What did your mum wear for her wedding?

I tried my mom’s dress on. I know she would have loved for me to wear it, but it just wasn’t my style (and it was extremely tight, as she weighed about 20lbs less than me when she got married in 1983). I did, however, love some elements of the dress - high neckline, illusion, buttons down the back - and the dress I bought has all those elements! Here’s the magazine ad featuring my mom’s dress:

I am planning on wearing her veil (not pictured in the ad), as my something borrowed though!

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Awww, that's super sweet! And it's a pretty dress, and how cute she kept the ad! I will say, I wish I could have something my mum wore (whether it was jewellery or something!) so I LOVE that you have her veil and I'm very jelly of that!

That said, I do have my great great grandmother's wedding ring, so even though my mum didn't wear it on her wedding day, I do still have something sentimental and meaningful from weddings in our family to take with me on the day!

My mom's dress was very simple and pretty from 1974. I have no idea what she did with it though. If I had access to it, I'd love to wear it for my bridal shower or another event. I don't think I'd want to wear for my wedding because I have my own style. But I will have to ask her about it.

I believe my mom had two dresses, though I don't actually know the full story behind them! The original one didn't work out, so she had to buy a new one. She had the original one made into a christening gown. I didn't consider wearing the dress she wore to her wedding (not sure if it would even have been an option), but I think it's a sweet idea!

My parents got divorced, so even if she still had her dress, I would not want that bad vibe hanging over me. My MIL plans on having hers made into ties for her two sons and a robe for her daughter so each of them has a piece of the dress for their respective weddings someday. So my fiance will be the first to wear his.

My mom had a high-necked lace monstrosity from 1972 (and no good dress pictures, because the film was compromised). Even if I had wanted to wear it I couldn't have though. I think she weighed about 90 lbs (she was 18) and I was definitely NOT lol. She did give me her veil though (I had to have it put on a comb because it was on a huge headband) so that was my "something old" since we got married 45 years after my parents did.

This is my mom's dress from 1992. I honestly don't know if she still has it somewhere or what happened to it, but I wouldn't have wanted to wear it if she did have it. It's just not my style at all, but it probably would've been good luck considering they'll be married 30 years this year and are the only people on both sides of my family for like 3 generations who have never been divorced.

When I began looking for my own dress she told me that she didn't actually want this dress at all. She had fallen in love with a clearance mermaid style dress and was set to buy it, but my grandma hated it and offered to pay for her dress as long as it wasn't that shape. Because of this, I've been trying to find my mom a trumpet or mermaid style MOB dress because she's still got a rocking figure to wear one and she could finally get her dream dress type.

My mom kept hers. its a very quintessential late 80s early 90s dress. big poofy sleeves, drop waist, big skirt and big hair to match. Its so out of style and theres no chance id fit into it anyway so I'd never think to wear it or ask her to tear it apart for me. Ill probably end up donating mine, i dont generally have sentimental attachments to items, especially clothing.

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Aww, that would be a very sweet and sentimental thing to do!

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Aww, that's nice she used one of them as a christening gown! I never had the option to borrow, but I think it's totally fair not to consider it - it's definitely a time when getting to choose the very perfect thing for you is 100% your right!

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Aww, that's a lovely idea of your MIL!

And I hear you on the vibes. I know it shouldn't matter, but it would to me, too.

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Awww, that's such a nice way to incorporate something! The veil is truly dramatic and beautiful - good choice!

Haha, I think it's very unfortunate, isn't it, that the 80s and 90s were SO over the top in bridal. I mean, my dress is VERY simple and stripped back, which I know isn't everyone's style either, but by the same token, it's like... there aren't really any details to hate because it's so plain. Meanwhile the 80s especially were SO intense. Like, just a LOT. Perhaps more people would wear their parent's gowns if they were a bit... less.

And lol, same deal with my mum and size - 21 and probably 100 pounds soaking wet.

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Oh my. I know what you mean. She looks BEAUTIFUL, but also... very 90s, haha. That's so sweet you're getting her a mermaid MOB dress! That's what I mean - everyone deserves their perfect dress, that they always dreamed of!

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That's fair. I definitely do feel sentimental about clothing but so much more convenient to not - my dress is huge and I have no idea where we'll keep it after we get married, and even if we have kids chances are they'll feel exactly the same as you, so what's the point of keeping it, type thing!

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I agree that perhaps more people would go for a dress that was a lot . . . less . . . than the 80s and 90s. I, too, went for super simple - literally the only embellishment was pleats.

FWIW - I had my dressed preserved and it was sent in a box - I don't know how it's folded to get it all in there, but although it's tall, it's only about 8 inches by a foot and a half (give or take)

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I mean maybe as the people getting married have parents that married in the later 90s we'll see more people wearing their mum's dresses - the later 90s were very sleek and pretty much 100% in fashion now! Like, Carolyn Bessette's 96 dress - totally in fashion now! (at any time, let's be real!) Although maybe ditch those weird sheer gloves, lol!

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I don't have a photo readily available, but their bridal party was in rainbow colors. So they had 6 on each side and each "couple" was wearing a different color and each bridesmaid had a different color bouquet. It's hard to tell in the photo, but my mom's bouquet had all of the colors plus white. The photos they have are quite interesting to look at haha. But, my mom still looks at her photos and LOVES the way her wedding looked and turned out, so that's all that matters in the end.

Love this thread and all the old wedding photos! I don't have a photo to share, but my mom did keep her dress and it has a lot of elements that I wanted in my own dress, particularly full-length lace sleeves. It's from the 80s but doesn't look overly dated. However, I am *a lot* taller than my mom so no chance of wearing it. Her floor-length dress would look tea-length on me. 😅

View Quoted Comment Oh wow that sounds really fun! And I love that she chose exactly what she wanted and still loves it today! That’s really sweet.