Susan M.: Destination Cancun

Mother Of: Madelyn
Venue: Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun
Vibe: Dressy evening by the ocean
Dress: Ignite Evenings from Dillards 

Madelyn is from Tulsa, Donald is from Charleston, and together they decided to throw a destination wedding in Mexico. But it had to be in August, when the groom had a short break from medical school. That meant one thing to mother of the bride Susan: “I knew it would be HOT.”

“My main concern was a dress that was light, flowy, and cool,” Susan says. “Many of the mother of the bride dresses I came across had heavy fabric.”

Susan lost count of how many dresses she tried on. “ I found it challenging to find flattering MOB dresses for ladies in their 50’s. They’re either frumpy or quite revealing. I also don’t like dresses that hug the abdomen. Why are so many MOB dresses so form fitting? I don’t get it.”

She settled on a blue dress that had the flowy look she desired, but seemed “elegant enough for evening.” Still, she had reservations. So four weeks before the wedding, she decided to go looking just one more time and came across a soft floral print flutter sleeve dress by Ignite Evenings. “It just spoke to me,” she says. “It had a short sleeve, which makes your arms look good, and it’s forgiving in the waist, hiding any ‘tummy.”’

The light floral print in pinks and greens fit right in at the beach. Susan worried it wouldn’t translate well in wedding photos, but her daughter told her to relax and quit overthinking. “Madelyn liked the floral dress better, so I went with it,” Susan says. “And to my delight, it looked great in our pictures.”

She accented the dress with dangly white earrings. She had white heels ready to wear, but at the last minute, she opted for comfort and chose her white bow slides. “I had a lot of walking to do that day around the resort!”

If you’re on the fence about a destination wedding, take it from Susan: “It was a wonderful weekend.”

“My oldest daughter had a traditional wedding with 250 guests—that was wonderful too, but we just didn’t have time to connect with all our guests that evening. It was a whirlwind. Having a destination wedding allowed us to have a more intimate affair and spend quality time with our guests—swimming, beaching, and eating many meals together.”

Susan and her husband hosted a white party on the beach the night before the wedding to welcome everyone, and right as they stepped up to the microphone to say a few words about the bride and groom, a rainbow appeared in the sky. “It was an experience I will never forget.”