Can we all agree that Mother of the Bride (or Groom!) dresses have become a bit…predictable? Neutral color, perhaps some lace or ruching, sad sequins and my personal pet peeve: faux diamond detailing. As a wedding planner who is privy to many behind-the-scenes conversations surrounding Mom’s attire for the wedding, I find that there are generally three schools of thought: (1) I want my mom to look her best on my wedding day, (2) I want my mom to just blend in, or (3) I need to reign that woman in with her look. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, however, I think we should all agree that Mom should look happy, stylish and comfortable, while feeling amazing about herself on this most special of days.

Look, I get it. I will forever maintain the stance that a wedding is about the couple who are getting married, I will also say that weddings are almost always a milestone occasion for the parents of the couple as well. In fact, I daresay that most parents have dreamed of this day for their children. And no matter that you are all grown up, likely living on your own and making decisions for yourself on the daily, you will always be your parent’s child. And don’t you want that moment of pride when you see your dolled up Mom -the person who has likely cheered the loudest for everything you’ve ever done - walk down the aisle?

All too often, though, the dresses I see for Mom are, well, uninspired. A tad boring and more often than not, frumpy. And I’m here to tell you, ladies, that as we get into “mother of the bride” age range, frumpy falls low on the list of adjectives we want to use to describe ourselves. So today I’m proposing that we think outside the box. Update and refresh expectations for Mom’s dress for your wedding day. Let’s make our own rules. Because whoever said that MOB dresses need to be boring was wrong!

click through each image for source and shopping.