Mother of the Bride - Laying down the role

Traditionally the mother of the bride is responsible for planning the entire wedding. Many moms still see this as their role and it can cause a lot of tension for all parities involved even though she means well and just wants to be of as much help as possible.

Nowadays, weddings are far more collaborative, the bridal couple often pay for the wedding themselves and the groom’s parents also get involved in the organising. Instead of getting caught up in all the nitty gritty details or politics, embrace all the extra help and use the spare time to strengthen your relationship with your daughter. If you are too stressed out and worried about what everybody else is doing you could miss out on the experiences that are unique to mother-daughter relationships at this magical time.

There are some aspects of the planning that you can keep for just the two of you, as long as you don’t create an exclusive mother daughter club and keep others at bay. Find out what other people’s interests and skills are and ask if they would like to be responsible for those things. For example, if the mother of the groom is great at flower arranging then let her be in charge of that but make sure that you and your daughter communicate your likes and dislikes, but remember to give your input without taking over the process.

Wedding dress shopping can be a wonderful mother-daughter bonding experience. It’s not easy for a bride to pick a gown, especially when there are so many options, each one making her feel like a princess. She will value your constructive and uncritical feedback, after all, you’ve seen all of her fashion phases and you will be able to guide her in choosing a gown that compliments her unique personality.

Your wisdom and experience will be of great importance to your daughter as she goes through various emotions during the time leading up to the main event. If you create a positive and supportive atmosphere she will feel comfortable sharing her innermost feelings and thoughts about this special time in her life with you. This is far more meaningful than whether she has asked you to source the invitations or the flowers, this is an experience you can never recapture or repeat so just enjoy every second of it.

Mother of the Bride - Laying down the role | Wedding Articles