When are the mother of the bride dresses in tea length appropriate? What’s up with all this talk about formal, casual, semiformal, and does anyone really care? (Well, answers will follow, but I would like to mention that some mother of the bride dresses can be smashing as bridal gowns for a second marriage.)
Some people care about rules. Some people don’t. However, in order to break the rules, you should know the rules; otherwise, you will end up looking like someone who doesn’t know a faux pas from fox paws.
Wedding Attire for Party Members
Here are the basic rules were drawn up by the Matrimonial-Industrial Complex:
- First, the bride chooses her gown, and the formality of her gown sets the tone for everyone else.
- Step two, the bride chooses the colors for the bridesmaids’ dresses in an attempt to humiliate her friends, cousins, and female siblings.
- Next, the mother of the bride (MOB) chooses her dress, based on the appropriate level of formality, in a color that blends with the chosen color palette. (In reality, the mother of the bride started shopping almost as soon as the engagement was announced.)
- Then, the mother of the groom selects a dress that is in harmony with the MOB dress. The groom’s mother should get a dress that is similar to the MOB dress, but not the same color. (In reality, the mother of the groom has been shopping just like the MOB, and has several dresses on hold, in an attempt to look better than the mother of the bride.)
- Finally, someone remembers the flower girls and finds adorable frocks for them to prance around in while throwing rose petals.
Formal or Informal Weddings
Some families from the East Coast get wedgies if you don’t do things the “right way”. Most families in North America are not sticklers about little details, as long as everything ends up being harmonious in the end and there’s plenty of alcohol and a good DJ.
The “formality” of a wedding is mainly determined by the bridal dress and the time of day. For a very formal wedding, in most of the country, the mother of the bride would usually wear a long “special occasion” dress. This is not the case in Southern California, land of opportunity to wear whatever you want. San Francisco proper can be more like the East Coast, but you could also expect to see 300-pound men in tutus and fairy wings. In the Pacific Northwest (Seattle or Vancouver), you could end up at a “somewhat formal” wedding on a ferryboat.
I guess that my point is that “formal”, “informal”, and “casual” mean different things in different parts of the world.
Mother of the Bride Dresses – Tea Length
Here are more rules that you can use if you want. The bridal family’s taste trumps the groom’s family’s taste. You can make the groom’s mother wear a feather duster on her head if you want … and the marriage will, certainly, last one week.
- For a formal wedding, the mothers can wear either long or tea-length dresses.
- Wedding party photos come out better if the mothers wear dresses with similar hemlines.
- If the mother of the bride chooses a tea-length dress, the mother of the groom should wear a tea-length dress (or suit).
- If the mother of the bride chooses to wear a hat, the mother of the groom should also wear a hat.
- If the mother of the bride chooses to wear gloves, they both should, and so on, but they should avoid looking like twins.
- If the bride is wearing a tea-length dress, the mothers should go with tea length.
- These rules are guidelines, only. No hemline Nazis allowed.
The mother of the bride dresses in tea length is almost always appropriate. You can play with higher or lower hemlines and stay within the tea dress range, so the mother of the groom will probably be happy with tea-length, as well. However, you are the mother of the bride and you are doing all the work. Wear something that makes you happy.
Mother of the Bride Dresses – Hanbok
On the special occasion of your wedding, Korean Hanbok can be a great option for the mother of the bride. She would look modern and unique with this tradition Korean clothing available at Korean Hanbok Store.
The best feature of the Korean Hanboks is that they are unique and premium quality, often handmade by artisans.
