Weddings are traditionally known as the happiest day of a bride’s life. All the attention is on her, her dress, her shoes, the colours and accompanying bridesmaids or maids of honour.
However a groom is equally important in any wedding – after all, there couldn’t be a wedding without him! At first glance at any wedding photograph, a groom is traditionally in a suit with a buttonhole providing a splash of accompanying colour but there are far more options and subtleties to a groom’s wedding wear than his favourite suit.
Whether you are getting married on a Hawaiian beachfront, your local church or the spectacular Château Bouffémont in France, your clothing choice on one of the most important days of your life will matter for far longer than the ceremony or the day itself. Remember how many times you have seen your parents or grandparents wedding photographs!
There are some principal thoughts and touchstones to guide a prospective groom through his clothing dilemmas but the most important one also applies to each other one.
Communicating with the bride is the singular commandment any tailor or suit salesman would give to any perspective customer and it should be the first thing any groom must do. It’s a common cliché that every bride plans her wedding to the nth degree and wouldn’t allow the groom to do anything as important as dressing himself but within every cliché is a grain of truth.
It is not just a sign of consideration and respect for a groom to seek his bride’s opinion and thoughts if not permission for his and his groomsmen’s outfits but practical too. Is the dress code for the wedding going to be entirely traditional, modern and casual, who in the wedding party is required to follow the clothing conventions?
These simple conversations will provide the answers and the roadmap for the other decisions that must follow around buttonholes, shoes, ties, waistcoats, morning coats, hats and more.
If a groom is buying his own suit then the advice is always to buy early. As well as alleviating stress and freeing up emotional bandwidth to support his bride, fashion insiders will confirm that the overall cost will be cheaper and will leave more time for any alterations or changes that are required.
They will also confirm that a groom must dress for the man he is, not the man he wants to be or who he thinks his bride wants to see on the day. A suit, tuxedo, uniform or even highland dress must be well fitting and proportioned. Colours and material are less important with a range of modern and traditional fabrics available but whatever is chosen must fit and be comfortable to wear for a prolonged period.
Is the wedding going to be indoors or outdoors? What is the climate for the time of year? What is the weather forecast for the day? Even an entirely indoor wedding may have an outdoor element for photographs especially if you are marrying at a stunning venue or to move between locations so a kilt in the middle of winter may not be the best choice.
Ultimately, like every part of a successful wedding ceremony, help is always at hand whether from the bride, online websites or experts.
You are not going to get married alone so why try and plan your wedding wear alone?
