As the co-owner of a successful bridal & tuxedo store, I know a thing or two about dressing grooms and their wedding parties. We dress thousands of grooms, groomsmen, fathers, ring bears and prom-goers every year. This Groom’s Guide to choosing your wedding attire gives you the four main decisions to make before setting out on your formal wear journey.
Read on, we’ve made it easy to say yes to the groom’s attire!
Many people do not wear suits and tuxedos on a regular basis so putting together your look can be a daunting task if you are not used to it. Fortunately, we have a simple process to make this an easy and understandable process.
While we could go into the many pieces of a suit or tuxedo and accompanying accessories (we count upwards of 10) we will stick with the 4 main decisions you need to make to start. They are:
- Color
- Suit or Tuxedo
- Lapel Style
- Shoes
Groom’s Guide: Color
The first decision you need to make is what color suit or tuxedo.
We offer over 70 different styles of tuxedos and suits and the colors can vary drastically. Of course there is always a classic black suit or tuxedo, but why stop there?
Today you will see many different colors: navy, many different shades of blues and grays, tan and brown, hunter and olive green, eggplant, cranberry, mulberry. In fact, as I write this, I realize there are so many that there are too many to list! Suffice to say, we can match any wedding color palette.
Our best advice about color is that if you do not have one already in mind, it is a very good idea to look at the different color options in person. Starting your search with Pinterest and Instagram are great ideas as these platforms will help you build your theme and find the best choices for the groom and the groomsmen attire. Photos, however, do not show the true color of the fabrics, nor can you tell the quality. You must go see them in person.
NOTE: The formality of your wedding and season will play a part in the color choices, too. For instance: summer weddings with a casual dress code lean toward light fabrics in tans, light blues and light grays; a semi-formal wedding in autumn could be a dark suit in hunter green or navy; formal events require an appropriate, classic look. Consider the type of wedding you are having when choosing the color.
When we first meet a bride and groom to discuss their vision, some even change their color choice once they start seeing all of the options!
Groom’s Guide: Suit or Tuxedo
The next decision to be made is whether you should wear a suit or tuxedo.
The first step is to know the difference between a suit and tuxedo. The short and simple answer is:
- A suit has no satin on it and plastic buttons
- A tuxedo often has satin lapels, satin lining the pockets, and satin buttons
There are a few exceptions where a tuxedo will not have any satin on it, but for the most part a tuxedo has satin, a suit does not. Read our blog on the difference between a tuxedo and suit.
Many of the higher end, three-piece suit options have equally beautiful fabric and design so it’s not always a given that today’s modern groom must wear a tuxedo. One of these suits may be perfectly acceptable.
Some of the more budget-friendly suits will not have fabric as luxurious and comfortable as a tuxedo so in those cases, you will see and feel a difference in fabric.
NOTE: If you are getting married at a very elegant venue, we suggest wearing a tuxedo to match the formality of the location (and the bride’s dress). If the wedding theme is a black-tie wedding, you must wear a classic black tuxedo. Otherwise, your personal style and preference can dictate and therefore if you do not like tuxedos, choose a nice wedding suit.
If you’d like to do a deep dive into whether you should wear a tuxedo or suit for a wedding, we have an entire blog on that particular decision.
Groom’s Guide: Lapel
Suits and tuxedos have three types of lapels: notch, peak and shawl.
Most brides and grooms can quickly decide on which lapel they prefer most. Once customers see the three types of lapels in photos or in person, 80% of brides and grooms usually have one absolute favorite lapel, a second one they don’t mind, and a third they don’t like at all! That’s been our experience when working with brides and grooms and it easily narrows down the choices.
A notch lapel has a “notch-like” cut out on the lapel and is the most common look for a business suit. This is the most common and contemporary lapel brides and grooms tend to choose.
A peak lapel has a point to it (think peak of a mountain) and points straight up on each side of the jacket. While this lapel is not as common as the notch lapel, we have been seeing it become more popular in the past two years.
A shawl lapel has rounded edges and in our experience is the least common for a wedding. The look, while a little more old fashioned, is quite sophisticated. About 5% of our grooms and fathers choose a shawl lapel tuxedo. We think it’s a fine choice but after seeing this lapel, we’ll let you decide if it’s the right one for you. One of our more popular shawl lapel tuxedos has been our Brunomagli charcoal gray tuxedo with black shawl lapel.
Not to worry about making a lapel decision. We find that brides and grooms easily know which one they like best.
Now that you’ve chosen the color, suit/tuxedo, and the lapel, the next decision is shoes.
Grooms Guide: Shoes
Depending on which color suit or tuxedo you chose and your preference for shoes, there are a lot of choices to be had for shoes.
Currently, Darianna® Bridal & Tuxedo offers seven different pairs of shoes. They range from black matte, black patent leather, black and white wingtip, and two different shades of brown.
For several years, many grooms have been choosing brown shoes when wearing gray, tan, and blue tuxedos. This is a popular choice and creates wonderful wedding photos. Some grooms choose black shoes when wearing gray tuxedos and suits. Any suits or tuxedos that are gray with black lapels, we highly recommend wearing black shoes.
Patent leather shoes are high gloss, shiny like a mirror; matte finish shoes have no gloss. The decision between shiny and non-glossy is very easy: personal preference.
The other thing to consider is that patent leather shoes look more formal. Therefore, if you are going for a more formal look, the best option is the black patent leather shoes. It is more common to wear patent leather shoes with a tuxedo and matte finish shoes with a suit. It is perfectly acceptable to wear matte shoes with a tuxedo if you do not like shiny shoes however, we don’t often see patent leather shoes being worn with a suit.
Now that you have the overall look of groom’s outfit chosen, you have just a few other things to consider: shirt style, long or bow tie, vest, cuff links and studs, and pocket squares. These remaining items are not as complicated to decide on.
We hope our Groom’s Guide to wedding attire helped you to sort out your thoughts on choosing the perfect attire for your wedding. Curious on what others chose or need some inspiration for your big day? Read our Top 10 Suits and Tuxedos for Summer and Autumn!
For more information on renting a tuxedo, read our Top 10 Wedding Tuxedo and Suit Questions!