In Part 1 we covered the fundamentals: dressing for the season, coordinating your wedding party, and getting the fit right for photographs. Part 2 gets into the specifics: venue type, jacket and trouser decisions, color, shirts, and accessories.
Dressing for the Venue
Beach and Destination Weddings
Casual linen suits are the natural choice for beach ceremonies. A white linen suit is an excellent option for a summer beach wedding. It photographs beautifully and breathes well in heat. For yacht or waterfront events, a black dinner jacket adds sophistication without the weight of a full tuxedo. Tropical destination weddings can support bolder colors and patterns that would feel out of place in a traditional setting.
City Weddings
Urban venues (hotel ballrooms, rooftop spaces, upscale restaurants) typically call for formal attire. Traditional tuxedos with bow ties and black dress shoes are always correct for church or formal ballroom ceremonies. A well-tailored dark suit works when full black-tie isn’t required.
Casual Styled Weddings
Navy and midnight blue suits read sharp without being stuffy for informal venues. Dark colors suit evening celebrations better than daytime ones; lighter shades work well in warmer, brighter settings.
Choosing the Jacket and Trousers
Single-breasted jackets with one or two buttons are the most common and most versatile choice. For lapel style:
- Peaked lapels: more formal, traditionally associated with tuxedos
- Notch lapels: slightly more relaxed, appropriate across a wide range of formality levels
Pocket style matters too. Jetted (besom) pockets convey formality. Flap pockets read slightly more relaxed. For most weddings, either works. It comes down to the overall formality of the event.
For trousers, the break at the shoe should be slight, just grazing the shoe with no excess fabric pooling. Pleats and trouser cuffs suit more formal affairs.
Vest or No Vest?
The choice between two-piece and three-piece comes down to formality level:
- High formality: Three-piece suit or tuxedo with vest
- Medium formality: Two-piece suit, clean and well-fitted
- Low formality: Two-piece in a casual fabric or color
A vest under a jacket also lets you remove the jacket during the reception without losing your polished appearance entirely.
Colors That Work
Blue is the most versatile wedding color for suiting. It flatters a wide range of complexions, works across seasons, and reads well in photographs at any level of formality from navy to sky blue.
Grey works for virtually any wedding setting. Light grey suits casual and formal daytime events; charcoal and dark grey work for evening receptions with lower lighting and a more formal atmosphere.
Black conveys the highest formality, creates a strong visual presence, and has a classically slimming effect in photographs.
The Shirt
The shirt plays a larger role than most grooms realize. Key decisions:
- Collar style: for formal weddings, a cutaway or spread collar gives more room for a necktie or bowtie and frames the face well
- Fabric: cotton or linen for warm weather and beach settings; dobby or piqué cotton for cooler, more formal events
- Color: white is the standard; pale pink and light blue can work well depending on the wedding’s color palette
Accessories
Shoes: black leather lace-ups are standard for formal weddings. Brown leather complements navy or medium blue suits well. Avoid patent leather for anything short of black-tie.
Pocket square: a white pocket square adds visual interest and photographs beautifully. It doesn’t need to match the tie exactly: coordinating is enough.
Boutonniere: pinned properly to the left lapel buttonhole, a boutonniere references classic tailoring tradition and ties the groom’s look to the ceremony’s floral design.
Neckwear: blue, ivory, and black are the most broadly correct choices for wedding ties. Matching the bridesmaids’ color earns points for cohesion. If you want a luxury detail, a seven-fold necktie is the best the category offers.
Belts vs. suspenders: belts work well under two-piece suits at moderate formality levels. Suspenders under a vest remove the need for a belt entirely and look correct at higher formality levels.
Cufflinks: if you’re wearing a shirt with French cuffs, cufflinks are non-negotiable. Choose a metal that coordinates with your belt hardware or ring. This is the detail that photographs up close in getting-ready shots and makes you look like you thought about everything.
Questions about your wedding attire? I’ve been building custom wedding suits and tuxedos for more than three decades. Book a consultation and we’ll build something worth wearing in those photographs.
