How to style your wedding party
Four mix-and-match wedding party looks.
HOW TO STYLE YOUR WEDDING PARTY
When it comes to weddings, the groom should take his moment to shine. But he also needs to fit in well with everyone else in the wedding party. Mixing up your styling will set the groom apart to match the bride but also make sure he won’t look out of place with his groomsmen. It’s important to get balance right, so here are four wedding party looks that hit the sweet spot.
TRADITIONAL IN TAILS
Tails transform a smart outfit into a special one. Popular for weddings (particularly ever since Beckham wore tails on Harry and Meghan’s big day), morning wear suits help mark a grand occasion by being unmistakably different from what you wear the rest of the time.
If the bride is wearing white or ivory, match the groom in an ivory waistcoat, while the groomsmen wear waistcoats in the colour of the jacket as a contrast. Or follow in Beckham’s footsteps and put the groom in black tails with a grey double-breasted waistcoat while the groomsmen stick to single-breasted. Pastels and nudes are trending wedding colours at the moment, and they’re versatile. Even if nude tones aren’t your colour scheme, they’ll work with any flowers and bridesmaid dresses, which can be helpful if you’re struggling to get the perfect match.
COUNTRY-INSPIRED WEDDINGS
If you’re planning a barn wedding or one outside, tweed suits will really look the part. There’s a scale for tweed, from traditional greens and browns to more modern bright shades.
Put the groom in a full tweed three-piece with a vintage-inspired waistcoat then have the groomsmen nod to his look in tweed waistcoats worn with a plain suit or a tweed two-piece with a waistcoat or trousers in a contrasting colour. After something more casual? Skip the waistcoat altogether, or take it down even further for the wedding party with tweed waistcoats against plain jackets and trousers.
Traditional tweeds go with rich colours like yellow, orange and red, but today’s tweeds have colourful highlights and look great set off with accessories that pick them out.
CITY WEDDINGS
If you’re having a city celebration, you may want to go for a more minimalist look with a lounge suit. A grey or navy for your suit will work with any colour of accessories for an easy match with the bridesmaids.
Make it look the part for a wedding by matching the groomsmen’s ties and pocket squares to your wedding’s colour palette but keep the groom’s accessories in ivory. You can also double-up on pocket squares with one in ivory and the other in the colour of the bridesmaid dresses for a more blended look.
OUTFIT CHANGE
Getting changed between the wedding breakfast and the evening do is becoming increasingly popular. It can help to shift the mood for the evening, getting you and your guests into the party spirit – especially if the change involves a tux.
An outfit change also means everyone in your wedding party can do their part and look unified for the wedding photos, but then relax into the celebrations later. The groom might go full works in a classic tuxedo, while the wedding party can change things up with a colourful velvet jacket or a printed shirt. You’re still looking for them to dress up, not down, but there’s definitely room for them to do it in something more their style.