Mother of the Groom Attire

I was pleased to find the perfect dress for my son's upcoming wedding on December 7.  I got it through Overstock.com for a very good price, it's a pretty color, and even though I've had spotty luck with fit when I've ordered clothing on-line in the past, it fits great.  It's a little on the loose side, but that's just the way I like my dresses.  I always prefer having a bit of breathing (and dancing!) room rather than wearing something that hugs my frame too closely.  So when choosing between two dress sizes that normally work for me, I opted for the larger one--and I'm glad I did.

On-line shopping sure made finding a suitable dress a lot easier for me.  After I checked out our local JC Penny's, Macy's, and TJ Maxx and didn't see anything close to what I was looking for (at close to the price I was willing to pay), I went on my computer one day and typed in "Mother of the Groom Dresses"--and this is one of the first ones I found.  I could tell by looking at it that I would love it, as long as it fit.  It came in bright red (um, no...that would scream "look at me!" a little too loudly, I fear) and this lovely, more subdued, shade of turquoise.

By the way, that gal who's modeling the dress is nowhere near old enough to have a son getting married.  Why don't they have real groom's mother-aged women model these sorts of dresses, anyway?  As good as I might feel in this dress, I know I'm not going to look anywhere near as lovely as this dewy-skinned, trim-and-toned young model.  But you know what my husband's answer was when I told him that?  "You'll look BETTER."  (That's the guy I married, a guy who puts his wife on a pedestal and treats her like gold.  I'm so glad my daughters-in-law--present and future--get to have husbands who had that kind of father as a role model.)

My only concern is that there are more sequins on the jacket and the bodice of the sleeveless dress underneath than I thought there were, judging by this picture, so when the light hits just right, I'm going to sparkle like a Christmas tree.  I was worried it might be a little MUCH, but when I told the bride-to-be this, she assured me that I was allowed to sparkle.  The mother of her dream man can wear whatever she wants to the wedding, as far as she's concerned.  She's a peach.

I'm going to wear closed-toe shoes instead of strappy numbers like the sandals on display here, because I like to wear stockings to camouflage my veiny shins and ankles.  And my heels will be less than two inches in height, because I just can't do spiky high heels anymore.  But even with relatively low heels, I had numb toes for about a month after our oldest son's wedding--a dancing injury.  (Totally worth it, though.)

My only other concern (besides the excess sparkling) was that I wanted to wear a string of pearls for this latest Pearl wedding, but I didn't want to have to take off the gold Miraculous Medal that I always wear around my neck.  With the scooped neckline on this dress, wearing both didn't look quite right.  Then I remembered that when I inherited relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Catherine Laboure from my maternal grandmother, in the same jewelry case with the tiny reliquaries was a pin--a pin that says "Mother" and has a small blue Miraculous Medal on it.  So I've decided to wear Grandma's pin for my son's wedding in lieu of my Miraculous Medal necklace.  It will keep the jacket closed during the Mass, and if I decide to remove the jacket at the reception, I can always pin it somewhere on the dress's bodice.

With that last (most important) accessory all figured out, this mother of the groom is ready for the big day.  I'm so incredibly happy and excited, I think I'd sparkle even without the sequins!

(P.S.: Don't forget about the giveaway.  If you'd like to enter to win a signed copy of Finding Grace, just leave me a comment on this post or this one.)