Ask the Right Questions: Formal Wear for Him

What with all the gushing over the wedding dress, it’s easy to forget there’s a whole other side of the aisle to consider: formal wear for him. What about his needs? Here are the questions to ask yourself,  your potential tailor, and your groom, when getting suited and booted.

Questions for the Couple

• How formal is this shindig? Your wedding gown, location, season, and time of day will be your best clues. Fancier and evening events should point your groom toward tuxedos over suits, or a close variation thereof. More casual, warm weather, or outdoor venues offer some flexibility in the manner of lightweight fabric, color, and dinner jacket style.  
• What are your wedding’s colors? Tastes vary when it comes to matching, for example, a groom’s tie to reception linens. Coordinating your wedding’s theme, style, and color scheme with your groomsmen can be expressed through a wide variety of formal wear accoutrements. 
• What exactly are formal wear accoutrements? Customization and personality can be achieved not just in the suit itself, but also neck ties, pocket squares, waistcoats, socks, belts, suspenders, cufflinks, shoes, and for many New Jersey grooms, gold chains. Details will punctuate the overall look.
• Bowties Over Neckties? For black tie weddings the choice is clear, however everything else allows for your personal aesthetic to shine through. Some couples choose a combination of both, bowtie for the groom, neckties for the groomsmen. Decide whether bowties to you are dorky or classically elegant, and you have your answer. And accept now that at some point someone will have tied theirs around their forehead, Rambo style. It’s a given.
• Regarding attendants, should they match the groom? Or should they vary slightly with differing vests or jacket color? You might prefer the uniformity and formality of matching suits, however a bit of distinction might give the groom just a little more spotlight among his field of handsome dudes.
• How much fun are you willing to have? Unique touches add a little flair if you’re a jazzier groom. Cowboy boots, dress shirts in unexpected colors or patterns, French cuffs and personalized links, dress or tennis shoes in a showy color, pin striping, contrasted piping, or plaid in the suit material. The options are as limited as your imagination allows.

Questions for the Tailor

• How far in advance of the wedding do we need to select garments? 
• What is the deadline for all groomsmen to have their measurements taken? 
• Do my attendants need appointments or can they walk in?
• How much time is required to complete any necessary alterations? 
• When will I finally be able to pick up my suit? 
• What are options for measurements, fittings, and delivery for long distance attendants?
• For destination weddings, is there a store located near our ceremony where we can pick up our suits?
• Is there an advantage to buying suits over renting? Do you extend a volume discount on the purchase of suits for prices that rival or beat that of a rental? 
• What sort of deposit is due, and when?
• What is the damage policy on rented formalwear? 
• What are our options should we need last minute changes, i.e. mending a missing button, unexpected waist size fluctuations, accidental stains?
• How soon after the wedding do rentals need to be returned?

Click here for list of local formal wear for him vendors.

Download our Formal Wear for Him Quick Reference Guide!