How to choose a groom’s, best man’s and usher’s wedding outfits

You’ve chosen your wedding dress, flowers and favours, but there’s still a big organisational gap missing, and that’s what the important men in your life will be wearing.

This not only includes, very obviously your groom but also the best man and ushers. Although we have a fair bit of knowledge around this subject, we know how important it is for your other half to look just as good as you on the big day.

So we asked to bespoke suit and wedding expert Adam King from King and Allen a few questions to really get the lowdown on what the men should be wearing on the big day.

What should a groom look for when he’s looking for a suit?
Choosing a Wedding suit can be quite complex so expert advice should be sought. To make it harder there are subtleties of colour and design that are affected by certain specifics of the individual wedding, from the location and time of year to his body shape and skin colour. You need sound impartial advice from an expert, so avoid high street retailers who will try and push whatever is on their shelves. The way to solve this is buy going bespoke. However if you’re going off the peg you need to find someone who offers a broad range of cloths and styles and serious expertise in wedding attire.

Should the bride be involved or should it be the Grooms choice?
This mainly depends on how much of the wedding you have organised already. Choosing a wedding suit is all about style and colour.
If you’ve decided on your venue and overall theme (modern, traditional, church, country house etc) then he should be fine to choose his style.
As long as the wedding palate is set in stone, and favours, flowers, cakes and most importantly bridesmaids dresses have been chosen, then he’s unlikely to get the colouring wrong. I would advise sending him along with a cutting of the bridesmaids dresses. Don’t expect to match the colours but to compliment them.

If in doubt – join him. He’ll probably be grateful for you removing the responsibility from his shoulders.

What colour should a groom go for?
Cream should be the secondary colour for a traditional wedding, silver should be the secondary colour (the inside lining of the jacket and the back of the waistcoat) if you’re going for a more modern look. The dominant suit colours (ie of the suit itself) are navy blue or mid grey. They are both extremely fashionable at the moment for weddings as they suit most complexions and are a far cry from the dark charcoals or pinstripes that smack of office drudgery.

What are the traditional wedding suits and are there any new suit trends?
Traditional formalwear is ideal for a wedding in a large country house with a large guest list, or a traditional church ‘white wedding’. The smartest of all is a Morning Coat, which is black with striped trousers and a patterned waistcoat. A warmer and less formal option is the Morning Suit, which is ‘Ascot Grey’ – a lovely mid grey which is both stylish and modern.

If the wedding is beginning after 5 (or dusk – whichever comes sooner) Morning dress is not appropriate. The evening equivalent is black tie.

I have noticed, however, that fewer clients are going down the formal route next year. Instead they are opting for a more relaxed, modern event and their suits are reflecting this. Fitted, 1 or 2 button lounge suits (often without ties) are de rigueur, with a little flourish of fun such as coloured stitching on the boutonniere (button-hole) or cuff button.

How should the best man / ushers dress?
Ideally the best man and ushers should be in the same suit as the groom. This is very hard to achieve, however, unless you go bespoke, since different body shapes suit different cuts, and it’s very hard to find one suit that fits all.

If you want the groom to stand out, why not put him in a patterned tie, whilst the others wear a plain tie in the same colour? You could do the same with waistcoats, or the buttonhole flowers – it’s these subtle differences which balance so well with the uniformity of the suits.

Do not let the ushers wear whatever their own suits without your approval. Inevitably one of them (at least) will end up wearing a badly fitting or ridiculous colour suit that will stand out in all the photos. You have been warned.

King & Allen can be contacted on 0800 027 4430 or visit their website www.kingandallen.co.uk.