The bride's busy arranging all aspects of the wedding, and as the groom, you're doing your bit by nodding occasionally. Sure enough, the credit card's taking a bit of a hammering, but that's the price you pay when all the real work's not being done by you. Then, as attention finally comes around to what the men will be wearing, it's your turn to get on with things! Here is a short guide to help you go about selecting and hiring the right suit.
When it comes to tradition and etiquette, there's no point in going to Wikipedia, or any of the online wedding services directories, because most of what you'll read there will either apply to when Winston Churchill was a lad, or will just not apply to the reality of what wedding parties actually wear these days. There simply are no rules about what may or may not be worn by wedding parties, whether that be the style or the colour of the outfits, since all that matters is the theme and personal taste of those involved.
The average size of a wedding party hiring wedding suits is six, consisting of groom, best man, the father of the bride, the father of the groom and two ushers. Where this group gets expanded, it will tend to go towards page boys, grandfathers and brothers, rather than friends and guests. In about half of all cases, all of the party will wear exactly the same outfit, and where there are differences, it will usually be the groom wearing a different waistcoat or cravat to the others, but not the suit itself.
There are 3 main styles of jacket that just about any serious suit hire shop should be able to supply: tailcoat, a three quarter length coat often known as an Edward jacket, and lounge jacket often known as a normal jacket. All of these styles can be worn with matching or striped trousers, and any style and colour combination of waistcoat, shirt, cravat or tie, with a matching handkerchief.
As mentioned earlier, there's no rule on what style or colour should be worn these days for a formal wedding, with a good illustration of today's parting with tradition being the fact that top hats and gloves are rarely hired. In the vast majority of cases, the waistcoat and cravat/tie colour will reflect the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses, or another prominent colour the bride has chosen as a theme of the wedding. As far as the suits are concerned, here is an indication of how popular the different styles are:
Jacket Style Edward 70% Tailcoat 25% Normal 5% Jacket Colour Black 45% Grey 25% Brown 15% Navy 10% Ivory/Misc 5% Trousers Matching plain 85% Striped 15%
So, you've got yourself a good idea (with the bride's help of course) of how many outfits you need, and what style and colour you're going for. What next? When should you be hiring these outfits and where are you going to get them from? Well, it's a good idea to start seriously looking about 9 to 12 months in advance of the big day, as this will give you enough time to look around without pressure. Two good starting points would be Google and Yellow Pages.
However, the most important piece of research you need to do, is in customer feedback and recommendation, either through family and friends, or for example through any of the online forums to do with weddings.
Put simply, you need to identify a company with a good reputation for service, since your wedding day is just far too important to entrust to any company who cannot demonstrate a good track record in this regard. Come the week of the wedding, make sure that you get hold of your wedding suits as soon as they are available, so that your party can try them all on to make sure there is no need for any last minute size alterations. This is absolutely vital, as you should not assume that just because you were measured some weeks before, everything is bound to now fit you. And finally, ensure that your suits are returned on time. Not only will that save you any further charges, but it will help in the smooth running of someone's wedding after your own.
You may not want to admit it but finding the right wedding suit for your special day is actually quite enjoyable. Say what!? I mean it's bearable. Now, I am not a fan of shopping and unlike the woman in my life, who chose what she was going to wear at her wedding when she was six, I was not looking forward to arranging the clothing for that all important day.
But fortunately I found that the reality was far less daunting than my imagination had thought and I have actually come to enjoy my search for a wedding suit and want to tell you how to make it simple, straightforward and effective. If like me you want to look great on your wedding day but don't really know where to start then read on!
Colour co-ordination
One thing that I had never really considered properly was the fact that the wedding suit that you choose needs to look right alongside the dresses that the bridesmaids will wear. It's pretty obvious when you think about it but nevertheless this is extremely important to make sure that you get that all important wedding photo. There are however problems that you may encounter if you want to make sure this happens without upsetting your bride.
It is a well known fact that seeing the brides dress before the wedding is extremely bad luck. So you need to be subtle if you want to find out exactly what colours you should be wearing. The best bet is to seek the advice of the maid of honour and also seek the advice of the suit hire company. Most suit hire companies provide a discreet service where they will look at what the bride and bridesmaids plan to wear whilst also keeping it a secret from you. This way you will have a perfectly colour co-ordinated suit and it will make for a perfect wedding photo and your bride will be well impressed.
Use a professional
It is, in my opinion, well worth considering paying out for the services of a professional. These guys will make the whole experience simple and they will have you looking like a real prince - in a good way! They know what looks good and will be able to use their keen eye to not only pick a suit that makes you look great but they will also pick one that will perfectly compliment the colours that the bridesmaids will wear.
These professionals will also be able to involve you in the process so that you can make a decision on the style that you are going for and the level of formality you want to achieve. It is probably worth the money - after all you will want to look worthy of your beautiful wife on your special day.
Using the internet
The information superhighway has more uses than you think. It can help you in your pursuit of a great wedding suit at an affordable price. The main benefit of the internet is that from the comfort of your own computer you can check a wide range of suits and compare the prices from a wide range of different companies.
That way you can pick the exact type of suit from a broad range of suppliers and then hunt around to find the best prices for it. Some of these companies even provide a service where they will mail your choice to you so that you never even have to go into the shop. This can be a wonderful stress free option - as long as you are confident of your size. I would always recommend a fitting in person as this will ensure that the suit really fits well and that you feel comfortable in it.
Shaun Parker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Online Marketing, Auto Insurance and Wedding Bells. Shaun Parker has helped numerous couples organise their clothing for the wedding day. He is an authority on to make sure your special day is a succe. Shaun Parker's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.