Boys with all the hubbub about which gown your bride will wear, it's easy to think your own ensemble can fade into the background.
Top Ten Tips
Top Ten Tips
With all the hubbub about which gown your bride will wear, it's easy to think your own ensemble can fade into the background. Not so! All eyes will be on you as much as on your beautiful bride, so it's important that you look your best, too. For many grooms, this means suiting up with a tuxedo. Browse our Tux Gallery.
Here are ten tips to boost your tux know-how, so you'll look dashing on your wedding day:
1. Plan Ahead
Don't wait till the week before your wedding to figure out what you're going to wear. Start investigating your tux options about four to five months before the big day. You'll need to decide whether you'll buy or rent and determine which style you'll be looking for (see 3 and 4 below). Plan on purchasing or reserving your formalwear around the three- or four-month mark.
2. Discuss Plans With Your Bride
First stop after getting started? Check with your soon-to-be missus. The purpose is not to undermine your tuxedo sensibility (or your machismo), but to make sure your wedding-day looks coordinate. Since the bride's gown traditionally is kept a secret from the groom, you might think this will be a difficult task. But you don't have to spoil the surprise -- just talk to your bride about what kind of tuxedo you plan to wear. Trust us, she'll steer you in the right direction.
3. Know What Style Wedding You Are Having
Different types of weddings call for different versions of formalwear. In addition to your lovely bride's attire, the clothing you wear will depend largely on the time and location of your event and the size of your guest list. All of these things will determine whether your wedding is informal, formal, or ultra-formal, and the goal is to wear a tux that is in tune with the formality of your affair.
4. Wear The Right Tux For Your Body Frame
Believe it or not, certain tux cuts are best suited for certain body types. For example, you may think a double-breasted jacket is super stylin', but, if you're husky, it may add unwanted bulk around the middle. Tux Gallery.
Your wedding day is not the time for straining jacket buttons or too-tight trousers. Your formalwear dealer should know how to measure you properly (inseam, waist, jacket size) and give you a proper fitting during your appointment. Pay attention not just to what looks good but also to what feels good, and choose your formalwear for style and comfort. Call a few places to find out retail and rental price ranges, then make appointments to go in and see the goods.
6. Coordinate With Your Groomsmen
Generally, if you're wearing a tux, your groomsmen are, too. Around the same time you start deciding on your own attire, think about what you'd like your groomsmen to wear, and make sure and check with your bride to see if she has any designs on coordinating some part of their attire -- bow ties, cummerbunds, etc.-- with that of her bridesmaids. Two to three months before the wedding, prep the guys with all the info they need, including styles, colors, and even store suggestions, to rent or buy their own tuxes. IrvinePark.com: Free Shipping on ALL Orders! (Exp. 8/31)
7. Make A Statement
With you and the guys all wearing tuxes, you might wonder how you'll stand out in the crowd. You are the groom, after all. You can exercise some personal style in a few different ways: vary the cut of your jacket (if you're wearing single-breasted, ask your guys to wear double), try a tie or cummerbund in a different color from that of the guys, wear a vest, or don an extra-special boutonniere.
8. Don't Be Afraid To Accessorize
It's not just the tuxedo -- it's the stuff that goes with it. When shopping for a tux to buy or rent, don't forget all the accessories you need: bow tie, cummerbund, vest, cufflinks
, shirt studs, even shoes. Finalize these details about two to three months before the wedding. Even if you already own these items, locate them and keep them organized -- no groom wants to spend the morning of his wedding scrambling around looking for those heirloom cufflinks.
9. Ask & You Shall Recieve
We know, weddings are expensive -- for both the couple and the bridal party. Be sure to ask your formalwear retailer about special deals for the groom or the groomsmen. Some stores will offer a discount to the groom if all his groomsmen rent or buy their tuxes from the same store, or even a discount for each groomsman. It doesn't hurt to ask. If your groomsmen can benefit, too, they'll be grateful.
10. Make A Final Check
If you were jumping out of an airplane, you'd check your parachute first, right? (OK, maybe that's not such a great metaphor.) The point is that a lot may have changed since you first went in for your tux fitting. During highly stressful periods -- say, the months leading up to a wedding -- men and women alike may lose or gain significant amounts of weight. So, one to two weeks before your walk down the aisle, try on your tux to make sure it still fits properly. That way, if your body has morphed at all (or, heaven forbid, the wrong jacket is in the garment bag, or the trousers were hemmed the wrong length), you'll still have time to rectify the situation with your tux retailer or renter.
