Mother of the Bride Dress - AGGH! Why such a pain?

My wedding isn't for another 11 months. My mom already knows which dress she will be getting. I picked out three and had her pick her fav. She hasn't purchased or tried on yet because she is currently loosing weight (I'm hoping when she does shell be happy).

Yes shes paying for her own dress. I will pay for alterations (she is super short). I hope when the time comes for actual trying on of the dress she is happy with it because I do not want to go through her not finding a dress she likes lol.

There is only two ways about it. Look online or instore. Macy's, Nordstrom....they all have online shopping to narrow the search down if you want to go try something on. Online you look up colors, styles that you have in mind and you narrow it down.

I looked at hundreds of wedding gowns online, went to stores and finally found what I wanted in a clothing boutique that specializes in evening wear in a small town. Some people walk right in the first store and they find it. It all depends on individual taste and needs.

Glad to know this is a common thing. My mom has been driving my crazy looking for her dress. She tried on one that loved but she didn't like. I'm at the point where I'd just like her hair combed and her in some type of clothing lol.

My mother doesn't like shopping so she made it as short and sweet as possible. I told her FMIL wanted to pick a dress soon, but wanted to make sure they didn't clash. The next day my mother went out and tried on dresses at several stores. She brought me back to look at one she was considering, but felt self-conscious in. My MOH and I noticed one that looked nice, she tried it on, loved it and bought it. Process started and finished in one day. I guess I lucked out!

My mom is my MOH and she is wearing the bridesmaid dress.

I went shopping with MIL and we didn't have any specific guidelines in place. We found a long rose colored gown with illusion sleeves.

I took Step mom shopping and she didnt have guidelines really. She picked out a knee lenth navy dress with a little lacy bolero.

Overall, all of this was very easy. We had no issues. I gave them no guidelines.

My FMIL said she will wear whatever I want her to wear - I am taking both my mom and FMIL shopping in November to try on dresses.

My mom has been searching endlessly online and in stores for something she likes. My mom will be 69 years old at my wedding, but she does not look over 50 and does not want to look matronly. She obviously is using MOB as part of her online search criteria, which is where the problems lie because everything she finds looks matronly!

My mom found many dresses she likes, but she is plus sized and what she likes doesn't necessary come in her size. The dresses she finds in her size don't come in many colors (black, blue, grey, neutral colors). She initially wanted a fuchsia colored dress, but when she said something during a visit with the florist she was advised she will "stick out" in that bright color with my color scheme. So, now she wants a different color that won't stick out. She bought a navy blue dress that she "kind of" likes, but isn't really happy about. The dress is pretty, but I don't like the navy blue color and I think she will just be lost in the photos (blending in rather than sticking out). I would love to see her in a color that compliments the wedding party.

Staci - I had this problem as a recently married girl myself and wanted to speak to other brides if they felt it was a problem for them too - I'm sorry you see it as a sales pitch - since i have absolutely nothing to sell.

@KB - you definitely lucked out ! we went to norsdroms, macys, dillards - even Davids Bridals , but she didn't like any - most were either too young or too matronly after about 8-10 attempts - she got it.

@Debra you still got many months to go! Hopefully she gets lucky and finds something in a different color - sometimes you luck out like @KB !

So funny, I didn't have too much trouble with this process BUT did have a few issues as the dress my mom originally wanted was online and (to me) seemed very close to the colour of my wedding dress which I felt weird about. She was upset because she loved it and I eventually said just to order it, not that big of a deal that it was worth an argument. But then, when we went to David's for bridesmaids dresses she ended up buying the same dress as your mom, but in gold!!

My only requests were a) not white or ivory and b) that it doesn't make her look old (as I find a lot of mob dresses seem stuck in the 90s and are not flattering)

My mom wanted to wear a color that would fit in with the wedding (ideally my secondary color of mocha since my BMs were wearing my main color or sage green). She also wanted something flattering and not too pricey. She 100% would not have picked something without me because she wanted me to love it. In fact, I swear she cared more if I liked it than it she did!

Also, the biggest problem we had was that most MOB dresses seem to be covered in lace and sequins/sparkles. That's not my moms taste and she also didn't like how in her mind the focus should be on the bride and that put too much focus on her if she was covered in glitter. We finally found one at Macys that she loves and managed to get an amazing deal on it because it was on sale and the lady had a coupon too.