Traditional roles are changing and as mother of the groom you may find you play a considerable part in organising the wedding both before and during the celebrations. Coming out of the big day background means today’s mothers of the groom are expected to do a good deal more than just turn up and wear beige…
Mix and match
To make your outfit a success, it’s important to work with the mother of the bride, who in turn will be conferring with the bride herself. The bride will set the tone with her dress and everyone else in the wedding party will be working together to create a coordinated look which will work well in photos and complement the overall wedding theme or colour scheme. You’ll also want to confer with the mother of the bride about whether or not you wear hats, and you can both match your corsage to the bride’s bouquet if you choose to do so.
Traditional choices
Although mothers of the groom and mothers of the bride are no longer expected to match their dress lengths to the bride and bridesmaids, most choose to match with each other ‐‐ both wearing short for example. This is quite understandable, as it would look odd if one of you wore an evening gown while the other opted for a short number.
It’s also an unbreakable tradition that no one but the bride wears white or cream to a wedding. Sticklers for etiquette would assert that off‐whites and pastels that are whiter than what the bride is wearing are a no‐no too, so it’s really essential to at least know what shade the bride is wearing.
Colour coordination
This is where conferring with the mother of the bride is really important. Although it’s nice if wedding groups look colourful, you don’t want to turn up in the same colour, clashing colours ‐‐ or worse still, the same outfit! Instead, aim to coordinate your colours to flatter each other and the rest of the wedding party.
Going shopping
Discussing and choosing outfits is a great opportunity for the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride to get to know each other. If you live near enough you can meet up and talk about what you’re going to wear over a few G&Ts. You could even go shopping together ‐‐ you don’t actually have to buy your outfits, it’s just a chance to get to know your future in‐law and hopefully the beginning of a beautiful friendship…
