Mother of: Lillian
Venue: Crystal Bridges Museum of America Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
Vibe: Black tie
Dress: Theia from Nordstrom
Jessica had her mother of the bride dress before her daughter Lillian found a wedding gown, but that’s only because the bride chose it.
“I’m fortunate to have a daughter who had a clear vision for the day. When she chose pale pink and Lamb’s Ear green as her colors, I told her that I would need a jewel tone for my coloring,” Jessica says. “She sent me links to two dresses, I ordered both, and I sent one back.”
Jessica returned the dress that was “more ruffly and poofy–I didn’t feel comfortable in it,” she explains. The winning mother of the bride look was a fuchsia off the shoulder A-lined gown by Theia. Called the "Marlene," Jessica's dress currently out of stock, but search secondhand sites, it does occasionally pop up. Meanwhile, here are some of our current favorites from Theia. “I loved the clean lines and simple silhouette,” Jessica says. Kismet: the floral detail on her pink dress ended up coordinating with Lillian’s wedding gown.
This wasn’t the first time Lillian styled her mom. “She’s always been into style,” says Jessica, adding that her own style is more “natural and down to earth” than her daughter’s. “But I decided right away that this was her day and that I would go along with whatever she wanted for the day.”
That included her second-ever spray tan (the first was a trial run a month before the wedding, full-glam makeup, and bigger hair than normal.
Lillian had a clear vision of the wedding event, too. She and now-husband Joshua, who met as campus ambassadors at the University of Arkansas, knew they wanted to get married at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. “It’s a stunning backdrop,” Jessica says. “We booked it before they were ‘officially’ engaged.”
Jessica let her daughter take the lead on most decisions. “The vision she had was beautiful, and it was her dream.” Jessica’s advice to other MOBs: “sit back and watch your daughter’s reaction to different decisions and let them lead. Only get involved if it is something really important to you.”
Two of Jessica’s dearest friends, both pastors, officiated Lillian and Joshua’s nuptials. Twenty minutes before the ceremony, they gathered all the women in the wedding party–the bride, mother of the bride, mother of the groom and bridesmaids–and asked each to say a few words about how Lillian had blessed their lives. “It was so beautiful to hear from her friends–one from birth, two from childhood, the rest from college–how important Lillian and her friendship has been to them. How she’s helped to shape them. It was a moving moment as a mother to see that the human I’ve raised is so kind and loving and so very loved by those around her.”
| Photography by Emma Farr