Groom Attire - What To Wear To Your Wedding

So you have your wedding coming up?

Congratulations.

With the majority of the emphasis being put on what your Bride is wearing it’s often easy to neglect your attire. But you want to look the best you possibly can too right?

Choosing what the groom should wear at first glance should be easy, a suit I hear you say? From an outside perspective it seems an easy task to complete but in reality the opportunities are endless.

From traditional weddings to a wedding on the beach, a themed wedding to an extremely formal wedding, getting your attire right as the groom has never been more difficult.

That’s not forgetting the endless options of suit styles, from deciding whether you want to go for a double breasted or single breasted jacket to deciding how many buttons or how wide your lapels should be… choosing your attire for the big day can be a daunting task.

Therefore we wanted to help and offer an insight into what to wear for your wedding day as the groom.

Even if you’re getting married in Hawaii on a beach, or you have a more intimate Countryside themed wedding planning, this article covers all bases to stop you from guessing your way to a disastrous big day outfit.

What You Need To Consider

Before we dive straight in and start talking about the specifics behind your wedding attire we want to highlight a few key important considerations.

As a man we typically look at our choice of wedding attire in a very one dimensional way.

I can relate, getting married next Summer in Italy I stated what I was wearing to my Fiancee Amy.

Cutting the specifics out as this point it went something along the lines of this…

“I’m wearing this Navy jacket with these trousers and that shirt. I’m going for wide lapels, and accessorising with this and this…”

The issue was she’d considered things I hadn’t, such as colour schemes of the wedding, her dress, the time of the day we will be getting married, the temperature in Italy at the time and the type of wedding we were having.

When she reminded me of these finer details I quickly realised I’d look like I didn’t belong, I’d be sweating excessively wearing the choice I had made and I would look a lot better than she did in her dress… (Ok, maybe I made that last point up)

Before deciding the attire you’re going to opt for consider these 4 things.

1. The Colour Scheme

Often or not the wedding planner (whether it be you, your Bride or a wedding planning service) will suggest a colour scheme. The colour scheme will be used throughout the day, setting the ambience for the wedding.

If the colour scheme is very neutral, opting for a red tuxedo may not be the best decision you ever make.

What will the other men in the Wedding party be wearing? Think about carrying or complimenting the colour scheme through to your choice of attire.

2. The Brides Dress

We need to take a step back a bit and let our ego rest for a day.

Choose attire that compliments your Bride and in no way try to outdo her.

The brides dress will also help you dictate how formal, how classic or how modern you should go. If she’s opting for a vintage styled dress you may want to match subtly opting for a more traditional, timeless suit.

3. The Time & Place Of The Wedding

If you’re getting married in the UK in Winter, opting for a linen suit with no socks and loafers probably isn’t going to go down well.

On the other hand a beach wedding will require less layering, lighter fabrics and in most cases an opportunity for you to ditch the tie.

The time of the day is important too. Personally getting married in Italy in the heat of Summer would be a nightmare, I’d probably have to ditch the blazer altogether to withstand the heat and avoid sweating in all of my wedding photos. Therefore we’ve chosen a slightly later time in the afternoon, when the temperature is slightly cooler allowing me to wear a suit.

4. What The Groomsmen Are Wearing

This is optional, you can of course take a selfish approach but considering what your groomsmen are willing to wear may benefit the wedding as a whole.

In most cases the Best Man alongside other close friends and relatives who you’ve highlighted within your wedding party will wear similar attire. As the groom you have the option to wear something slightly different from the party to make you stand out but the choice of suit, colour schemes and accessories tend to stay the same.

Consider whether or not your Groomsmen would be fit to wear what you’re opting for.

There are of course ways around this, for example I’m looking to go for high waisted trousers and wide lapels, something with an Italian flair to it, but I know my Best Man (my brother) would feel completely uncomfortable wearing the same.

To get around this dilemma (and for me to still hold my ground in wearing what I want to wear) I’ll be choosing outfits based around a similar colour scheme and keeping the accessories the same.

To Buy Or To Rent

Before we talk suits, accessories and specifics in terms of what to wear I also want to highlight another key consideration.

Buying or renting?

Suiting for you and your groomsmen can often total up quite expensively if buying, therefore renting options make things easier and more affordable.

With this being said, there are also a lot of good options out there to buy and it allows you to get exactly what you want for your big day.

If buying you’ll need to consider whether you want to buy ‘off the rack’ or get your suiting made. The options to get your suits made are readily available through Made To Measure or Bespoke.

Although this is slightly more pricy you have the option to decide upon everything, from the colour to the fabric, and even the suit buttons and size of your lapels. Everything is measured to fit you perfectly as well for your big day.

Buying ‘off the rack’ is still an option to consider. Buying your suit from your favourite brand or retailer will not only allow you to save your budget but you can also get it tailored/altered after.

Simply buying your suit from a store and taking it to a tailor/alteration service can be cost effective and still leave you looking great for your big day.

There really is no right or wrong answer, it really is down to personal preference and dependent on your budget.

Here are a few advantages and disadvantages of both for you to compare which suits you.

