How To Pick the Perfect Wedding Suit

Wedding suit – Who doesn’t love a man in a great suit? Think Harvey Specter, Chuck Bass, Ryan Gosling and James Franco. All of these men look amazing in their well-fitted suits – so why shouldn’t your man? Picking out the grooms’ wedding suit is just as important as picking the perfect wedding dress. You want the groom to look dashing and handsome to compliment the beautiful bride. There are many factors to take into consideration when picking the Wedding Suit.

Wedding Suit

Willem Venter from ZED Menswear takes you through important points to consider when looking at purchasing a wedding suit for the big day:

5 Things To Consider For Your Suit:

• Should you hire or buy your suits?
• Choosing a suit style
• Choosing a suit colour
• Ties and other accessories
• Suits for your groomsmen

1. Wedding Suit: Should You Hire or Buy?

The best advice on whether to hire or buy the wedding suit is “Hire what you will not want to wear again, Buy what you would want to wear again.” If your groom has always wanted a tailor-made custom suit, take this opportunity to splurge a little and have a suit made which he will wear for years to come. If he is unlikely to wear a full suit ever again, rather hire and save a little.

2. Choosing a Wedding Suit Style

The time of day and season that you get married in will play a huge role in what type of suit will be purchased or hired. On a summery, midday wedding you can opt for a light coloured suit made of breathable fabrics. If the wedding is a little more informal, you can also have an open-neck shirt without a tie. Some grooms even choose shorter length pants with a collared shirt and suspenders, especially for beach weddings.

If you’re getting married in the cooler months, go for a darker colour like navy or grey, made from heavier fabrics. You could even go for a waistcoat to create a very formal look. The classic tuxedo is always a winner but should be updated by having the pant leg fit a little slimmer. The most important part: the suit must be tailored. A well fitted inexpensive suit will always look better than an ill-fitting expensive suit. Spend a little to have the suit fit perfectly.

3. Choosing a Wedding Suit Colour

When you look for suit colours there are a few things to keep in mind:

• the wedding theme
• the season
• the availability
• and the colour variations between the groom & his groomsmen

Your wedding theme is probably the biggest factor when you think of the colour of your suit. For a vintage style wedding, you probably want shades of grey or light brown, then a more modern wedding, a suit with a white blazer and black pants. For a classic look, but a little different, navy blue is always a good choice.

Then other colour schemes, the choice of suit colour can become more daring and creative. Emerald green, burgundy, royal blue – there are plenty of choices. But keep in mind that the more creative colours are probably more difficult to find when you start shopping!

You can find a black suit at any menswear store – but if you want a specific colour you might need to consider having a custom suit tailored. When doing that you can be as specific as you want. But the price tag might be a bit more depending on the material and colour availability. So this is a very important point to keep in mind if you are budget conscious.

As mentioned in point 2, the season of your wedding might influence both your choice of suit style and colour. For example, having your groom in a classic black tuxedo might look very smart – but if the wedding is outside in the sun during the blistering summer months, expect him to be sweating a lot! We recommend lighter colours for the warmer months and darker colours for the colder months.

The last thing to consider for colour choices is the difference between the groom and groomsmen suits. Traditionally the suits for the groom and his entourage are not the same. Your groom needs to stand out from the group so that all the guests can see that he is the important one on the day. An easy way to do this is to keep the suit styles similar but just alter the colours slightly. It doesn’t mean you have to go with a completely outlandishly different colour! You can even just change the colour of the accessories. As long as there is a small identifiable difference between the husband-to-be and his party.

4. What Accessories Do You Need?

This is where your groom and groomsmen can have a little fun. Gone are the days of boring ties. There are so many options on the market lately, from skinny ties to bow ties, even wooden laser cut bow ties and boutonnieres. Even ties and bowties don’t have to match perfectly, and many grooms choose to have all the groomsmen wear ties with different patterns and fabrics, but with similar colour schemes. If you are going with a plain solid suit colour, your accessories offer the opportunity to add a dash of colour to your look.

7 Menswear Extras You Need to Look At:

• Shoes & Socks
• Ties
• Cufflinks
• Suspenders
• Boutonnieres
• Pocket Squares
• Watch

Pocket squares are also very trendy at the moment, as men return to the fashion of yesteryear. Make the pocket squares interesting by using fabric that matches the colour scheme but with patterns, or use this as an opportunity to add a pop of colour. If you choose to go for suspenders, you could add a splash of colour to match the wedding colours. We have also seen plenty of weddings where the groom and groomsmen wear interesting socks – from complementary colours with unique patterns, to really quirky bright socks.

Lastly, remember that too much input is worse than no input. Only involve the groomsmen and bride when making the decision. She will have to make sure it will match the look and feel of the wedding, but they must be comfortable and happy with their outfits.

5. Suits for your groomsmen

Usually, you want your bridal party to match each other and look smart. This does, however, mean that your groomsmen all need to wear the same colour and style of suit. When you choose your suits you need to consider who will be paying for the groomsmen suits. If you expect them to pay for the suits themselves, be considerate and don’t choose the most expensive option! Nobody wants to spend thousands on an outfit that they might probably never wear again.

And if you are having kids in your bridal party, you’ll have to keep in mind that the suit style you get has to offer child sizes as well.

Need more tips for the man of the hour? Have a look at our The Groom board on Pinterest.