Much thought has been given to the bride's and bridesmaids' gowns and dresses during the wedding planning, which can cause the selection of dresses for mother of the bride to be, well, an afterthought. Horror of horrors, this ought not to be!Why? Well, because the mother of the bride will also be in the pictures and the videos and you can't allow her to look dowdy, disastrous and disgusting, that's why. With that being said, here are horrors to avoid in mother of the bride dresses.Sure, you don't like your mother to look matronly but you don't want her to look like she could spill her oxygen-deprived internal organs all over the church at any moment either. Don't forget, too, that many ripping accidents have happened at weddings, which you definitely will not want to happen to your mother.

Remember the Dresses For Mother Of The Bride that competed for the title of the world's airiest dress? Yes, stay away from the light, er, from them! Not only do they threaten to expose delicate body parts that must be hidden from view in a solemn wedding ceremony but it simply will not do for guests to speculate on what body parts will indeed make a run for it. It's your wedding day, not your mother's humiliation day.Sure, rigid corsets can shape the body of a mature woman with extra poundage. However, you need to remember that your mother needs to breathe, needs to move, and needs to eat at your wedding. Besides, it's the 21st century, not the 16th century with its fondness for stiff corsets! Instead, look for dresses for mother of the bride that will flatter the figure but provide comfort for hours on end.Nowadays, the design emphasis is on simple elegance. As such, your initial selection needs to adhere to this fashion dictum. Avoid unnecessarily rich details like ribbons and bows, heavy embroidery and glittering sequins, appliqués and cutouts. If you don't want to inflict such pain on your bridesmaids, why would you inflict it on your mother?Admittedly, having an avant-garde mother has its merits. But unless your wedding veers towards unorthodox themes, it's best to stick to fashionable-for-her-age designs that are classic, stylish and elegant. Besides, she might want to use the mother of bride dresses in other occasions, with some alterations, so it's good advice to stick to the mainstream designs.On the other side of the fence are retro-inspired mother of the bride dresses. Again, unless you have a retro wedding, try to find something that will complement the general theme of the wedding, which nowadays often means contemporary. If you really want to inject retro, well, at least try to keep it to a minimum.There must be enough cloth on this Earth to cover up body areas like the thighs and legs, chest and arms, back and buttocks of the women in your wedding entourage. So, why is it that your mother must sashay down the aisle in a dress that screams "Cloth Scarcity"? No reason at all!The message is basically try not to embarrass your mother and yourself, stick to the wedding theme, and be mindful of the sensibilities of your wedding guests.