reiss does dresses with some lovely asymmetric draping like a more ‘fancy occasion’ version of Cos dresses. Or maybe Whistles or Rixo?

I bought mine as soon as DD told me the date. I saw a dress I loved and didn’t overthink it. In the interim I looked at a few others but nothing I liked as much, so I was glad I bought the first dress. Like you, it was ticked off the list and I could get on with helping DD.

I think the coral dress is beautiful loving the pattern and the pleated skirt

I have the green dress and it is gorgeous - I wore it to my nieces wedding and got so many compliments . I think it’s perfect for the type of wedding you’re describing !

they’re not my thing either really
I don't understand why you're thinking about spending around £200 on a dress that's not really your thing. You're not just going to be a random guest, you're Mother of the Bride and you deserve something that makes you feel good. I'm sure your daughter, who sounds lovely, would agree with that, and it doesn't sound like she'd expect you to wear a traditional MOB outfit.

Wait until the sales at the middle/end summer. There will be bargains to be had.

Love the orange dress, but with so many beautiful dresses around these days, you will see many more between now and then! But it’s great to start looking early as you have time to catch the sales. I never pay full price for any higher end brand.