Is this not special enough/expensive enough for my son's wedding?

[flowersandmusic]

My son is getting married next year. June wedding. Someone on her recommended this dress for someone else. I went ahead and ordered it - a size smaller as that was all that was available. It has some weight to it and I love it but is it a bit cheapskate for mother of the groom. The money is not www.debenhams.com/product/jolie-moi-angel-sleeve-tiered-hem-maxi-dress_p-3e6c2c44-815f-42c7-b1db-67eae670cce8?colour=Multi&size=10&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22915808283&gbraid=0AAAAABevdS7lom0v68CypUOUtJ7wI713e&gclid=Cj0KCQjwio_RBhDMARIsAJPveNPX9QJHogyDX5JR4S_T4TALqJat6EcPACrQj2f_XntgPAeZTx04zrkaAnTFEALw_wcB

@flowersandmusicI cannot say I’m a fan of a “nice” jacket with flutter sleeves but you could get one made. The other big difference you can make, if the wedding is a day formal wear event, is wear a hat. These are by Hostie hats and I’ve looked at pale pink to coordinate with the pale pink in the dress. It’s an easy colour to wear and easier on the eye than cerise. They have a range of colours and embellishments so you can tone them to the dress. Also a pale pink bag and shoes will be easy to find then the whole outfit pulls together and you will look like the mum of the groom!

I love it! If you love it, and it feels special to you then wear it! I personally think it's fine for a wedding and with a hat and shoes it will look perfectly formal and elegant.

It's a lovely dress. My mil came to our wedding in a brown m&s skirt and jacket with a yellow blouse but she'd been in hospital until two weeks before the wedding and we came very close to losing her so we were just thrilled that she was still here and could attend. I have no tolerance for snobbery about wedding outfits.
If you like yourself in it that's all that matters. The pp who would do the school run in it is very odd.

Do you wear a ball gown to pop to Sainsbury’s? A tuxedo to walk the dog? 🤔

It looks very flattering

behave.

I like it. Mothers of the brides and grooms can look very stuffy and formal which can be very aging. I think you'll look light and airy and lovely in such a dress.

thanks so much everyone. Next step, I don't really suit hats. Any thoughts on an alternative It is not a stuffy wedding, ie. no speeches and no formalities, very much as the happy couple want it to be. Any ideas?

I’m really not getting this pushback! Ok, so I don’t live in the U.K. and our summers are HOT. This is exactly the sort of thing every other mom wears on her way to/from school - yes, even with a dog! Maybe not with the see-through bit at the bottom or quite as many ruffles, but it really does look like a standard floral day dress. It looks dressy on the website because of the heels and neat hair etc. But worn with flip flops or sneakers, it’s just an ordinary dress. Not anything like a ballgown or a tuxedo 😂.

The dress Kate Middleton wore to that fellow’s wedding today in the Cotswolds is the kind of thing I think would be suitable for a MoB: structured, not flowery, defined shoulders etc. She looks non-MoB in it because she’s so slim and tall, but on an averagely-sized 50+/60+ woman it would look a lot like what I think a MoB would wear.

@canklesmctacotits The OP will have great hair and shoes! Plus hopefully a hat so it will be totally elevated. “Mom” is USA term and it’s not a school run dress here.

Oh yes US wedding outfits - US formal outfits in general actually - seem really overdone to UK eyes.

I think the OP's dress is lovely and very suitable.

It’s beautiful, and could be elevated easily with a colour co-ordinated hat/bag/shoes/jacket. And with some elegant pieces of jewellery. I love it!

For headwear ideas, have you seen the pictures from Peter Phillips' wedding today? A lot of wide structured hair bands instead of hats. No fascinators!

But why are you getting everything a year in advance? For a June wedding I would be shopping in April and getting the new summer range.

@ReprogramNeeded The wide headband has been popular for a few years now. They don’t suit everyone and don’t look great with short hair. But they can be great.

You really like it? Then that's the dress for you. Even if you had any doubt, being confident and feeling good would make you carry even a bin bag with style! It's a lovely dress and you will look grand :-)

My first thought was it’s lovely but more casual than wedding. I saw your update about small hotel wedding and I think if you dress it up with accessories it will be suitable.

Here are some headbands worn by Francesca Cumani who is one well dressed woman! You can try a pill box for a hat if you want a slightly different look.

@canklesmctacotits i’m on your side: would happily wear on the school run. No idea why you’re getting the hate tbh.

Lovely dress, just a bit on the casual side. Buuuut I do agree with comments about the styling.

Its ok. But nothing special. Keep looking. It's not about the cost though.

I agree. This is a lovely dress. Someone else mentioned it being the sort of thing you might see on the school run, and while I agree, the great thing about fashion now is that the ‘rules’ are much more flexible so this definitely wouldn’t look out of place at a wedding either, especially dressed up a bit with nice shoes etc.

The image in my mind of traditional Mother of the Bride/Groom outfits isn’t anything as nice as this - I also tend to think of quite structured things, maybe a two set or a jacket and dress in matching pastel colours. A more modern take might be a well-cut dress in more structured/heavy material. I just don’t tend to like how those materials sit as well as I do dresses like the OPs (obviously it depends to a degree on the quality of the cut and fabric).

I've asked that on another thread where the "it's too casual brigade" were proclaiming 3 very nice dresses were "too casual" but answer came there none.

It's not too casual.

I'm guessing the OP is in the UK. I mainly wear dresses all the time. That is not an every day, day dress.

School run 🤣 that pp would look like a right clip.

@flowersandmusic it's lovely. Are you a brunette? What's your colouring?

Your expensive jewellery and some accessories will top it off nicely.

The style would be ok for an informal wedding but the dress does look cheap. Overlocking instead of proper hems is an obvious giveaway and screams cheaply made. Can you find a better quality version? Preferably in silk as pp suggests. Or have one made seeing as you have time.