Guys, I need to apologize to you. I fear that sometimes we leave you out of wedding conversations. But the groom is every bit as important to a wedding as the bride! I know that both the bride and groom often find themselves in a strange new world while planning a wedding, making decisions they've never faced before. With that in mind, I wanted to offer some support to grooms who are considering what they should wear at their weddings.
Since I have far less experience with men's fashion, I reached out to Magro Clothing, who are experts in dressing men well. They offer custom suits and styling to make sure that their grooms look and feel just as special as their brides! I'm so grateful to Sam with Magro Clothing for sharing his insights!
1. What trends do you see in men's wedding fashion?
Bold colors. The majority of what we do is a navy or gray suit, but lately we’ve seen an increase in awesome shades of burgundy and green. It makes for a unique experience for the groom that hasn't been seen much in the past.
2. In this era of off-the-rack, how do grooms react to the idea of a custom suit?
A lot of grooms are really stoked with the idea of custom, especially with a large boom in attention to men’s fashion in recent years. That excited groom is usually a little more style conscious and knows how he wants to feel on his wedding day. Others are hesitant at first when they are dragged to a consultation by their bride, since they don’t know what to expect -- with the price or the process. As soon as they learn more about it, those hesitant grooms become thrilled with how their suit turns out and how they feel wearing it. Some grooms that come in very timid and quiet at the start are grinning and having fun by the end -- having a great time picking out their fabric, lining, buttons, or other details. It’s fun to see which detail gets a groom excited, because everyone is so different!
Since I have far less experience with men's fashion, I reached out to Magro Clothing, who are experts in dressing men well. They offer custom suits and styling to make sure that their grooms look and feel just as special as their brides! I'm so grateful to Sam with Magro Clothing for sharing his insights!
1. What trends do you see in men's wedding fashion?
Bold colors. The majority of what we do is a navy or gray suit, but lately we’ve seen an increase in awesome shades of burgundy and green. It makes for a unique experience for the groom that hasn't been seen much in the past.
2. In this era of off-the-rack, how do grooms react to the idea of a custom suit?
A lot of grooms are really stoked with the idea of custom, especially with a large boom in attention to men’s fashion in recent years. That excited groom is usually a little more style conscious and knows how he wants to feel on his wedding day. Others are hesitant at first when they are dragged to a consultation by their bride, since they don’t know what to expect -- with the price or the process. As soon as they learn more about it, those hesitant grooms become thrilled with how their suit turns out and how they feel wearing it. Some grooms that come in very timid and quiet at the start are grinning and having fun by the end -- having a great time picking out their fabric, lining, buttons, or other details. It’s fun to see which detail gets a groom excited, because everyone is so different!
3. Are there any rules of thumb for combining colors, patterns, or textures in a suit?
Absolutely! When pairing pants with the jacket that are of different colors, keep in mind that you don’t want the texture or the pattern of the fabric to be too similar to one another. (You don't want two different pinstripes, for example.) So a good combination would be pairing a flannel or tweed jacket with a smooth, worsted wool pant. Or if the jacket has an obvious or bold pattern, the pants should probably be be solid or have a very different, subtle pattern. Suit separates tend to be rare in weddings, though, as most grooms go for a full suit. But the rule holds true in suits, as well: when choosing a shirt to go with your suit, avoid any patterns that are similar to your suit, i.e. a large plaid shirt with a large plaid suit. That's also true with ties. And if your bride’s dress is off-white, cream, or ivory, consider matching your shirt to the dress instead of choosing a straight white. That way the stark white doesn’t contrast with the dress, making it look darker than it really is.
4. Since so many men grew up seeing the simple black tux as their only option for wedding-wear, do you have advice for how they can go about finding their own style?
