Mother of the Bride - Where to start

Ahhh .... so your little girl has finally grown up and is going to be a Bride. Its a difficult time, you want the best for her and make sure shes happy, but you still remember her saying her first word, picking her up when she'd fall over and scrape her knee, and cuddling her whilst she fell asleep after a bad dream.

Shes met a person that shes convinced that she wants to spend her life with. You might or might not like them ... its her choice really, but still you want her to always be happy and so you're involved in the Wedding.

Your involvement might vary depending on how organised your daughter is, whose money shes spending and how close you are. But what ever you have been asked or not asked to do you'll no doubt have your share of days when you are there to support her in the best way you can.

Some Brides take their Mum's dress shopping, other take their friends or bridesmaids and some take a combination of the two. If you are lucky enough to be going along to try on dresses, be honest and supportive. If she looks awful tell her - but be diplomatic, dress shopping is huge fun and you want her to enjoy it!
Remember that she'll need to book appointment at bridal shops to try on dresses and some do limit the number of people that accompany the bride.

Tradition says that the Brides parents organise the wedding. Tradition also says they pay for it, so unless you are paying for the whole event you're unlikely to be organising it all.

Be realistic in terms of guest from your side of the family. You do not need to invite everyone you know, ask for a proportion to add to the guest list, such as a third of the total numbers, leaving a third for the Mother of the Groom to do exactly the same thing and then a third for your daughter's friends and colleagues. You might want to consider whether inviting people that your daughter has never met is such a good idea. The likelihood is that if they are important to come to the wedding they will have met your daughter at least once if not .... they're probably not that important (unless they live overseas etc).

Some Brides still ask their Mum and Dad to write and send the invitation with the replies being sent to the Bride's parents house. The Mother of the Bride is than able to open the replies and keep a list of who has accepted or declined. You might also like to be involved in choosing the wording in the invitation (e.g. Mr and Mrs Smith cordially invite or David and Joan Smith request or David and Joan invite) it all depends on how you want to appear on the invites.

Remember that most Brides still want their Dad to give them away, so your job on the morning of the wedding is to keep her calm and help her get ready. Don't drink too much and don't let her drink too much either. Its a highly emotional event and there are likely to be tears for both of you, make sure you use waterproof mascara!

Finally, choosing what to wear is just one of the may tasks as Mother of Bride. Have a look at the Mother of the Groom section, by clicking on the right hand side 'Mother of the Groom' area. There is an article to suggest how to choose what to wear, it also lists a few websites to look at the lastest outfits.

This is a happy occasion, keep smiling and enjoy yourself!