Looks more like she is dressed for a funeral. In her case, she may have made an effort to not steal the show from the bride. love her big smile, but why is she carrying flowers?

i like that animal print shoe someone else is wearing.

@dedtired I'm guessing those were given to her. Many times the bride will give both mother's a flower as they go down the aisle. I've not seen a bouquet though.

I can't tell if she is wearing pants or a dress.

I can't believe that little guy is married. We went to see Reba many times years ago. I remember when she was pregnant. Time flies!

@Tina Marie - it's a dress. You can see it better in this video where she is dancing with him. I've included a snapshot of the video as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv0VXPbI7wk&ab_channel=CountryCast

Thanks @lyfia! She is still slim and trim. Happy time for her family : )

I recently found out that our grandson and his fiance are planning a black and white wedding next February. Funny thing is his parents (our son and DIL’s) wedding was also B&W and yes, I wore a long black dress as did the MoB. I’m not sure this G’mother is going to do it again though. Still shopping.

Reba looks wonderful. An amazing wedding that obviously took some planning to rent Disney for the night.

Reba could wear a burlap sack cinched at the waist with a lamp cord and still look a-maaaaaa-zing! 😁

I see four other women wearing what appear to be long black dresses, including the one sitting one seat over from the mother of the groom. So perhaps it's a theme. And I was worried about the 3/4 length black sweater with 3/4 length sleeves over my tea length blue and black dress for my sons wedding. Guess I'm good.

My thought was the same as Ded, "That's one way to not conflict/clash/upstage with the bride . . . " She looks marvelous. A black and white theme would be cool . . . if one was so inclined for themes. My wedding theme was, "We're happy to have you join us whatever you feel like wearing." We were in our 50's, we trusted our guests taste, lol!

Edited to add that for my weddings my matrons of honor helped a lot with color coordinating. They were much better at it than me. My cousin even found the perfect white dress to match my wedding dress style at Goodwill and dyed it to match one of the colors in the flowers on my dress and in my wedding bouquet. She got the matron of honor job because she is so darn tasteful!! For my second wedding, my MOH wore a black and white print floral dress, mirroring my white dress with colored flowers. Brilliant! I had two small weddings because our families were on opposite sides of the country and due to age and logistics there were family members on both sides who could not travel far.

I think black is 100% appropriate for a midnight wedding-- and i guess we have to assume that it passed the bride-blessing test.

Thought the MOTG was supposed to shut up and wear beige. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Yes, she looks amazing and perhaps it was a black and white wedding, just for the bridal party since i see guests in other colors. The flowers are gorgeous.

She looks fabulous.

I was once the MOTB at an afternoon outdoor wedding and wore black. No one appeared to object.

I don't think anyone was saying black at a wedding is verboten these days. We barely have any dress codes anymore.

I don't know what this thread is about.

ETA: Just kidding.

There was another thread discussing mother of the groom dresses and some parties recommended against black dresses.

I personally love black and think so many people look lovely in black. My mother in law wore black to my wedding and she looked great. And in this case Reba looks fabulous too!

Jinx, cute story -- what a great memory to have!

I was always told no black or white for wedding guests, but both seem to have given way. Black and white theme weddings are a thing (we got invited to one). The best dressed guest at our wedding was the wife of a lawyer friend of DH's. She was wearing a black lace cocktail dress, I did a slight double take, had a flashing thought of should I be offended, and realized it was lace, cocktally and she looked fabulous and had a big welcoming grin when I met her. They also gave us a sangria set from Tiffany's. Excellent taste. Case closed.

Am I the only one who doesn’t want to be told what color to wear to a wedding? And, I have to travel to Disney World? Just no.

And, I have to travel to Disney World? Just no.

What's wrong with Disney World?

I think black "does" eliminate any conflict with looking better. or the same as, the bride. 💖

Story: I was 26 years old, we flew to my brothers wedding in PA. My dress was pale yellow by Gunne Sax. I was told it was a strict Catholic family, do not show any skin. Look conservative. I wore a lace long sleeved, floor length dress. Turned out it looked almost....exactly like the brides dress. My brother not knowing any better....told me, "he knew his wifes dress had cost thousands and gone through multiple fittings....and I looked as good or better in my dress!" He said THIS in front of his bride.....then wanted photos taken with the two of us.

I wish I'd worn black. 🤣

Yes Nicole, your story and others here have informed me of the perils of design and color choice at some weddings. It's interesting. Black does take some of the issues away, on the other hand, I guess the color black comes with some symbolic portent. Not an issue for everyone though . . . LBD's rock. Unfortunately, black is not kind to me with pale skin, although if I doll it up with some color near my face, I can get away with it quite nicely. In Reba's case, rockin such a toned bod at her age, even with her pale coloring, black does her a lot of favors!

DS is getting married next April, and his fiancee says I can wear any color as long as it’s not white! We are touring venues this weekend, so fun. They’re narrowing in on urban indoor/outdoor spaces with lots of brick and twinkle lights, not too formal. Their fave so far:

If I were MOG or MOB I would want to know what colors not to wear. I'd also want to know what colors the wedding party is wearing. IMHO, pictures look so much better when the MOG or MOB is not wearing something that does not work with the wedding party colors. A B&W wedding party would be easy for the MOB/MOG!

