How to Outfit Your Wedding Party
An engagement can be an exciting but often busy time in the life of a couple. Many couples may begin by discussing what the vision for their big day is, while others may already have a vision in mind and may begin to shape two visions for their wedding together.
Of course, the big decisions are often: The Date, Venue(s), Guest List and Budget.
Once those are set or in process, couples start to think of the finer details such as the bridal party, photographers, food and what they will wear.
For traditional bridal dresses, most brides are advised to order a dress 8-12 months in advance unless they chose an off the rack option. Going to pick a dress is a staple event in traditional, North American Wedding Culture.
However, when picking a tux, suit, or less stereotypical outfit, the rules seem a lot more fluid and less widely known, with many of these clothing decisions being made at the last moment in lieu of planning bigger, and more exciting portions of the wedding.
Photos and videos of your special day are some of the lasting memories of your special day. They will be featured on your “thank you” cards, social media profiles and will hang in your house for years to come.
Keeping this in mind, we would suggest that planning for your own look and the look of your bridal party outside of the wedding dress should start roughly 6 months in advance or earlier. This means, if you are getting married in July-September, you should probably start thinking about your suits/tuxes in February – April. This will allow time for research on where you can find the outfit you have in mind, styling of your suit/tux and the colour palette that will complement the rest of the bridal parties outfit. It also allows ample time for sizing and any final alterations without the stress.
In this article, we will detail the top 3 ways to ensure you achieve your wedding vision while keeping everyone in the wedding party happy and comfortable.
1. Attend a first consultation as a couple
The number one, biggest error we see when someone comes in to buy a wedding suit is that often the person in the initial consultation does not understand the look or aesthetic of the day, or they have unclear instructions. We often hear, “My fiancée purchased a dress, I think she *maybe* said it wasn’t totally white and she wants me to wear a tuxedo, or a black suit” or “I am supposed to buy a navy suit”. It’s easy to see how that train can fall off the tracks quickly.
We always encourage the couple to come together for an initial consultation where they can talk to us about the vision that they have for their day, show us photos of flowers, photography, venues, colour palate etc. We then use all this information to help ensure everyone feels confident that the outfit(s) will fit the day and the vision.
2. Get the people excited!
Once you have had your initial consultation, it is time for everyone to get excited about the suit you will design. When people are excited about the clothing that they are wearing, that translates into excitement for the day, and this excitement caries through to the photos and the dance floor.
Often in the initial consultation we will encourage the couple to pick a detail or two that each person can customize and make their outfit their own while still maintaining the overall uniform look of the wedding. Some suggestions are completely customized memories liner (made from your own photos), a special monogram or a little something dangerous on the back of the dress shirt or under the cuff or inside the collar.
3. Make getting the suits an event to remember
Just like choosing the perfect dress, getting fitted for a suit can be a great night out for the wedding party. After the initial consultation, we encourage the wedding party to come as a group, get measured, shoot some pool and make an afternoon or evening of it. Again, getting excited and engaged in the process will lead to a better atmosphere, party and the overall cohesiveness of the big day. If your wedding party is geographically dispersed, we suggest having the out-of-town people join us virtually. Many times, a wedding party may consist of the most important people from different parts of your life. The wedding party fitting is a great chance for all these people to get to know each other prior to the rehearsal dinner/big day in a low stress, relaxed environment.
Hear Jeff discuss outfitting your wedding party with CTV Live: