The big thing for my mom was my dress. She lives 3000 miles away so this is what I did:
I went dress shopping alone and narrowed it down to 4 dresses - 2 at two different stores. She flew out for a weekend and I took her with me to the stores, let her pick out some, and tried on the ones I already picked. I knew which one I wanted before she came out, but it was nice to have her there. Also, it helped that she agreed.
Also, I let her pick out the personal stuff I had with me - my purse, hankie, etc.