Geez, Louise. I just did this except I'm the grandmother of the bride. Nordstroms has a lot on their web site. Some are reasonable and some are ridiculous. We went to Northpark in Dallas (my poor youngest daughter) I found a skirt at Nordstroms for the rehearsal dinner, but I found what I was looking for at Dillards. We have a Dillards, but it's not as big as that one. They had plus sizes. Good luck. I've been the MOB twice and MOG twice and it's an ordeal. It's so frustrating I get to the point I dont even care what it costs, but I thought what I got at Dillards was reasonable. Not so at Nordstroms, but it was just perfect. Good luck. Nobody hates shopping more than I do. I told my daughter I had been dreading this shopping trip, and she said she had, too. LOL Glad when it was over. Now, just stuff for the showers and luncheons--that won't be as hard. Super good luck!!!

I was mother of the groom three years ago (you can search this board and find a picture of my dress, but truthfully that won't be any help -- ) and now am mother of the bride. And I am built very similarly to you - an inch shorter, even. I can give you this advice: SHOP IN A STORE, not on line. Unless you are very easy to fit -- i.e., tall and thin, which let's face it we aren't! -- it's very hard to find a flattering dress, especially a long gown. Even when they look good on us, they don't look at all like they do on the pictures of the 5'10" size 4 models; it's like a different dress. Even my future son-in-law's young, gorgeous sisters didn't like the first set of dresses they ordered on line that looked so perfect in the pictures once they actually got them, so they are starting over. If you really don't live in or aren't visiting a city where you can try on, then I guess you have no choice but to order a bunch of returnable dresses on line and hope that one looks good and send back the rest. But I would still start by visiting local stores just to see which cuts look good on you. I had zero luck at bridal shops. The clerks told me that it wasn't my imagination: the mother-of-the dresses are mostly designed for tall women. Of course they will make yours in your size, but all the details are out of proportion. I also think that the styles are usually kinda unoriginal and matronly compared to the dresses you can find in shops or department stores. (For both weddings, all the grandmothers, all in their 80s, found their dresses in bridal shops.) They just don't look like anything you'd buy another time, let alone that you'd see on the red carpet. Plus, they take forever to come in, they aren't cheap, and they aren't returnable if they don't look like you had hoped. So unless the bride insists on a matching fabric or something (which she shouldn't, but if she does, humor her!), I'd skip the bridal shops. You can look at lots of pictures of other moms, but it's not really going to help. You need to find what looks good on YOU. If you live near a store with a free personal shopper service, USE IT. You don't even have to buy anything. I found my dresses out of town but used the Nordstrom free personal shopper for help finding accessories and undergarments. What a huge help that was, and believe it or not it ended up SAVING me some money and definitely a lot of time. And it was fun! So, tell us: what kind of dress do you need? Day, night, long, short, dressy, not so dressy? What time of day and time of year is the wedding? What is the venue? Do you think you will have future occasions to wear this dress again? Do you have any particular jewelry or accessories that make you feel wonderful and/or have sentimental meaning that you'd like to wear for the wedding that could give you a starting point? What is your all-time favorite dress you've ever had? Do you know what the bride's mother is wearing? Try to match that in terms of formality and probably length. Does the bride want you in a specific color scheme? If not, great -- choose what looks best on you when you try on, although I suppose avoid things that will clash like mad in the photos (it's NOT the time for black, green, and orange day-glo polka dots!). Keep an open mind when you shop. I was glad I tried on styles and colors I didn't think would look good on me; I got some surprises in both directions. Happy hunting, and congratulations on your son's marriage.

Since your family is from a different culture, I suspect you will be given wide lattitute and not be expected to behave as if you were Japanese. I would suggest reading up on Japanese customs and wedding traditions so you know what they are -- but not necessarily trying to follow all of them. Ask your DIL-to-be and her mother for advice, and defer to as much of it as you comfortably can, diplomatically explaining your reasons for those customs you can not embrace. For example, the offer to rent kimono is generous and kind, but there are many traditions that go along with wearing kimono, and you may inadvertently do something offensive or foolish that would not stand out or offend if you were dressed in Western dress. Obscure (to Americans) things like wrapping right over left or the proper number of layers of undergarments. Also, you both would probably need to be 'professionally dressed' for the event, which may be uncomfortable for you. Giving money as a wedding gift is a widespread tradition among Asian (and many other) cultures, and one you should probably not try to erradicate. You don't need to participate, as presumably, your cultural traditions will be given similar respect. You might also ask to include a select few American traditions -- perhaps throwing rice, stomping a wine glass or tossing a bouquet? Maybe mention the possibility to the bride, explain the reasons for the tradition -- but be prepared to acquiesse graciously if they're not particularly important to you. As for your expected financial contribution, if you can't find the information online, perhaps the Japanese Studies department at a university could help you. Or a library? Or a friend of Japanese descent? Or ask your son to ask the bride to be. Some direct questions can be embarassing, but surely far less so than doing the wrong thing. Your FDIL will want you to make a good impression on her parents, and should be willing to be "uncomfortably frank" to make this happen. Gift-giving is a very important ritual in Japan, and the gifts to and from the wedding couple would be, I imagine, rather MORE important than most other types of gifts. If there's one area where I'd be especially reluctant to break with Japanese tradition, this would probably be it. Get the 'low down' from your FDIL and her parents and explain to the American guests how it works so they will know what to expect and also not feel/appear foolish and ill-bred.

It is YOUR garden and YOUR tree so you can do what you like with it. It is maybe not the best selection for that location but it is well established, appears quite healthy and has significant value. Personally, I would try to work with it as the removal of it and the other plants you noted would leave a rather bare front yard that would need substantial time to fill in and look decent. I am often called in to consult with homeowners who have inherited an existing garden they are unsure about and I tend to encourage them to leave existing plants in place provided they are 1) healthy and disease- and insect-free or not otherwise problematic (invasive, drop copious litter, etc.); 2) not obstructing walkways or driveways; or 3) not overly crowding their neighbors and not readily prunable. It doesn't necessarily make for a "perfect" garden design but typically offers a workable program that maintains an established landscape to the best of our/thier ability and reduces the effort, time and significant cost of establishing a new one. But it is always your choice :-) From the street view, the garden looks good - not great but good - and good beginning from which to just do some tweaking of the smaller plants and groundcovers. I personally would be inclined to leave the larger trees and shrubs in place...........and maybe hire a skilled ISA pruner to do some modifications to provide more definition and training/guiding of the growth of the larger choices.