Another suggestion is to look at wedding pictures. When we got married, I originally wanted pale pink dresses for my bridesmaids. Thankfully, when at the florist looking through pictures of weddings, I saw a few pix of pale pink dresses. They totally washed out in the pictures. I, instead, chose a much deeper shade of pink. It really helps to see pictures!

Sueb20: Is that a swimming pool in the room?

Jinx, I am so happy to hear Reba is what she appears. What a wonderful encounter you had.

Back in the olden days, weddings were daytime affaires. I realize that is long ago, but even my 1994 wedding was a morning Mass, followed by a so-called wedding breakfast. Someone wearing black to that woukd have looked like she was in mourning.

If bride and groom want a theme, especially something as easy as b/w, why not? People who think it is too much to ask, can stay home or stand out.

I think as long as people dress up and make an apparent effort, it is passe to pass judgment based on silly rules.

As far as the wedding party, all concerned should want to look harmonious. Whatever that means to those involved.

Rather, it’s a small pool, outdoors.

Reba looks great! I actually love black for the mothers. Also love black and white for wedding colors. I considered black for my daighter’s wedding but really wanted a dark blue, my favorite evening color, not do harsh on me. My daughter did not care what color,. The MOG bought a metallic gold dress before I found my dress. Lovely woman, she texted me a picture before she bought her dress, asking me if I was okay with the dress. It was a gorgeous dress on her.

@Zalco/bring back Sophie! that makes a lot of sense that the color and style of the dress should take the time of day into consideration. In my mind, black is a great color for an evening wedding either as a LBD or formal black gown. But it does seem like it might look out of place for a morning wedding with a breakfast reception. In the same way, the venue and formality of the wedding are important for choosing the right outfit.

@Tina Marie I completely agree that if I were a MOB/MOG, I would love to know what colors the bridesmaids would be wearing to see if I could choose a color that would work well together in photos. For example I might avoid a forest green dress if the bridesmaids were wearing red.

As far as guests being told what colours to wear, I find that kind of rude. If I am traveling to a wedding, paying for a couple of nights accommodation, bringing a gift, now I have to buy something to wear for DH and I that will fit in the colour scheme? I would give it a pass, seems kind of self-centered and "Pintresty" to me. Are they planning on taking group shots of everyone who attends? I don't think that this type of instruction would ever cross either of our daughters' minds but if it did I would certainly discourage them.

Requesting a particular color of attire from wedding guests is a level of micromanaging I find unattractive. I interpret it as an indication the wedding is a stage production starring one person—the bride—and the guests are there to serve as extras.

I don’t care for Reba’s outfit but it clearly fits the brief for time of day, venue and bride’s preference. She’s in great shape and looks happy.

why is she carrying flowers?

I don't know what their ceremony was, but in a Jewish wedding, both parents walk both the bride and groom down the aisle. So both MOB and MOG have flowers.

I never understood only the dad getting to walk the bride down the aisle. Both my parents walked me down the aisle, in both my weddings ;-), and mom had flowers. I walked my daughter down the aisle with her dad, and carried a small bouquet. Her dad and I are both remarried. My hubby and my ex's wife walked down the aisle together. And his wife also had a bouquet. All parents, and step parents, were involved in the ceremony.

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Along the same lines, I don't see having the mothers coordinate with the wedding party colors as telling guests what to wear. Again, parents are part of the ceremony, and of course in lots of pictures. They should match or at least not clash with the colors of the wedding if there are colors of the wedding.

I certainly would not expect to tell guests who are not part of the ceremony what color to wear. I don't even understand the bride being offended if someone wears white. Why would I care if a guest was wearing white?

@nekotish to be honest, I find it rude as well. I'm a nerd who bought a wedding ettiquette book before my own wedding to make sure I handled things properly (especially invitations). From what I recall, it specifically said that technically one should not specify a dress code on an invitation. Rather the formality of the invitation and the venue should give guests the indication of formality and proper attire. I'm not entirely sure how that works for someting as formal as a black tie or white tie event. I know a "black & white" wedding is a thing now and people do it, but I agree it seems rude to dictate what guests wear.

Found this short version from Emily Post archive:

Don't mention gifts or attire on the wedding invitation. If necessary, "Black tie" may be written in the lower right on a reception invitation.

https://emilypost.com/advice/formal-wedding-invitation-wording

I don't mind black & white weddings-- they are actually much easier to dress for.

The only other event I have attended where a color was requested was at a funeral for a childhood friend who was very active in the community, always laughing and loved pink! Everyone was asked to wear something pink to the funeral to celebrate his jolly and joyful personality. No one grumbled.

Count me in as someone who dislikes being told what to wear as a wedding guest. Cultural norms are fine, no one should upstage the bride. No black at a wedding is old fashioned.

Wedding party coordination is different(MOB and MOG included). Guests... no.

Sue, you should fly down to Atlanta and visit Susan Lee in Buckhead. She’s got absolutely fabulous MOB and MOG outfits.

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