What does the Mother of the Groom do?

Everyone is pretty clear on what the bride and her mother will be up to for the duration of your engagement: planning a wedding! Some women give the impression that they’ve been planning this event in their head since the first wedding they attended at the age of six, and now the starting pistol has fired in real life, look out!                                             

Thing is, the mother of the groom is a woman, too, and maybe she’s been planning a wedding in her head, too. Only (in this wedding at any rate) she’s got a son, not a daughter. What does the mother of the groom do?

While she doesn’t do as much as the mother of the bride, there are a few things that are just for her.

1. Contact the bride’s family. This could be a phone call to say how happy the groom’s side is about the upcoming nuptials. It could be to arrange a dinner for the families — which may or may not include the bridal couple. All that is up to the mother of the Groom. If the families have known each other forever, this will be very natural. If the families are strangers — well, what better way for the mother of the groom to ensure she gets to be part of the fun than by making sure she gets to know the bride’s mother?

2. If the couple is asking for input regarding the guests, provide a suggested guest list as soon as possible.

3. After the mother of the bride has selected her dress, the mother of the groom chooses one that complements the MOTB’s dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses. This means it shouldn’t clash. It does NOT mean the mothers have to match — either each other or the bridesmaids.                                                                                                                        

4. The groom’s parents traditionally host the rehearsal dinner.   

It’s not quite the same as being mother of the bride, but the groom’s mother isn’t entirely out of the frenzy!