On your wedding day, get dressed, check yourself in the mirror, and say a quick prayer to the Gods of Manly Style (Sydney Poitier, Billy D, Denzel, and all the other dashing dudes who've dared to walk in tuxes before you) -- before you head off to meet your future wife.
Here are ten tips to boost your tux know-how, so you'll look dashing on your wedding day:
1. Plan Ahead
Don't wait till the week before your wedding to figure out what you're going to wear. Start investigating your tux options about four to five months before the big day. You'll need to decide whether you'll buy or rent and determine which style you'll be looking for (see 3 and 4 below). Plan on purchasing or reserving your formalwear around the three- or four-month mark.
2. Discuss Plans With Your Bride
First stop after getting started? Check with your soon-to-be missus. The purpose is not to undermine your tuxedo sensibility (or your machismo), but to make sure your wedding-day looks coordinate. Since the bride's gown traditionally is kept a secret from the groom, you might think this will be a difficult task. But you don't have to spoil the surprise -- just talk to your bride about what kind of tuxedo you plan to wear. Trust us, she'll steer you in the right direction.
3. Know What Style Wedding You Are Having
Different types of weddings call for different versions of formalwear. In addition to your lovely bride's attire, the clothing you wear will depend largely on the time and location of your event and the size of your guest list. All of these things will determine whether your wedding is informal, formal, or ultra-formal, and the goal is to wear a tux that is in tune with the formality of your affair.
4. Wear The Right Tux For Your Body Frame
Believe it or not, certain tux cuts are best suited for certain body types. For example, you may think a double-breasted jacket is super stylin', but, if you're husky, it may add unwanted bulk around the middle. Tux Gallery.
Your wedding day is not the time for straining jacket buttons or too-tight trousers. Your formalwear dealer should know how to measure you properly (inseam, waist, jacket size) and give you a proper fitting during your appointment. Pay attention not just to what looks good but also to what feels good, and choose your formalwear for style and comfort. Call a few places to find out retail and rental price ranges, then make appointments to go in and see the goods.
6. Coordinate With Your Groomsmen
Generally, if you're wearing a tux, your groomsmen are, too. Around the same time you start deciding on your own attire, think about what you'd like your groomsmen to wear, and make sure and check with your bride to see if she has any designs on coordinating some part of their attire -- bow ties, cummerbunds, etc.-- with that of her bridesmaids. Two to three months before the wedding, prep the guys with all the info they need, including styles, colors, and even store suggestions, to rent or buy their own tuxes. IrvinePark.com: Free Shipping on ALL Orders! (Exp. 8/31)
7. Make A Statement
With you and the guys all wearing tuxes, you might wonder how you'll stand out in the crowd. You are the groom, after all. You can exercise some personal style in a few different ways: vary the cut of your jacket (if you're wearing single-breasted, ask your guys to wear double), try a tie or cummerbund in a different color from that of the guys, wear a vest, or don an extra-special boutonniere.
8. Don't Be Afraid To Accessorize
It's not just the tuxedo -- it's the stuff that goes with it. When shopping for a tux to buy or rent, don't forget all the accessories you need: bow tie, cummerbund, vest, cufflinks
9. Ask & You Shall Recieve
We know, weddings are expensive -- for both the couple and the bridal party. Be sure to ask your formalwear retailer about special deals for the groom or the groomsmen. Some stores will offer a discount to the groom if all his groomsmen rent or buy their tuxes from the same store, or even a discount for each groomsman. It doesn't hurt to ask. If your groomsmen can benefit, too, they'll be grateful.
10. Make A Final Check
If you were jumping out of an airplane, you'd check your parachute first, right? (OK, maybe that's not such a great metaphor.) The point is that a lot may have changed since you first went in for your tux fitting. During highly stressful periods -- say, the months leading up to a wedding -- men and women alike may lose or gain significant amounts of weight. So, one to two weeks before your walk down the aisle, try on your tux to make sure it still fits properly. That way, if your body has morphed at all (or, heaven forbid, the wrong jacket is in the garment bag, or the trousers were hemmed the wrong length), you'll still have time to rectify the situation with your tux retailer or renter.
On your wedding day, get dressed, check yourself in the mirror, and say a quick prayer to the Gods of Manly Style (Sydney Poitier, Billy D, Denzel, and all the other dashing dudes who've dared to walk in tuxes before you) -- before you head off to meet your future wife.
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