Length is the real constraint here, not age. A chin-length bob rules out a braided halo and opens up a sharp side part. Fine hair holds a soft twist better than a tight one. Silver and grey catch light differently than dyed hair does, which changes how a pearl pin or a crystal comb actually looks once you’re standing outside in it.
Maybe you want a low chignon. Maybe a braid worth an hour in the chair, or waves you can redo yourself between the ceremony and dinner. There’s something below to save either way. Still sorting out what you’re wearing? Start with our guide to mother of the groom dresses. And to see how these looks come together across a full wedding day, browse our Real Weddings directory.
Our Favorite Mother of the Groom Hairstyles
Updos first, then half-up styles, then hair worn down and short cuts at the end, so you can skip straight to whatever your length allows. Save the ones you like and bring them to your trial.
Curled Low Chignon With Pearl Flower Pins
The whole shape is built out of curls, pinned loosely enough that you can still pick out each one. Small pearl flowers are scattered through the twist, which gives you what a headpiece would without anything sitting on top of your head.
If your hair has gone silver, this is the case for leaving it silver.
Sleek Rolled Chignon With a Crystal Comb
Smooth through the crown, one soft roll at the nape, and a pearl and crystal comb tucked into the side where the hair twists under. The front is left loose around the face so nothing reads as pulled tight. Good option if your hair is fine and doesn’t hold a bigger style.
Coiled Braid Rosette Bun
A braid wound into a spiral and set high on the back of the head, with tiny white buds pinned into the loops. It sits higher than most updos, which lifts the whole look instead of weighing it down at the neck.
Worth showing your stylist if your hair is on the shorter side. This one is built from a fairly short length.
Twisted Silver Blonde Low Bun
Two twists folded into each other and set right at the nape. Clean without going severe, and the volume left through the crown stops it flattening against the head. With a heavily beaded gown, keeping the hair this simple is what works.
Softly Twisted Chignon With Lifted Roots
Height at the roots, a twist that wraps down and under itself, and a few pieces left out at the temple. It reads polished from the front and interesting from the back, which matters once the photos come back.
Gold hoops suit it better than anything sparkly.
Braided Halo With a Knotted Low Bun
The braid runs around the head like a headband and disappears into a knotted bun at the back. A few curled pieces are left down along the jaw so the front softens.
This needs real length and a stylist who braids well, so book the trial early.
Crown Braid Into a Textured Low Bun
Same starting point as a halo braid, but the bun underneath has been pulled apart on purpose. Soft rather than formal, and highlights show up nicely in the braid itself. If the ceremony is outside and the day runs long, starting undone is the smarter move.
Vintage Waved Updo
Proper set waves through the front, then everything gathered up and back into soft volume at the crown. There’s an old Hollywood quality to it.
Add pearls. Stop there.
Dark Low Updo With a Side Sweep
Swept off the face on one side and gathered low at the back, with enough give through the crown to avoid the helmet effect. Drop earrings have somewhere to hang.
Against a pale green gown, dark hair pinned like this is where the contrast comes from.
Sleek Side-Parted Low Bun
A deep side part brushed completely smooth, and a bun sitting low and tight at the back. With a black sequin gown and a matching cape, keeping the hair this plain is the right call. It also leaves room for statement earrings and a collar necklace at once.
Smooth Swept-Back Low Bun
Everything brushed straight back and twisted into a small bun at the nape. With an off-shoulder neckline there’s a lot of skin on show, and a fussier style would crowd it.
Silver hair pulled back this cleanly photographs beautifully in daylight.
Half-Up Twisted Knot
The top section twisted into a small knot, everything underneath left down and straight. It’s the compromise for anyone who wants their hair up without actually having it up. Blended blonde and grey shows off well through the loose length, which a full updo would hide.
Blonde Waves Swept to One Side
Curled, brushed out, then pushed over one shoulder. The volume sits at the crown rather than at the ends, which is what stops shoulder-length hair going triangular by the afternoon.
Simple, and it holds through dinner without a single pin.
Tousled Shoulder-Length Waves
Loose waves with a bit of grit in them, nothing set or glossy. With a fully sequinned gown, leaving the hair undone is what keeps the whole thing from reading as costume.
Also one of the easier looks here to redo yourself in a bathroom mirror halfway through the night.
Long Loose Waves
Long, wavy, and worn down. Layers around the face take the weight off so the length doesn’t drag everything downward.
If your hair is the thing you like most about how you look, no rule says you have to pin it up for one afternoon.
Side-Swept Waves at Shoulder Length
Brushed over one shoulder, the other side tucked back behind the ear. It’s a five-minute finish on a decent blow-dry, and drop earrings stay visible on the tucked side, which is the entire trick.
Shoulder-Length Blowout With Soft Bangs
Bangs left in, movement through the mid-lengths, ends flicked out slightly. Nothing pinned, nothing sprayed into position.
If you already have bangs, take this as permission not to grow them out for one wedding.
Side-Parted Short Bob
A deep side part and a bob cut to sit just below the jaw, with a bit of product through it and nothing else. Short hair doesn’t need growing out or pinning into something it isn’t.
Book the cut for the week before rather than the day before, so it has time to settle.
FAQs
A few things worth settling before the hair appointment.
What Hairstyle Should the Mother of the Groom Wear?
Start with the neckline of your dress. Anything high, beaded, or detailed at the shoulders usually wants hair up and out of the way. A plain neckline can carry hair worn down. From there, work backward from your actual length and texture rather than from a photo of someone with completely different hair.
Should She Wear Her Hair Up or Down?
Up if the day is long, hot, or outdoors, or if there’s detail at the shoulders of your dress you’d rather have visible. Down if your hair holds a wave and you like it. There’s no etiquette rule here, only what stays put and what you’ll be glad to see in the photos in ten years.
Is a Hair Trial Worth Booking?
If you’re paying a stylist for the day, yes. A trial is where you find out that the updo you saved sits completely differently on your hair, or that fine hair needs texture spray before a single pin will hold. Book it for roughly the same time of day as the wedding so you can watch how it behaves over a few hours.
What Works for Short Hair?
A deep side part, a fresh cut, and a light hand with product. Short hair suits defined shapes: a bob brushed smooth, or a wave set into the front. Chin length or longer and you can still pin the sides back into a small twist, or coil a short braid into a bun at the crown.
How Do I Keep It From Falling Out by the Reception?
Ask your stylist to pin into a braided or teased base rather than into loose hair, and to work on second-day hair, which grips far better than freshly washed. Keep a few spare pins in your clutch. If you’re wearing it down, a set wave holds longer in humidity than a smooth blow-dry does.
