Happy Friday! It’s Friday Favorites: The Mother’s Day edition! We changed things up a touch today to make our Friday Favorites all about Mom! In case you forgot, Sunday is Mother’s Day (did you get your remember to get your mom(s) a card and/or gift? You still have time!) I will be celebrating with my two girls and my husband – they’ve got plans but won’t tell me what they are so I am looking forward to that!
Favorite Gown: If I am being honest, I must admit that I don’t care for the majority of the mother’s gowns out there. They just seem so heavy – too much beading, heavy lace, and long sleeves. Moms are celebrating the expansion of their families with a wedding – they are gaining a son or daughter – so they should look and FEEL gorgeous too!! I am a HUGE fan of Collection 20 from Watters – the gowns are elegant and well styled. They have taken the typical ‘worry’ areas for women into account such as arms, legs and hips. Plus it is Watters so they have a gajillion colors – I love this short gown (its available floor length too) with the lace overlay and ribbon sash. The dress is available in 10 colors, the sash in 28 colors and the lace in 3 colors – that makes it SO easy to coordinate (not match!) with the bridal party. Remember, mom’s gown does not have to make her feel matronly but it should make her feel beautiful!
Favorite Bouquet: Some moms simply don’t want to wear a traditional corsage – maybe don’t want to pin something on and ruin their dress or they really don’t like wrist corsages. Luckily, moms have a lot of options for flowers for the wedding – of course a pin on or wrist corsage, but purse corsages, hair flowers, and nosegays are options as well. I love when the bride surprises mom with a smaller version of the bouquet she carried at her own wedding – can you imagine the look on her face when she sees it? Just find some pictures and your florist should be able to help!
Favorite Gift: I think questions about what to get the parents is among my top three most often asked questions. Typically I see couples giving their parents an album of the pictures after the wedding – a hanky is also a pretty standard wedding day gift. I am also a fan of giving mom something special just for her that she can have after the wedding as well. Birthstone jewelry is always very popular and lots of moms have stacking birthstone rings or necklaces with their kid’s birthstones. A really sweet touch would be to give your new mother in law something with your birthstone on it to add to it – after all the saying goes the mom and dad aren’t losing a child, they’re gaining one, right? Love this pendant with a name, date, and birthstone from Red Envelope!
Favorite Incorporation: I love when brides want to find a way to incorporate their mother’s or grandmother’s gown or veil into their own wedding day ensemble. I haven’t had a bride wear their mom’s gown but I have had bride’s wear their mother’s veil. I have also seen pieces of gowns and veils turned into ring pillows, garters, chuppah toppers, and more. There is a great rundown on DIY Bride of different ways to incorporate your mom’s gown – just click here! My favorite is using a piece of fabric or lace from mom’s gown as a bouquet wrap – just make sure mom is okay with cutting up her gown first! Love the buttons on this one!
Favorite Tribute: For those brides and grooms whose moms are no longer with them, the wedding day can be a really tough one. We try to come up with ways to honor their memory and still make the bride or groom feel like mom is walking right alongside them. We’ve done handkerchiefs around the bouquet handle, wedding pictures of the parents on easels in the ceremony room, memorial flowers in a prominent place, etc. One of my very favorite ways to honor a mom who has passed on is to attach a locket with her picture in it to the bouquet – this can be done for the bride’s mom or the groom’s and is a lovely way to honor their memory on a day they would have loved.
Favorite Mom: My mom Kris, of course! Add my wonderful Grandmothers, mother in law Shelby and ALL the Moms I’ve been lucky enough to work with over the years (usually at least 2 a wedding!) and I have been extraordinarily blessed with amazing role models. I only hope I can to live up to those role models for my own girls. This picture was taken several years ago at Abby’s first birthday party by Grogan Studios.
I’ll be celebrating with my girls – they’ve apparently got plans for me but haven’t spilled the beans just yet. Ellie has let me know she already made me my card and hid it somewhere in her room. Oh, the mind of a 5 year old – let’s just say hidden is a relative term. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there – whether your kids are human-babies or fur-babies, I hope you are extra spoiled this weekend!!