Buying Advantages

1. Full Control Of What You Buy

2. It Can Be Completely Altered/Tailored To Fit

3. Wider Range To Choose From

4. You Can Keep The Suits/Gift Your Groomsmen

Buying Disadvantages

1. Can Be Costly

2. If Made To Measure/Bespoke It Can Take Time

3. You May Not Be Able To Get The Same Suit For All Groomsmen

Renting Advantages

1. More Affordable To Rent

2. Most Rental Services Offer Styling Advice Also

3. You Can Kit All Your Groomsmen Out In The Same/Similar Suit

Renting Disadvantages

1. No Real Room For Tailoring/Alterations

2. Can Still Be Quite Costly Dependent On The Brand

3. You Can’t Keep The Suits Afterwards

4. In Most Cases They’ve Already Worn By Other Grooms

Even if you weigh up both the advantages and disadvantages for both and still struggle to make a decision you can also decide to combine the two.

You as the groom could buy your suit and you could rent the rest of the suits for your wedding party.

Moss Bro’s offer a selection of suits to buy for your big day alongside offering a full rental service. This allows you to easily buy and rent the same (if not a similar suit) for you and your groomsmen.

Here’s a range of Moss Bro’s services.

Your Attire

With these considerations in place (and they’re more important than you might think) it’s time to start deciding what you want to wear for your big day.

From what suit to what accessories the opportunities really are endless.

Lucky for you we’re going to cover all bases, sharing our advice on what you should be wearing for your wedding day.

The obvious place to start (and the best place) is your choice of suit.

Your Choice Of Suit

Again, this isn’t me dictating to you that you need to go ahead and wear a suit for your big day… but in most cases (and with the endless possibilities) a suit will be the number 1 choice.

Let me dive into a few of those possibilities.

Keep It Traditional

Starting with the basics opting for a more traditional approach will suit most weddings.

A classic morning suit is the ‘go to’ when it comes to a grooms attire, typically consisting of a tailcoat, a dress shirt, formal trousers and a waistcoat.

The tailcoat will separate you from your groomsmen and really does epitomise the traditional wedding attire.

Morning suits can be purchased and worn afterwards. Of course the tailcoat is going to be more difficult to re-use, typically only the odd day at the Races would justify you dusting off the tailcoat and wearing it again. If you’re purchasing a morning suit go for something classic, something you can use the other elements (waistcoat, trousers) for other formal occasions.

Even though the Morning Suit is used for more traditional weddings the popularity is rising at more modern affairs.

Go for a classic, regular fit.

There’s a variety of brands and retailers providing the Morning Suit at various price ranges. Saville Row giants such as Gieves & Hawkes and Huntsman alongside British brands like Hackett offer a good range of Morning Suits at the higher end of the price bracket.

Moss Bro’s and other high street alternatives offer the Morning Suit at a more affordable price.

The Three Piece Suit

If you’re steering away from something more traditional a classic three piece suit will more than meet your requirements.

In fact a two piece suit (ditching the waistcoat) is still a viable option, especially for summer weddings.

Often known as the ‘Lounge Suit’ it’s a better approach to take if your wedding has less of a traditional/formal approach.

The key thing to consider when buying your Lounge Suit though is the style and fabric. A wool three piece suit for your summer wedding may not be ideal, but a softer cotton, two piece single breasted suit would fit perfectly.

First decide whether you want two breasts or one. In fashion terms, would you prefer a more classic single breasted (two button) blazer or a more statement led double breasted blazer?

You can take it one step further and decide upon the cut alongside the finer details such as the lapel size or the colour of your buttons.

The suit colour is important and we’d advise opting for something classic such as a light grey, charcoal, navy or black.

The Smart/Casual Approach

This will make the traditionalists angry…

If your wedding is more laid back, if it’s more intimate and even on a beach the smart/casual approach might be for you.

With this approach we can layer down, often losing the waistcoat, being more adventurous with the style and cut of the suit, ditching the tie and even utilising separates.

Separates is simply matching a different coloured pair of trousers with your blazer. So your single breasted two button blazer could be paired with a pair of charcoal grey wool trousers. Here’s some more advice on utilising separates.

Although this choice gives you more of a free run for what you wear it also creates more room for error. Get it wrong and you could look like you’re underdressed or heading to the Office rather than the day you tie the knot.

The Accessories

Last but not least you need to consider the finer details.

From the shoes you wear to the tie and even how you knot it, the finer details can really make or break your outfit.

The issue with a lot of grooms is they often overdo it on the accessories front. They go for a classic navy suit and feel like they need to inject colour to make them stand out. Nothing is stylish about a bright yellow tie and a bright yellow handkerchief folded into a triangle resting in your pocket.

Accessories will allow you to add a personal touch, whether it’s something meaningful or something to really compliment your outfit.

Ideally you’d choose your accessories that not only compliment your own outfit but the dresses of the Bridesmaids.

Your choice of shoes is important too, keep it classic and invest in quality. A brown pair of brogues, Oxfords, a pair of monk-straps or even loafers for summer weddings are wise choices. Invest in quality and your big day shoes will last you for years to come.

Please gentleman whatever you do, don’t overdo it on the accessories front.