Mother of: Mykenna
Wedding venue: The Minikahda Club, Minneapolis
Vibe: Outdoor summer cocktail
Dress: Alexander by Daymor from DUGO
Andrea had a vision of what she wanted to wear for her daughter Mykenna’s July wedding to longtime boyfriend Ben. She thought she’d hit upon it—18 times—but not one of those dresses was quite right.
Tired of ordering and returning, she went to a specialty evening wear boutique in the Twin Cities called DUGO, which stands for Dress Up Go Out. "What a fabulous group of women to worth with," she says. Convinced she’d finally found the one, Andrea put the dress on hold and brought her daughter back to the store with her to see it. Rather than a thumbs up, Mykenna pulled a different dress from the rack and encouraged Andrea to try it on. It was a teal, floor length tiered chiffon with beaded halter straps from Alexander by Daymor.
“I told her it was the wrong color, wrong length, not bra friendly and had beads which I thought I didn't want," Andrea says. "In fact, it was exactly what I thought I didn't want."
She tried it on anyway, to humor the Mykenna. Turns out, bride knew best. “It just worked,” Andrea says. “It was a super easy dress to wear because the tiers made it forgiving, so I was not fidgeting and fixing it all night. I got lots of compliments, and it was fun to feel good without a lot of fuss.”
This mother of the bride's advice? “Be more open-minded.”
“The shopping experience was brutal because I had a look in mind and couldn't find it,” she says. “I kept searching for something I hadn't actually seen, and didn't want to shop with anyone.”
But many women can relate to Andrea’s initial plan of avoiding strapless or halter-style dresses, for fear of not being able to wear a supportive bra. Once set on the halter-style dress, she took it to the bride’s seamstress, who suggested CryoTape—the kind used by athletes for pain relief and performance support. “I actually recorded her showing us how to tape, and practiced at home,” Andrea says. But in the end, she found a strapless bra that stayed in place, the Lilyette strapless minimizing bra by Maidenform.
“The dress was tight enough to hold the bra in place,” Andrea says. “And it didn’t even matter, due to the tiers.”
Even so, Andrea decided to wear Spanx to smooth out any hint of a line or bump. She could’t believe how uncomfortable the shapewear was…until she realized: she had the Spanx on backwards! “In my defense,” she says with a laugh,” I had to hurry to get my dress on to take the mother-bride photos. At the end of the night, when I finally had a change to go to the bathroom, it seemed weird that Spanx printed their brand label in the front!”
But looking back, that’s just one of many fun and funny moments in a joyful day. “I loved every single thing about the day and night,” Andrea says. “Being surrounded by family and good friends with the greatest reason to celebrate was magical.”