It’s a long road of planning ahead until the day you stand at the wedding altar. You’re only just about to be introduced to the mother of all lists – the wedding planning list. To help you along with this, we’ve put together a succinct guide below in narrowing your decision of what to wear for the big day.
WHEN SHOULD I START SHOPPING FOR THE WEDDING SUIT?
The process of planning and shopping for the outfit should start 3-5 months before the wedding. Take some time to scroll through Instagram, wedding pages online and celeb wedding images. Start to get a feel for the various styles out there, as there are no norms these days – it’s all up to interpretation and your style.
From here, get a sense of your interests in fashion and check the social media pages of menswear brands. Do they come close to the looks that you like, and do they have style advisers that can help you? Make an appointment and go to at least two or three places so that you can try on a wide variety of suits and explore all your options. Prior to setting up the appointment, did you decide if you are going to hire suits or purchase a suit off the rack, or are you going to have one made?
TO HIRE OR TO PURCHASE?
It is our advice at this point that you have a look at both the hire & ownership offerings. We cannot tell you the amount of times we’ve had a groom come into our showroom to hire suits for his groomsmen, only to regret having made a suit because he was later impressed by the suits that he could have hired for a fragment of the retail price. For the same price of purchase for a suit, you can hire two different outfits – one for the wedding ceremony, and another for the wedding reception.
On the contrary, you might decide that you want to spend with a larger budget in mind and purchase a suit for your big day – one you may possibly use in future for other events! Purchase a suit off-the-rack that fits you beautifully, only needing mild alterations or go all out spending the big bucks to get a bespoke suit made to fit you like a glove. This is entirely up to you and your budget.
The big question to ask yourself when going down this route is “Am I ever going to wear this suit again, or will it collect dust in my wardrobe?”. If you believe the consequences of your suit may result in the latter, it would be highly advised to choose to hire.
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT FOR THE SELECTIONS & STYLING:
Before we pull a suit off the rack here at Mr. Fierze, we sit down and have a chat with both the groom and partner during the first fitting. We ask a series of questions so that we can get a good handle of what you’re after, and it also helps you visualise what the whole groomsmen party would look like.
Questions we often ask include;
- When is the wedding? This helps us gage what the season will be – lending towards fabric and colour choices
- Where is the wedding held? Outdoor, in a garden, in a church, in a ballroom, a winery, on the beach shore? This helps us decide if you fabric should be flexible, light and breathable, or if there’s room for velvets.
- How many groomsmen are you having?
- What is the theme of the wedding and its colours?
- What colour will the bride and bridesmaids be dressed in? This is vital as we don’t want the colours of the suits to clash with the bridesmaids.
- Does the groom want to stand out and look slightly accentuated from the groomsmen?
- Do you have any images that you like or want to achieve?
- Do you want a bow tie or neck tie?
As we go through these questions with the groom, we both get a good understanding and are able to narrow down the suits we are after. Our style consultants then go through the various options and style you. By this time, you would have taken a few photos of the various looks for reference to take home and think over before making a decision.
WHAT DO YOU GET STYLED IN?
When we dress our grooms, we provide two to three different looks to pick and choose from. We encourage our grooms and their groomsmen to not decide on the day, but to take plenty of photos, leave their first fitting and return within a week or two with a final decision. This time to speculate allows you to ultimately decide what you are after as we find that grooms usually can’t pick one look in a matter of hours. However, if you are the kind that wants two to three different outfit changes in your wedding, then by all means, go for it. The beauty of hiring a suit is that it allows you to have three looks for the equivalent price of a made to measure suit.
Items we dress you up in that you need to be aware of are:
- Suit or Tuxedo
- Pleated tuxedo shirt
- Bow Ties or Ties
- Pocket Squares
- Lapel Pins
- Cufflinks
- Belts (if there is a real need)
- Shoes
It is usually at this point that you are able to visualise your full look with the groomsmen and you start to know what you’re after.
After the second day is up, you should be certain of the outfit you’re after and proceed to get yourself and you groomsmen fitted. This can either be done in one group fitting or individually based on schedules. We then book the suits in, and they’re ready to be picked up the day before your wedding day. As a general rule if your wedding is on a Saturday, the suits can be picked up on a Thursday evening and returned on the Monday, giving you 5 days with the suits.
YOU'RE READY TO MEET YOUR PARTNER AT THE ALTAR.
Now that we’ve covered everything, we hope that this post will help you with your thought process in the lead up to your wedding day. There’s quite a few things to think about, but we make it easy & seamless for you. We take this journey with you from the moment you enter the showroom to the time return your outfits.
Book an appointment to come see us today for an initial consultation, even if it’s just to start your thought process and get inspirations.