Mothers of the bride or groom possess a natural tendency to forget about taking care of themselves. Being who they are, and devoting their lives to raising children, they do place themselves in the back seat often. All mothers everywhere unite and tell yourself that looking good, feeling beautiful, and getting admiring looks are very deserving and acceptable.

Buy a mother of the bride or groom dress that will make you feel great. Looking like you are walking on the red carpet on Oscar night is really okay. Go all out for the glitz and glamour. Go for colors that you have never worn before if there are no rigid color schemes.

Daughters, please give mom a break like she gave you (many) breaks all those years of raising and loving you, despite your faults and mishaps. Do not dictate what mom can or cannot wear. It is definitely your day but to disallow or mandate a certain type of dress or color, without taking in consideration your mother’s feelings, is not a good thing. You will only look back with regret. She is only trying to please you but really, mom deserves better than that. She needs to wear a color that will become and enhance her unique look and beauty, even if it deviates a little or a lot from your color scheme.

Mothers, it IS appropriate to look glamourous in a fantastic looking mother of the bride dress. This is also your special occasion and you have worked hard to make the wedding smooth flowing and a success. Do not laden yourself with guilt that you have to blend in and not outshine your daughter. Wear an awesome looking, yet comfortable dress, complement it with great jewelry and shoes and feel good about yourself, while performing the various tasks on the wedding day.

If you are a younger mother, I say go for the glam and gusto. If you feel like you want to look like a Hollywood movie star, by all means do so but dress in accordance with good taste and a dress choice which will fit and complement your body type and proportions. Off- the -shoulder styles can be very appropriate, if you use a shawl or a stole jacket. Spaghetti strap gowns are fine too if not cut too low or revealing.

Plus size mother of the bride can also go for dresses with chic and style. Wear a longer jacket, wider skirt if necessary but the secret is in the fabric and definitely color. If the mother of the bride gown has great details and trim, you will feel just wonderful. Those fancy embellishments detract and not enhance your body type. If you are plus size, do not focus on that but do focus on the fact that you can look great in a dress cut and altered for your proportions and unique look.

Happy shopping!

Coordinate with the bridesmaids and the mother of the groom. While you do not need to find a dress in the exact color of the bridesmaids’ dresses (unless that is what the bride wishes), it is a good idea to find something that will complement the color nicely for pictures and the overall look of the wedding. For example, if the bridesmaids’ dresses are bright green, you might want to look for a dress in a light shade of green. According to The Knot, it is also customary to speak with the mother of the groom to ensure that both mothers are not wearing clashing colors, or even the same color.

Avoid certain colors. As the mother of the bride, it is customary to not to wear white or anything too close to the color of the bride’s dress, as she is the one who is supposed to stand out. Avoid wearing black as it can sometimes suggest mourning (or disapproval of the marriage), especially if the wedding involves bright, light colors. Also, a daughter’s wedding is not really the time to experiment with bold, unusual colors that you would not normally wear and may appear tacky (e.g., bright red or orange). According to Elegala, the following are some basic colors to stick with: lavender, beige, silver, burgundy, blue and rose.

Be yourself. While it is important to coordinate colors properly with the wedding party, the bride and the groom’s mother, as the mother of the bride you should wear something about which you feel good. The color you wear should reflect who you are, and you should feel good about wearing it when you look back at the wedding pictures. If you do not feel comfortable wearing certain colors, the best thing to do is to stay neutral.