Lest we forget, it’s not just the bride who has to look fabulous at the altar. That rather handsome fella, the one who got down on bended knee and asked you to be his lifelong pal, is also a pretty important ingredient when it comes to creating a recipe for a stylish wedding. As such, today we’re going to tackle the tricky topic of the grooms style (which is in no way an excuse just to look at pictures of handsome boys and Ryan Gosling…).
Now, you’re not going to want to give anything away about your own outfit, but you are going to have to give a few pointers to make sure you’re both on the same sartorial page. If you’re wearing a sleek contemporary number, he’s going to look like a bit of a clown if he turns up in a traditional morning suit, you see.
For many grooms and ushers, the starting point for their suits comes from either the colour scheme for the day or the colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Initially, this will help them to decide on the colour of their accessories; ties, waistcoats and pocket squares are the most commonly matched items, but you could go as far as sock and braces too if you like.
All tweedy groom images from Love My Dress
Your groom is likely to have his own personal style and, just like shopping for wedding dresses, his suit should be reflective of his own tastes and personality. If he’s not a tie guy, consider how to make an open neck shirt look slick and smart, for example. If he wears three-piece suits to the office every day, does he want to feel more suave in a tuxedo perhaps?
From lounge suits to frock coats, there are probably more styles of suit than you’ve ever actually stopped to consider. Will they were tweed or linen? Should they have a plain shirt, a coloured shirt or a patterned shirt? Should the tie match the pocket square or should the pocket square match the jacket lining? Cravat, bow tie, or Windsor knot?
Then there’s the recent rise in hipster grooms. For the non-traditional guys out there it started off with Converse trainers with suits. Then came the bow tie. After that, suit jackets seemed to be abandoned and all of a sudden the boys were rolling up their sleeves, selecting jazzy waistcoats and sweeping their hair all over the place.
Boys in bow ties from Style Me Pretty
For many grooms however, their wedding day represents the one chance that they’re ever likely to justifiably pretend that they’re James Bond. Thanks to the influence that our friend Daniel Craig has had on the contemporary male, well cut and exquisitely tailored suits have become de rigueur and if your budget doesn’t stretch to Tom Ford and Savile Row, you’ll find some really rather marvellous skinny cut suits on the High Street these days.
Finally, we must not forget the grooms who have traditions to uphold. There’s something uniquely dashing about a man in a top hat and tails and we know what a classic aesthetic this look gives a wedding day. For those of a Celtic persuasion, the choice of tartan will be ingrained in generations of history, but the choice of whether anything goes under that kilt is entirely up to your groom…
All celebrity images taken from Pinterest; all other shots from Style Me Pretty
