If you're getting married later this year, or your mantelpiece is already bowing under the weight of wedding invitations then this article is most definitely for you! Whether groom or guest, we'll quickly run through some of our favourite sartorial options no matter what the style of wedding. There are really three pillars of groom style: the formal wedding (which encompasses morning suits); the lounge suit wedding; and the increasingly popular black tie wedding (which can be added to either of the first two wedding styles and a dinner and dancing look later in the day). We'll run through the essentials for each one now.
The Formal Wedding
It's not like the morning suit has a multitude of formats so you'd be forgiven for thinking it would be a straightforward case of finding one that fits and being done with it. If only life were that simple! There are in fact myriad options to choose from in regards to the morning suit itself, from the traditional black morning coat and cashmere stripe trousers, to an all-charcoal 3-piece and even a navy 3-piece. That's not even considering one's waistcoat choice, which we'll come to. The process of finding the perfect (and perfectly fitting) morning suit will be a lot more enjoyable and painless if you can manage to do the one thing that most men struggle with - ask for help!
Black Windsor Herringbone |
Navy Furlong Wool |
Charcoal Shaftesbury Cashmere |
At Favourbrook, our personal shopping service is dedicated to this very task. Our experts have decades of experience outfitting gentlemen for a wide variety of sophisticated formal weddings and will be able to guide you through the best options for your particular circumstances. To book an appointment simply email sales@favourbrook.com or call +44 (0)20 7493 5060. It's advisable to get this whole process rolling at least two months prior to the big day. While alterations are usually turned around within a week, you'll want to leave plenty of time to ensure that all the details have been carefully seen to, especially if you are outfitting your groomsmen.
Grey Westminster |
Navy Hardewick Linen |
Cobalt Durlston |
Waistcoats
The degree of personality and individualisation to be had with a waistcoat is almost endless. Starting from the silhouette - single-breasted or double-breasted - and moving on to front and rear fabrics, our made-to-measure service will ensure that your waistcoat will be truly unique. But if that all sounds like decision overload, we have literally hundreds of off-the-peg styles cut in a variety of fabrics that will look equally as polished and sophisticated. Linen styles work especially well for summer weddings, and the long, smooth parabola of a double-breasted shawl lapel is the perfect foil for the crisp lines of a morning coat. Whether plain cloth, or patterned, you won't be short of options.
The other bits
Namely, shirt, tie, pocket square, socks and shoes. The shirt - a formal dress shirt in this case - comes in a variety of options, from the most minimal hidden placket style to the classic spread collar. White 99% of the time, but pale pastel tones are not out of the question although we would always recommend a white collar to keep things formal and sharp. In all honesty, the best modus operandi would involve coming into the Pall Mall store and trying them all on and deciding what looks best with a morning coat and waistcoat. The tie and pocket square may seem like facile details but they are anything but. Get them wrong and you botch the entire look. Do you mix or do you match? Again, this will be dependent on a number of factors but at Favourbrook we almost always prefer an unmatched trio of waistcoat, tie and pocket square, provided they complement one another.
The Lounge Suit Wedding
Whether guest or groom, a linen suit is the perfect option for a less formal summer wedding. For whatever reason (it's the weather, it's always the weather) the English don't fling themselves into summer tailoring quite like our European cousins, for whom unstructured lightweight linen blazers and chinos seem as natural a combination as ripe tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. We tend to wear our suits like armour, as a symbol of strength and power, whereas the likes of the Italians wear their own version of tailoring as a personal expression of la dolce vita. One would do well to purloin a few leaves from the Mediterranean book!
One thing we Brits do well is pragmatism, so let's get straight to it. For a summer wedding, whether in the UK or abroad, a linen suit is without doubt the ensemble that ticks all of the boxes. Lightweight and almost always cut without any internal structure, it drapes beautifully and has that natural crumple that downplays the formality of the suit silhouette. Not only that, linen holds dye well, particularly the pastel tones which slide right into a summer sartorial setting. At Favourbrook, we have created linen suits in a wide variety of pastel tones this season, all of which are perfect for the discerning groom or guest. They're smart and traditional yet with a touch of that aforementioned Mediterranean savoir-faire.
Where shirting is concerned, a crisp white shirt is never a bad option with summer tailoring. It allows the tie to be more prominent by creating a strong contrast. Pastel alternatives are perfectly acceptable but we would probably opt for a contrast white cutaway collar just to frame the face that little bit better.
To wear a tie or not to wear a tie will boil down to the dress code you want for your wedding, but we would always suggest wearing one since it offers another opportunity to individualise the look, and on a more practical level, it does help steer people's gaze to your face.
The Black Tie Wedding
One very popular trend we've been seeing in the past few seasons is the black tie wedding. Not a traditional format per se, but many grooms are deciding to tie the knot in both traditional and alternative black tie. And why not?! It's beautifully smart, and decidedly the most glamorous of the three options. The classic black tuxedo jacket and satin stripe trousers also make for a svelte silhouette, and the addition of a pleated dress shirt and bow tie just add to the sense of occasion. There are also many twists on the classic black tie that you can opt for, such as an embellished silk dinner jacket, or a velvet dinner jacket for example. Both options inject an element of colour, texture, and of course, personality.
The great thing about black tie, is that you don't necessarily have to choose it over the other two formats. Instead, make it a second look. We encountered many grooms in 2022 who planned on wearing a morning suit for the wedding itself and the requisite formalities during the day, but who then changed into black tie for dinner and dancing. The very best of both worlds! Brides have been changing looks forever so why not the grooms?!