I would say 95% of our grooms choose a suit instead of a tux. Weddings are a little less formal than they used to be, especially here in the US, so dressing it down a little by getting rid of the satin lapels makes a big difference while keeping it wedding appropriate. My best advice would be to browse our Instagram and check out Pinterest for wedding suit inspiration to figure out what their own style is, keeping in mind the theme and colors of the wedding. Go with your heart when it comes to deciding whether to wear something bold or something conservative. This is a once in a lifetime event!
A lot of our grooms want to wear their suit often after the wedding, so they decide to go with a royal, navy, or gray suit that will work for many occasions in the future. With a custom suit, they can go this route while still personalizing the suit for the wedding by having their wedding date monogrammed on the inside or by making the inside lining one of the wedding colors.
Absolutely! When pairing pants with the jacket that are of different colors, keep in mind that you don’t want the texture or the pattern of the fabric to be too similar to one another. (You don't want two different pinstripes, for example.) So a good combination would be pairing a flannel or tweed jacket with a smooth, worsted wool pant. Or if the jacket has an obvious or bold pattern, the pants should probably be be solid or have a very different, subtle pattern. Suit separates tend to be rare in weddings, though, as most grooms go for a full suit. But the rule holds true in suits, as well: when choosing a shirt to go with your suit, avoid any patterns that are similar to your suit, i.e. a large plaid shirt with a large plaid suit. That's also true with ties. And if your bride’s dress is off-white, cream, or ivory, consider matching your shirt to the dress instead of choosing a straight white. That way the stark white doesn’t contrast with the dress, making it look darker than it really is.
4. Since so many men grew up seeing the simple black tux as their only option for wedding-wear, do you have advice for how they can go about finding their own style?
I would say 95% of our grooms choose a suit instead of a tux. Weddings are a little less formal than they used to be, especially here in the US, so dressing it down a little by getting rid of the satin lapels makes a big difference while keeping it wedding appropriate. My best advice would be to browse our Instagram and check out Pinterest for wedding suit inspiration to figure out what their own style is, keeping in mind the theme and colors of the wedding. Go with your heart when it comes to deciding whether to wear something bold or something conservative. This is a once in a lifetime event!
A lot of our grooms want to wear their suit often after the wedding, so they decide to go with a royal, navy, or gray suit that will work for many occasions in the future. With a custom suit, they can go this route while still personalizing the suit for the wedding by having their wedding date monogrammed on the inside or by making the inside lining one of the wedding colors.
5. What is the biggest piece of advice you would offer to couples as they plan their wedding apparel?
Remember that it’s the groom’s big day, too! Match the quality of the suit to the wedding. Many times we see the bride spends thousands on her dress, and then the groom goes to the nearest suit chain and rents a $300 suit or tux. The venue is beautiful, the bride looks her very best, but the quality of the suit is not on the same level. That suit and that expensive dress don’t pair well together, and the suit will stand out (in a bad way). This doesn’t mean you have to spend thousands on the suit, of course! But investing a little more in a quality suit for the groom goes a long way in the overall aesthetic of the wedding. The groom should look (almost) as good as the bride!
Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement, Sam! I can't wait to see the dapper, well-styled grooms who take it to heart!
Remember that it’s the groom’s big day, too! Match the quality of the suit to the wedding. Many times we see the bride spends thousands on her dress, and then the groom goes to the nearest suit chain and rents a $300 suit or tux. The venue is beautiful, the bride looks her very best, but the quality of the suit is not on the same level. That suit and that expensive dress don’t pair well together, and the suit will stand out (in a bad way). This doesn’t mean you have to spend thousands on the suit, of course! But investing a little more in a quality suit for the groom goes a long way in the overall aesthetic of the wedding. The groom should look (almost) as good as the bride!
Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement, Sam! I can't wait to see the dapper, well-styled grooms who take it to heart!
-----------> As you plan your wedding, it's a great idea to start thinking about the timeline of your day early on! If you would like to have a timeline to start from, click here to take a quick 2-question quiz, and we will email you back with an ideal preliminary timeline based on the sunset time on your wedding day as well as whether or not you would like to do a first look!
+ Comment +
