Author: Rebecca Furbank

Everyone’s experience when looking for Mother of the Bride or Groom outfit is different, some people walk in with an idea in their heads and walk out with that exact thing. Others are completely open minded and will try anything.

One thing we try to do when we can is give you a breather to think. I had a Mother of the Bride come in and she ended up falling in love with 2 different dresses and she couldn’t pick. I told her to go and have a think and not to rush the decision, she went next door to the George for a coffee with her friend and thought through her decision. She knew I had both dresses behind the till and they weren’t going anywhere. She was able to speak to both her daughters and make the right decision.

The smile on her face when she returned was amazing because she knew she was making the right decision. So please do not ever feel like you cannot tell us what you are thinking or feeling. It is ok to say to us I just need to think and we will do all we can help you so you can choose the perfect outfit.

When it comes to a Mother of the Bride or Groom outfit the right fabric has a lot to do with the desired look. Fabrics are not as structured as before, there is a lot more chiffon around to give that popular and desired floaty look.

So when you come to try different outfits on make sure you try a range of fabrics so you know how they fit and feel on you.

If a bold colour isn’t for you why not try a pattern. It doesn’t have to be a big or bold pattern like our feature image but a pattern can just break up a dress.

I love a patterned dress with different colours because when it comes to accessorizing you can have so much fun. So for example if your dress has a flower pattern and the flowers are a mixture of blues, greens, turquoise, navy etc you can pick any of those colours for shoes, bag and hat and they would all work. Plus with a patterned dress if you spill something down you it is easier to hide.

Long gone are the days when the Mother of the Bride or Groom would only wear a dress and jacket in a pastel colour. When it comes to a wedding in 2023 anything goes.

This season we have seen some beautiful bold colours, from pinks, greens and blues etc and they are here to stay. So don’t be afraid to have a play when it comes to colour. Remember you are an important role and your outfit should show that.

So when it comes to anything I need to do I am always doing a checklist, I can make a list of things I need to do or things I cant forget and once they are done I can tick them off. So why not do it for a wedding?

Your son or daughter has just got engaged, emotions are everywhere and there is so much to process. Why not go out and buy yourself a notebook so you can write everything down as and when it comes to you. For example –

1. Shopping for an outfit
2.  Hair trial
3. Make up trial
4. Booking any pets into kennels
5. Outings with the bride etc

Then once they are done you can tick them off or expand on it and it can really help you feel like you are in control and on top of it all.

One thing I am sure all of us here at Anne Furbank think is how important the right underwear is. If your boobs are not in the right place the dress is not going to fit properly. And lets be honest we all have a pair of Bridget Jones’s big knickers in our draw that we bring out for special occasions.

We are very lucky here at Anne Furbank because we have Elouise, a wonderful lingerie shop just over the road from us. It is where we recommend a lot of our Mother’s Of The Bride or Groom to go.

Underwear in a way is like the foundations when building a house. The foundations have to be perfect or the house wont be. We want you to look and feel your best when it comes to the wedding day and the right underwear will definitely help with that.

It really does feel like summer has arrived and one of the biggest summer trends this year has been florals. Whether it is casual wear or occasion wear you will defiantly see lots of flower prints and patterns.

Now I personally love a multicoloured flower print such as our feature image because when it comes to hats and accessories you can pick any colour and it will go. For example you could pick out the orange, yellow, gold, burgundy, lilac or pale pink colour for a hat and it wouldn’t look out of place.

Plus if you get something down it on a patterned dress it is less likely to show.

Also when it comes to weddings flowers are such an important part so why not tie in with that theme, especially if the wedding is set somewhere with a beautiful garden.

Lastly Jane, formally known as Goat, this is a truly British brand. Founder and Creative Director Jane Lewis wanted to create a brand for real women. She is a mum of 3, running a business always multitasking so she wanted a wardrobe to reflect that. You may be busy but you still want to look and feel your best yet still be practical. Her clothes really are timeless investment pieces.

Jane does have some celebrity clients, the most recent was Zara Tindall at the Easter Service wearing her Payton dress in a beautiful pink colour.

Veromia is another U.K based company. These are gorgeous dresses designed to take you to any occassion, from garden party to wedding, from christening to holiday there is something for everyone and at a good price point too.

Olvi is a brand not like any other, you know when you have seen or are in one, they are very distinctive.

Olvi is an international luxury women’s fashion and bridal brand who specialize in unique clothes made with lace. Their dresses are handmade and beautifully crafted.

You can even have your dresses made so you know no one else will be in the same outfit as you. You can choose the style of dress, colour of the lace etc. However there can be a wait between 12-16weeks. But these are dresses that you can wear again and again and will always look and feel good in. The fact they are lace they just sculpt your body shape beautifully.