Recently in Weddings Category

Q. I have many questions as the mother of the bride. October 20th wedding in New England - 3:00 pm - bridesmaids will wear cocktail length sage green dresses with chocolate sashes. Groomsmen will be in navy blazers and khaki colored dress slacks, white shirts with green Vineyard Vines ties. My daughter will be in a beautiful non-embellished ivory satin gown. Reception will be at a lodge-like venue. Not black tie but certainly not informal. I’ve posted the dress that I have ordered through Talbots. It also comes in midnight blue (which I’ve also purchased). I won’t decide between the 2 colors until I see what mink brown actually looks like. First, do you think the dress is dressy enough - the fabric is silk dupioni - the fit is great for me and I do not want to wear full-length. If so, what would you suggest for the color of the shoes and clutch for the brown dress? For the midnight blue dress? And what would you suggest for jewelry for that neckline? Wrap or should I have a jacket made while in the church?

-Color Quandry

A. As mother of the bride, you are clearly making good choices for your dress even with your multiple questions. It’s smart to have purchased both dress colors so you can try them on and determine which color is most flattering. For the brown, consider a bronze or coppery gold heel. And for the midnight navy you can probably get away with black, but a muted grey silver, gold heel or deep blue would give it more sass. As for coverage at the church, I’d suggest taking your final dress choice with you to department stores to see if you can find a jacket that works, but otherwise a lightweight wrap will surely work since it’s not a black tie affair. We love the lightweight ones from Love Quotes.

For jewelry, keep the pieces light, not chunky. For a necklace wear something pendant-like for the v-neck of the dress and choose earrings that are slightly larger with a possible drop effect. And consider thin bangle bracelets on one wrist. If you’re concerned about skipping hose to wear a peep toe, then I’d suggest indulging in a spray tan on your legs a day or two prior to the event. I’ve picked out several suggestions for shoes and jewelry as a guide.

Stick with golds, bronze and copper for the brown dress and silver and pewter hues for the navy dress:

1. BCBGirls Lyma, $92.95 at zappos.com (also available in pewter)
2. Nine West Haelli, $82.95 at zappos.com (also available in silver)
3. Report Dione, $178.95 at zappos.com

4. Anna Beck Floating Circle Necklace, $238 at nordstrom.com
5. Julie Sandlau Smokey Quartz and Cubic Zirconia Drop Necklace, $127.99 at blueluxe.com
6. Julie Sandlau Clear Cubic Zirconia and Champagne Zirconia Flower Drop Earrings, $198 at blueluxe.com

Q. My daughter is the maid of honor in a wedding in January. The bride has picked out a beautiful apple red formal dress with a diamond-like broach and has chosen to accessorize with ivory shoes. My daughter and I think that the ivory would stand out too much against the red dress. What color shoe would you suggest?
-Ivory & Faux Ice

A. I would have suggested a pale or muted gold heel for sass or a neutral hue of deep cream or light tan for a sophisticated look. If you intend to approach the bride with a new color suggestion, do it delicately.

Q. I am the stepmother of the bride. We have a wonderful relationship although her mother does not care for me. Her mother will not pick a color for her gown. The groom’s mother is going with a darker blue than the bridesmaids. The Bride’s bouquet is hot pink, orange, and a blue ribbon – tropical theme. It is a 2:00 church wedding. What color do I get and should it be tea length or long. The bride has stated that she does not care either way or what color I wear. 
-Mrs. Step

A. I’ve said this to many mothers of the bride, mothers of the groom and plenty of others: do not get caught up in matching or accenting your dress color to that of the wedding. Find a great dress in a color that enhances your skin tone and flatters your shape. And most importantly, keep a wonderful smile on your face all day and enjoy the occasion. Don’t let the ex wife make you feel uncomfortable, but do realize that she gets first dibs on photo ops and she has the right to sashay her daughter around to family and friends. This is the bride’s chance to shine as well as the mother’s to beam with happiness.

Q. I am getting married in North Carolina in early October of this year. I am having a formal wedding and I wanted to know what ideas you can share with me for the informal rehearsal dinner the night before?
-Informal for Formal

A. Instead of having the typical dinner at a restaurant, which seems the norm these days, why not go for the fun factor and have a “clambake” in someone’s backyard? You can usually order the clambake “buckets” at gourmet food shops. Grill up corn on the grill and offer beer and wine chilled on ice in big buckets. Fill a backyard with oversized beach blankets, we love the ones at landsend.com and pile pillows for comfort. Put together a play list of music on your iPod of beach music from old Beach Boys and the Go-Gos to newer tunes. Perhaps even set up a volleyball net and croquet.

Or, skip dinner and have your rehearsal guests join you for afternoon tea. While they serve little sandwiches, no one ever seems to go hungry with the sandwiches, cakes, sweets and more that they pile on those multiple tiered serving dishes. And you can choose hot teas or iced tea.

For another casual, fun party, you could create your own mini Olympics by creating teams, having each guest wear a colored sash for their team and come up with games including baton races, sack races, hula hoop timing, count basketball shots in a minute and have chocolate medallions as prizes to signify gold, silver and bronze.

As a party favor you could offer a retro candy table, check out candycrate.com, and guests can fill up Chinese takeout containers that can be found at party stores with their favorite sweets.

Or, have a wine and cheese tasting party. Contact a good local wine shop or speak to a sommelier at one of your favorite restaurants to set up wine and cheese pairings. You can set up the get together at a happy hour time rather than the usual dinner hours. Have the wine merchant or sommelier guide people through the tastings and have all the accoutrements available like good baguettes, nuts, dried fruits and fruit pastes to work with the cheese.

Q. I’m getting married in October and my bridesmaids dresses are chocolate brown. My dress is an ivory color with Swarovski crystals that are clear and silver. I will be wearing silver jewelry and other items in the wedding are also silver. I have picked out necklaces for my bridesmaids that are copper/gold and the chain is gold. Will the gold clash with the silver that I will be wearing? If so, what color necklace would you suggest?
-Chain Reaction

A. Just because you are wearing silver jewelry and there is silver in your color scheme does not mean that everything has to be matchy-matchy. You don’t want your wedding to look like a group of girl clones that match the silver and candlesticks. I generally am not a fan of having the bridesmaids wear the same exact thing from head to toe-dresses, sure, but it’s nice to have a little change when it comes to the heels or jewelry. Stick with your original choice of the gold for the girls—the color will keep the dress warm in tone.