This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Huge thanks go to Sarah Simonds, founder of Artichoke, who has helped out lots of A&G readers with their style queries. In this article she gives us her tips on what to wear if you are about to become the mother of the bride or groom. And I’ve done a quick edit of some of the elegant outfits available online. After all, this is a really big day for you too…
Congratulations, you must be very excited about your child’s impending wedding. You are also probably wondering/slightly panicking what you are going to wear!
Wherever you live and whatever your budget or particular style, Sarah’s default suggestion is to find the nearest independent shop that caters for occasion wear. There are far fewer than there used to be, so you might have to trawl through Google to find one (if you type in “independent mother of the bride shops near me” a map will come up with those nearest to where you live). Facebook is another useful option as you will be able to get an idea of their style and see if it complements yours.
These shops are specialists in their field and a good one will be able to find a wonderful outfit for you. Two that Sarah recommends are Julie Fitzmaurice in Harrogate and Dreams Bridal in Norwich. If any A&G readers know of any others, perhaps they can be kind and leave details in the Comments section below.
TEMPERLEY 
BOMBSHELL 
PHASE EIGHT 
HOBBS 
GINA BACCONI AT JOHN LEWIS 
HOBBS
If the whole Mother of the Bride outfit thing fills you with abject horror and you would like something a little more relaxed, some good brands to look at (and depending on your budget) are Temperley, Bombshell, Hobbs, John Lewis and Phase Eight.
Another brand that springs to mind immediately is Shibumi – super stylish silk dresses and coats – have a look at their website here
Google can also be useful at giving you inspiration – if you type in ‘mother of the bride outfits’ and then click on Images, a whole host of outfits appear. Then consider having an outfit made – ask your friends if they have a recommendation for a good seamstress. A first port of call once you have found a good dressmaker would be Vogue’s Vintage patterns, of which there seem to be a good selection at John Lewis.
As buying an outfit for one day is expensive, rental is an option. There is an article in Elle magazine that gives some options. Two hire companies you might find useful are the Hurr Collective and ByRotation.
Finally chat to friends about where they have sourced their outfits. The most important thing is to find someone that understands what you want on the day and can help you achieve it. Sarah recommends spending time finding that shop/person/brand rather than worrying too much at this point about particular styles.