Your Guide to Groomsmen Attire

Here at Wedding Pickle, I'm always focusing on the bride and bridesmaids, but there are some things that have to deal with the men that the bride does have to consider. I know with my husband, he practically could care less about the tuxes because he was going to be wearing his uniform. (Though he did back me up when I decided to go with white tuxes and people looked at me funny) If your groom is hands on with deciding what he and the groomsmen are wearing, definitely share this article with him!

It has been a while since I have had a guest post so I am excited to have this post from Fine Tuxedos that is a great guide for considering groomsmen's fashion for your wedding!

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How to Make your Groomsmen Look Grand
So, you’re planning your wedding, and you’ve asked your best friends to be your groomsmen. (Well, your best friends and your fiancé’s weird cousin Lenny, anyways.)

Now, they’re looking to you to make the right decisions about their wedding attire. After all, the groomsmen’s outfits you choose are going to determine a number of things, including:

● How comfortable they are all day long
● Whether or not they can show off their latest moves on the dance floor
● Whether they’re able to make a love connection with a bridesmaid or other guest

Beyond that, your groomsmen really don’t care much what kind of tuxedo you put them into. You could probably put them into lightweight gorilla suits, and as long as they were comfortable and it made them more attractive to the ladies, they’d wear them.

(Take our advice, however: don’t try putting them into gorilla suits. It won’t work out the way you think it will.)

Your job is to make sure your groomsmen look awesome, are comfortable, and that their attire fits in with the overall wedding theme. Here are areas you need to think about in terms of your groomsmen’s attire:

● Choosing between a tuxedo or suit. This will, largely, depend on your overall wedding. If you’re going for a more formal evening wedding, then you’re going to want your groomsmen to be wearing tuxedos. If the wedding is more casual, you’ll go with suits, instead. A semi-formal wedding could have groomsmen in dark suits with off-white shirts, while summer weddings might see white suits or even khaki suits.

● Style. This gets more into what kind of suit or tuxedo you’re going to put your groomsmen in. Dark tuxedos are best for formal weddings, dark suits for semi-formal. Both should have cummerbund or vest, with the cummerbund being the slightly more formal option.

● Tie. Whether your groomsmen go with a bow tie or neck tie is your call, too. Here again, the formality of the wedding will determine the choice to some degree.

● Colors. Your hands may be at least a little bit tied here. Your groomsmen’s accessories – tie, cummerbund or vest, and more – are generally going to correspond to the colors in the bridesmaids’ dresses. Your groomsmen can choose other colors from the wedding’s palette, of course, as long as you have the consent of your fiancé.

● How do the groomsmen tuxedos differ from yours? Today’s groom will normally differentiate himself from his groomsmen. One way to do this is with the choice of colors, of course. Another option is to go with the same style tuxedo, but for yours choose the cut that has tails rather than the one that doesn’t. Some of these differences (like color differences) add to the wedding experience, while other differences (such as having an entirely different style of suit) can detract. Be very careful when making these decisions.

In addition to these decisions regarding picking out the groomsmen attire, there are some other factors you’re going to need to be sure to take into account, as well.

Rent or Buy?
There’s another decision you need to make about your groomsmen’s attire, and it’s one you should probably make with their input. The fact of the matter is that a tuxedo can be an expensive prospect. For some groomsmen, having a high-quality tuxedo in their wardrobe will mean that they’re set for formal events for years to come. For others, it may be a prohibitively expensive proposition.

If you’re going to ask your groomsmen to buy tuxes, you’ll want to choose styles that are traditional. This insures that they’ll get use out of them in the coming years.

{source via finetuxedos.com}

Fit Matters Most
Whether or not the groomsmen realize it, there is one factor that’s more important than most others when it comes to how good they’re going to look in their groomsmen’s attire: fit.

Good tailoring can make an average suit look good; poor tailoring can make a good suit look second-rate. Don’t skimp on the tailoring expense; make sure that the fit is perfect. Not only will your groomsmen look better, they’ll also be much more comfortable as they stay by your side on your big day.

A Collaborative Effort
Ultimately, your groomsmen attire decisions should come as a collaborative effort between you, your groomsmen, and your fiancé. For most guys, getting a list of ideas, restrictions, and colors from your fiancé is your first step. Grab some or all of your groomsmen, and start looking online at various attire styles. Talk about renting or buying, and make some decisions about style and color. Take all of that back to your fiancé for a final stamp of approval, and you’re good to go.

Your friends are depending on you to make them look good, just as you’ll be depending on them to make you look good on your special day. Don’t let them down with your choice of attire.



Jacqueline Sirota is a Fashion Consultant at Fine Tuxedos, a men’s formal wear website focused on making formal fashion easy for men. When she’s not helping men find the perfect tuxedo or formal wear accessories, she spends time traveling and playing tennis.

