Many people will be approaching 2021 with trepidation wondering what might be around the corner.
For those of you who have just got engaged and are planning your wedding, 2021 is going to be the most exciting year of your life. There will be plenty to arrange and wonderful decisions to make and your ‘to do’ list will be long. One of the items on your list will be to arrange your wedding suits.
Here at Chimney Menswear, we can make the decision making a fun and enjoyable experience and with our top five tips on how and when to choose your suits, we can make your planning a cinch.
1. Timing: Traditionally the choice of the groom’s suit and those of his groomsmen is often a
last-minute decision. If you are hiring your suit then deciding last minute may not be a
problem as fittings often need to be booked within 6 weeks of the wedding to be sure to get
a good fit, but if you are buying your suit you may need to decide a little sooner to allow
time for delivery.
However, your suit is just as important as the wedding dress. You need to feel confident in
the style and colour chosen, you need to look good in the style and colour chosen and you
need time to find that special suit. Don’t wait until the colour theme of the wedding is
planned and bridesmaid dresses are bought as the colour chosen may not suit you. Be sure
to find a colour, especially for your tie or cravat, that enhances your skin colour,
compliments your hair and facial hair, and helps you to stand out from your groomsmen and
guests. This cannot be decided in a rush and is best decided early on in your planning.
2. Style: You may have had an idea of the style of wedding suit in your mind for a while but
does this style work well with the theme of your wedding, your venue style or even your
fiancé’s dress or suit? These are important considerations as not only do you need to look
as though you have spent time and effort planning your outfit, but you need to look like you
have turned up at the correct wedding!!
It may not be appropriate to wear a tweed suit to an elegant chic venue or where your bride
has a very traditional wedding dress but if the venue is rustic and your bride’s dress is
relaxed, soft and lacy then a tweed suit is a perfect choice.
3. Accessories: Once you have chosen your suit your accessories are the next most
important item to choose. These can make or break the look of a suit. A simple change of
tie can turn what appears to be a business suit into a wedding suit. Careful choice of ties,
pocket squares and the all-important waistcoat will add impact and will create a perfectly
curated outfit fit for any groom. Think tweed waistcoats to add a softness to the formality
of tails, add a floral tie to lift the wow factor but also make sure they all work together to
enhance your style.
4. How to look like a groom: You may have chosen the perfect suit with the ideal
accessories but if all your groomsmen are dressed the same as you how can anyone know
who is the groom? It is imperative that you as the groom, stands out from everyone. Your
bride will stand out as no one else will be wearing a dress quite like that and there shouldn’t
be anyone else wearing white or ivory, even her bridesmaids will be wearing a different
colour. Most of the male guests, however, will be wearing suits, some even with waistcoats
and if your groomsmen are also dressed identically to you then how are you going to be
seen as the Most Important Man of the Day?
One of the simplest ways to identify yourself as the groom is to wear a pocket square that
echoes the colour of your fiancé’s dress leaving the groomsmen to wear one that
coordinates with the bridesmaid colours. Choosing a cravat for yourself whilst choosing a tie
for the groomsmen will also make a differentiation as would choosing a floral or patterned
tie for you as the groom, and plain ties for the groomsmen. Think about the possibility of
having a distinctive waistcoat for yourself but give the groomsmen plainer or darker colours
to help you stand out and them to blend more into the crowd. Finally, the choice of a
patterned suit for the groom is not for the faint hearted but our experience is that once we
offer this choice for the groom, with the rest of the party in plain suits, the groom rarely
turns down this option revelling in the fact that they will be centre stage.
5. To Hire or To Buy?: This is a decision that needs to be made early on as it will affect
your budget as well as your time scale. Hiring is usually the most cost-effective way to
provide suits for yourself and your groomsmen no matter how many of you there are.
Fittings are usually booked close to the wedding so although the choice of the suit can be
decided early on, you don’t need to organise your groomsmen for fittings until nearer the
wedding date. The choice is broad, and a good range of accessories are available.
Buying suits for everyone is the most expensive approach and involves very early fitting
appointments for everyone to allow delivery time for the suits and accessories. This is the
ideal way to ensure a perfect fit as these can be tailored to your size and personalised to
your liking.
However, there is another alternative where you can mix hiring and buying. You may want
to purchase your suit and accessories but hire for your groomsmen and this can work really
well if the same or similar suits are available to hire or buy.
An ideal way to have a keepsake from your wedding outfit is to buy your waistcoat, which
can be worn with your jeans or chinos later, but hire the rest of your outfit.
You may have thought that choosing your wedding suits was as easy as walking into a store and asking for a blue suit a few weeks before your wedding. But no, the groom’s outfit is equally important as anyone else’s and needs time and thought to put the outfit together.
Planning your wedding is such an exciting time for you both so take the plunge together and start exploring the styles and colours of wedding suits available.
Whatever the date of your wedding and however large or small your Wedding there is no need to compensate on how you look on the most important day of your life.
To book an appointment for The Chimney Experience call 01763 252828 or email