The OTHER Important Dress: MOB

There are three things you need to know before reading this post. 1. My mother is one of the most important people in my life, let alone my wedding. Her role on that day stretches far beyond "MOB." 2. 98% of the time, my mom has impeccable taste in fashion (in fact, we've shared clothes for as long as I can remember). 3. She is fully aware that this post is inspired by, dedicated to and all about her and the quest for her dress for our wedding.  

Tyler and I surprised my family for Christmas this year with a trip to Arizona to spend the holidays with them -- which of course included multiple shopping trips. Because that is what the Molumby women do (really, really well I might add). As my mom and I were perusing the winter sales rack at our favorite department store, I told her how excited I was to go shopping for her Mother of the Bride dress when she comes to Atlanta in February. I had been thinking about this for a while and was seriously so excited to get to do this with her.

So, imagine my shock and disappointment when she ever-so-casually responds with, "Oh, I already got that. In fact, I got two dresses because I'm not too sure which one I want to wear." When she looked up at me and saw the blank stare covering my face, she brushed it off by saying, "Don't be silly, Mol. You're going to love them."

Really, Mom??

In her defense, she did not know I was really looking forward to shopping for this together. So I thought to myself, "She is ridiculously cute and I do usually always love what she picks out, so I will just have to wait and see."

And see I did.

Luckily, I had the "back-up" of two of my best friends, Jules and Brit, when the dresses were unveiled. Being the good friends they are, they did not say anything, just looked at me to see/hear my response. Which was, "Mom, this is a joke right? I'm being punk'd?"

Dress #1:

Just because it says Simply Vera by Vera Wang, does NOT mean Vera Wang meant it for a wedding.

Her take on this dress, "Mollie, I can totally dress this up with colored heels." Uh, no, Mom. This little cotton number is better used as a cover-up on the beach, with a mojito in hand. (Side note: perhaps I could borrow it for the honeymoon?)

Dress #2:

In all honesty, this dress is pretty stinkin' cute. It's see-thru, but she has a black cami sleip-dress to wear under it. With a belt and some cute heels, it can definitely work for a wedding. BUT, she is the Mother of the Bride. It is a big deal and I want her to stand out above everyone. I mean, she is not just my mother, but the reason I am who I am today. (Another side note: Mom -- I would definitely like to take this on the honeymoon.)

My girlfriends and I explained how important this day is for her too and we convinced her to go back to the store (with me in tow, of course).

My mom's taste is funky, cute and a little bit hippie. I tried googling "mother of the bride dresses" and the search results were not at all her style.

Ehhhh -- these aren't really the style she/we are going for. Not even close. How do you make your mom feel like this is her special day too?

And the next question: where did you find your Mother of the Bride dress? What did you have your mother wear?

Excited to hear what y'all think.

And thank you, my sweet mother, for letting me blog about you. Just another reason I love you so.

 

 

 

You Can Wear It Again, I Swear {Bridesmaids Dresses}

I have not even started looking at bridesmaids dresses with my maids. That time will come soon enough. In the meantime I have been searching for inspiration. I don't have a image in my mind of what I want them to look like, as I did my own gown, however I have been drawn to images like these:

Photo Credit: H&M, JCrew StyleMePretty

Yellow Dresses Photo Credit: Stephanie Williams

Grey Dresses Photo Credit: Jill Thomas, Navy Dresses Photo Credit: BestArticles

One thing is for sure; I want my bridesmaids to look awesome! I have beautiful friends, and I want them (all 8 of them!) to feel confident and comfortable standing by my side on my big day. The one challenge I see in my future is finding affordable dresses for my girls. Any advice on where to shop?

If you haven't seen "27 Dresses" with Katherine Heigl, then rent it. They make a big joke about how brides always promise their maids that they'll love the dress she picked out and that they'll 'totally wear it again.' Well, most of the time this is a joke; most ladies never wear the dress again after dropping $150 or more. The only time I ever reused a bridesmaid dress was with the chocolate brown Vera Wang dress I wore at my dear friend, Katie's wedding. I removed the straps, had a rhinestone broach sewn on the front and rocked it again to a black tie wedding 2 years later, and I got TONS of compliments on it! Hahahaha.... if they only knew ;-)

Have you ever reused a bridesmaids dress? Please, do tell!