How to Have a Jeans Friendly Wedding

I seriously have been getting amazing guest post submissions! Last week we learned about how to take the best shots of your wedding dress and this week I got a great post for you brides out there wanting to have a casual, jeans-friendly wedding and don't know how to do it. It is a wedding and weddings are a formal celebration but who cares! These days it is all about bringing your personality to your day to tell your love story to your guests. :-) Suzanne is a writer for Lucky Brand Jeans and I am excited to share her article with you today!

You and your fiancé have a story completely unique to the two of you – how you met, how you fell in love, and how you got engaged. How you get married should also be unique and not every couple is a 5-foot train down the aisle of a cathedral type of couple. If you’re the kind of couple that would like to see your guests wearing jeans and flip flops rather than chinos and loafers, then follow these tips for making your entire wedding a pro-jeans zone.

Source: greenweddingshoes.com via April on Pinterest photography by Braedon Photography

Have your bridal party wear jeans

Rather than have your bridesmaids wear a dress that they will simply hide in the back of their closet after the wedding, put them in dark skinny jeans with a brightly colored empire-waist mini dress and a pair of black flats. Not only will it set the tone for the rest of the guests, but you as the bride will stand out even more against their fresh and modern look. And how cute will your ring bearer look wearing a pair of dark jeans and Converse?

Don’t have a reception – have a gigantic party

Have your reception at a venue where beach volleyball, croquet, and bocce ball are strongly encouraged and a part of the fun! On the invitation make sure your guests know that your reception will be a full contact sport and they should dress accordingly. No one will wear a suit and tie when they know that the cuisine includes BBQ ribs and that the bride and groom will be initiating a boys vs. girls softball game.

Source: stylemepretty.com via Monica on Pinterest photography by Elle Photography

Put the dress code on the wedding invitation

We’ve all received the wedding invitations that say “black tie encouraged” or “black tie required”. Play off the wording and write “board shorts encouraged” or “black tie forbidden.” A few of your guests might get confused and call you asking if it’s a typo, but this will provide you with a chance to spread the dress code word of mouth.

Provide a dress up box for those that want to feel fancy

Photo booths that utilize dress up boxes are all the rage, but why reserve the feather boas, mustaches, and bow ties for the photo booth? Make sure each table has fake pearls, plastic top hats, and tacky cummerbunds so that when the naysayers (like your cousin Janice) scoff at the lack of class that your jean clad bridesmaids exhibit, you can conga line past them – while wearing a sparkly purple top hat. Now that’s classy. 

The most important thing to remember is to plan a wedding that encapsulates your personality as a couple. While having a ceremony that is simultaneously planned down to the detail and casual might seem like a contradiction in terms, you and your fiancé get to write the story of your wedding. So be you! It’s your wedding…wear jeans if you want to. 

Suzanne is a blogging Seattlile with a healthy obsession with denim. She loves helping her friends with wedding ideas that are unique to their couple personality.

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Dialogue: Bridal Hats

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Better load up on Corona, salt and lime! That is my go to Mexican beer! Though, truth be told, my most favorite beer ever is Dos Equis Amber. Mexi-beer is the best, what can I say!

News Flash: I can't get over the Royal Wedding. I thought I would talk about the fabulousness of hats. Before the wedding I seriously hoped to see Kate get married in a glorious hat from seeing pictures of her.

Source {Here}

Of course, she didn't but her guests wore fabulous hats. I was inspired and went on a hunt for fabulous bridal hats.

Source {Here}

I found these fun sites: cinderellaspumpkin.com, glamgal.com, advantagebridal.com, nyfashionhats.com

I have always loved fun hats, but since my husband hates them I don't wear them. What are your views of hats? Would you wear a bridal hat instead of a veil?

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. - Colossians 3:1

Dialogue: Guests in White

Anytime I went to a wedding I always felt inappropriate wearing white out of disrespect to the bride. On last week's episode of Real Housewives of New York City (yes, I watch all the Real Housewives), one of the women had a conversation with her friends about two of the other women on the show who wore white to the wedding they all attended.

The two ladies in white by the cake. {Photo via Bravotv.com}

I first saw their dresses and thought, those are pretty dresses! Then when the wearing-white-at-a-wedding topic came up in the show, I thought, "Oh, yeah, they are wearing white! How terrible!"

This also got me thinking, I didn't even notice anyone wearing white if they did for my wedding. I had better things to think about. My groomsmen wore white tuxes and I felt like it only complimented me. Also, who really notices and who is really that important that they can steal the thunder from the bride? (unless that person is a celebrity)

I thought the men looked dashing in white! {Photo by Piperbella Photography}

My question for you brides-to-be is how do you feel about people, guests or bridal party, wearing white on your wedding day? How much white in an outfit is okay? (ex. like in prints) Or do you care at all?

The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. - Revelation 3:5