My mum wants to wear something nice to my wedding; everything she picks is wrong

Jess was excited to see her mum's potential mother-of-the-bride dress options for her big day, but was left feeling disappointed. 

It’s one of the biggest questions that brides face on their big day: is it OK for someone other than the bride to wear white to the wedding?

It won't be long until Jess* and Cameron* tie the knot; their day is rapidly approaching, and Jess’ mum, Sophia*, is getting herself ready for the big day. 

For weeks, she’s been hunting high and low for the perfect dress to wear for her role as the mother of the bride. 

However, the dresses she sends to Jess for approval keep getting knocked back, and it seems she isn’t getting the message. 

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Jess was a little disappointed in the dresses her mother chose. Picture: Reddit

“Why is my mum sending these as potential mother-of-bride dresses?”

Taking to Reddit, Jess shared some of the dresses her mum sent for approval, venting her frustrations with each of the available choices. 

“Why is my mum sending these as potential mother-of-bride dresses?” she asked. 

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Attached to the post were 10 gowns, all beautiful, encrusted and delicate in design. 

The floor-length gowns weren’t too revealing, had stunning floral embellishments and made for the perfect mother-of-the-bride dresses. 

But there was a huge issue: they were also practically all-white. 

(In other words, a major wedding fashion faux pas.)

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Jess saw the issue straight away.

“Are these way too light in colour or is it just me?” the bride-to-be asked.

While she thought the dresses were beautiful designs, Jess continued knocking the options her mum sent back, arguing that they were a little too light for the occasion. 

“Some of these are better than others,” she confessed. “I don't mind the ones that are obviously gold.”

However, Jess took issue with the lighter options, “making comments” to her mum to subtly explain that the others she picked were “a little too light.” 

On other occasions, she has tried convincing her mum to choose a different dress, as some look “like it will photograph white.”

Here’s the issue, Jess’ mum isn’t getting the message; she keeps sending other dresses with the exact same colour palette, not considering what Jess was saying. 

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Are these too pale for a mother of the bride? Picture: Reddit

“Eh, these all look fine to me”

Unsure of where to turn, she took to the public to ask if she was being unreasonable by expecting her mother to wear something other than cream, beige or blush. 

To her surprise, many of the Reddit community disagreed with her complaint, and instead explained that traditionally, the mother of the bride was expected to wear beige, white or cream. 

“It used to be traditional for the MoB to wear pale neutrals and off-white,” read a comment. 

In fact, some of the most popular colours amongst mothers of the bride include navy, and royal blue, followed by blush or nude shades. 

As such, many think Jess needs to brush it off, and think of it as no “big deal”, especially if there’s no ill intent behind her wearing it.  

“Unless you have a reason to think your mum is intentionally trying to spite you, just gently tell her you’d prefer she picks a darker colour,” someone said. “This really isn’t a big deal.”

“I think it's pretty clear that most of these dresses were specifically designed for a ‘mother of the bride’ occasion,” another agreed. 

“Eh, these all look fine to me,” wrote a third. 

Clothes saw this a s a “teaching moment” to “all brides” for their future wedding plans. 

“It WAS traditional in many circles, generations, countries, for these off-white colours to be worn by the older women of position--MOB and MOG,” a person said. 

“They are not necessarily being rude or trying to show up the bride. Bridal sites show these as legitimate options for these roles making it stressful for them too.”

*Names have been changed

Originally published as My mum wants to wear something nice to my wedding; everything she picks is wrong