Are you shopping for Mother-of-the-Bride dresses, special occasion dresses, affordable Bridesmaid Dresses or Wedding Dresses for an upcoming wedding? Although I’m not the mother of the bride, but am the step-mother of the bride who is getting married soon, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find a special occasion dress to wear to the wedding.

Until now, it hadn’t occurred to me how time-consuming it would be going from one special occasion dress shop to the next in hopes of finding the perfect dress, in the right color, style and size to wear. The price of some modern, unique, beautiful Mother of the Bride Dresses that were also age-appropriate nearly caused me to keel over and faint.

Special Occasion Dresses

In some local dress shops I visited, the cost of special occasion dresses for a wedding was almost the same as a designer wedding dress for an expensive and extravagant Cinderella wedding! Fortunately, there are Cheap Bridesmaid Dresses that come in every color, style, length and size that won’t break the bank.

I did spend a few days checking out the local special occasion dress shop sections in stores like JCPenney, Dillards, Nordstrom, as well as local discount bridal consignment shops, but I didn’t find anything I liked. When I was looking for a prom dress for my daughter, I went to a bridal/prom store in Dallas called “Whatchamacallit” that has thousands of dresses, but if you’re not a professional seamstress who can fix the fraying threads, missing buttons, broken zippers and other problems, you’d be wasting your time there.

I do almost all of my shopping online, and buying a special occasion dress online is no different. I always check the sizing charts and usually buy a dress one size larger than my normal size to leave room for alterations that are almost always necessary. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all dress, unless you don’t mind your dress looking like a tent or potato sack with rhinestones or sequins sewn on.

Bridesmaid Dresses-Junior Bridesmaid Dresses

I was happily surprised at how many amazing after six bridesmaids dresses I saw online that would actually work very well as a special occasion dress for a mother-of-the-bride, or for the mother-of-the-groom (or any other special occasion), and are very inexpensive.

I liked several online bridal dress shops, with their huge selection of wedding dresses and bridesmaids dresses, including knee-length, floor-length or “after five” tea-length, but I had my heart set on a black full-length gown, and some dresses I liked only came in pink, purple, brown or blue.

A very interesting trend I’ve seen only recently is that of red wedding dresses for a red themed wedding, and some of the red wedding gowns would work very nicely as mother of the bride dresses too! Red is my favorite color and when I think of brides wearing red for their wedding, mixed perhaps with black and white, the entire wedding party must look spectacular!

My favorite dress shop to find bridesmaid dresses, junior bridesmaid dresses and special occasion dresses is at House of Brides, which is the world’s largest online wedding store. The selection, prices, colors and styles just can’t be beat. I found a nice pair of black shoes to go with my dress there too, and anytime I can find a one-stop-shop for nearly everything I need that also offers a 40% discount and free shipping, I look no further.

I knew I wanted a light-weight, full-length black dress to match the wedding color theme of black and white, with short sleeves or sleeveless, because summer weddings in Texas can be unbearably hot and I want to be as comfortable as possible.

I finally decided on a black, sleeveless special occasion dress with rhinestones on the bodice. I also bought a matching black “shawl” to wear around my arms and shoulders, instead of a fancy black jacket, for when the cooler evening temperatures set in.

Tip: Wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses and special occasion dresses or pantsuits are usually made a size or two smaller than your normal dress size, so be prepared for that shock. Full-figured or big-busted women may find they have to shop for special occasion womens dresses in the plus-size departments due to the sizing differences.

Now that I have the dress and shoes for the wedding as well as for the reception dances, all I need now is a small black purse and some jewelry accessories to complete the outfit, and I’ll be all set! I’m not worried though, because I saw a magnificent set of earrings and matching bracelet at House of Brides that I’ve already ordered and they should be arriving any day now.

What about you? Are you the mother-of-the-bride or groom struggling to find an affordable special occasion dress for the wedding? What has been your personal experience while trying to find a special occasion dress? Have you seen the incredible selection of bridesmaid dresses and junior bridesmaid dresses at House of Brides? Aren’t they amazing?! Share your story or ask a question in the comments below.

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