5 Tips For Finding Your Perfect Wedding Suit
A grooms guide to suit shopping
I thought it was about time we heard from the groom so my husband has put his top 5 tips for finding your perfect wedding suit on the blog for you today. It’s important to remember that the day is equally important to both people in the relationship and finding the perfect suit is as important for some guys as finding the perfect dress is for us ladies.
This is a great read for brides and grooms to be, with lots of advice on how to find the perfect suit & make it an enjoyable part of your wedding planning process.
Let’s hear from the groom…
My favourite part of getting married, apart from the wedding day itself obviously, controversially wasn’t the stag do. It wasn’t the venue visit, picking the band or even the food tasting, it was the suit shopping. My happy place was looking through swatch books in tiny little suit shops all over the South East of England. I should confess that in general I love a suit, some guys feel uncomfortable in one but if I had my way I would wear one every day, I was always going to enjoy this bit.
Before I started I was worried that the process might become stressful, as I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure I found the “perfect suit”. I wanted something “different” but also not gauche or in your face. I wanted something classic, but also contemporary. Essentially I didn’t really know what I wanted and it scared me. A lot.
In the end however I loved the process, it was good fun and not too stressful, and the result was a great suit that I was over the moon with.
My message to anyone starting the wedding planning process, and looking for a suit is, in the same way that the Bride goes dress shopping and it’s a big occasion with bubbles and bridesmaids, the suit and the suit shopping should be treated in the same way, it’s your big day too!
5 top tips on how to find your perfect suit
- Start early.
I started more than 18 months before my wedding. It felt too early when people asked “When’s the wedding?” but for me popping into shops, having a look at what they had, asking some questions, even trying stuff on, helped me relax. I didn’t have one weekend or one month to make a decision, I had all the time in the world. If I tried on 12 suits in one day and didn’t like them, that was fine. - Set a budget.
To simplify for you there are essentially 3 brackets for suits:
1) Tailored. This is the “money no object” option, and for this you may want to head to Saville Row or similar and get the full works from a tailor. This will costs you upwards of £3k, but probably a lot more.
2) Made to measure. Suits that come in standard suit sizes, that are then tweaked/adjusted for you, and have a better fit than a standard off the peg suit. Prices start at £300 at the low end, but can easily reach 4 figures.
3) Off the peg. This can be in the form of a hire suit or an outright purchase. It is the cheapest and quickest way of doing things as no adjustments are made to the suit.All three options obviously have their places, and it’s a very personal decision based on what you want, if its available in your budget, and what kind of wedding you want. My advice would be set your budget early and try and find shops that are in that range. Otherwise you will find yourself disappointed when a suit you are trying on is double your budget (trust me).
- Expose yourself to as many different shops as possible.
If it does nothing else it helps you figure out what shops and suits you don’t like.
Don’t just pick one shop because you like it, go to different ones and try. You never know where that perfect suit shop is hiding. - Don’t be afraid to break traditions.
The morning suit/dress is traditional for weddings, and certainly makes you look the part, but do you like it? Do you want a 2 piece or a 3 piece? Do you even like waistcoats? Don’t feel like you have to go top hat and tails just because that’s what your dad wore when he got married.
Get the suit you want to wear, whatever that may be.
Personally I decided to go for a more classic suit that could be re-used outside of weddings. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and only get one use out of it.
- Don’t be afraid to break traditions part II: Colour.
The vast majority of wedding suits are Blue or Grey, and for good reason. They don’t date that much, they have a “timeless” quality. You have much more options available in these palettes. Finally they are easy to match things with, its unlikely you will clash with bridesmaids or venue décor in a charcoal grey for example. As the saying goes “if it aint broke”.
However, colour is starting to make its way more into wedding suits, and a lot of options are now available. Even at the ‘off the peg’ level you now have some options that didn’t exist 10 years ago. Why not think about trying to compliment the bridesmaids dress colour with a bolder colour, or incorporate your favourite colour into the suit? It makes for much more of a statement, which yes, could be riskier, but done correctly can be very cool.
My wedding suit journey started with hours of desk research. Pinterest is of course the work of the devil as any wedding planning couple will attest to, but it is the best source of picture inspiration for anything, wedding suits included.
After a while I knew I wanted a made to measure suit, I am a tall and broad guy so off the peg sometimes doesn’t feel quite right and I quickly established that Saville Row and the full tailored option was slightly out of my budget, that narrowed my search down. I knew I wanted a suit that was a different colour, I just didn’t know what that colour was. That made things slightly more interesting.
Once I had tried 3 or 4 shops locally that didn’t offer me something that grabbed my eye, I expanded my search into London. I think it was Katrina that came across a blog where the shop ‘Beggars Run’ was mentioned. Based in Shoreditch, the website looked good, lots of oranges/wines/pinks as well as the classic grey/blue/green.
The moment I stepped in there I knew I wanted to get my suit from them. An achingly beautiful shop, with tall ceilings, exposed brick and a bright orange desk (that to this day I still want in my house). The guys in there were all dressed impeccably, very welcoming and most importantly were laid back, it was a refreshing change after some of the “suit you sir” experiences I had in other shops.
I had found the dream shop, now I just needed to find the suit!
In total I went back 3 times to browse and have look at their range before coming to a decision. In reality I could have chosen one on the first day as I liked so many. I tried on nearly all of their suits in the end, from a powder pink, to tweed and everything in between. I settled on the wine/burgundy option as I felt it would get more use in the long term. A nice balance between different/colourful and tasteful
I then went back for 3 fittings in total, each time was a joy, they take your measurements and you try it on. They didn’t let me take it away until I was happy with the fit.
From start to finish the experience was thoroughly enjoyable. I didn’t feel rushed or stressed by it. The main thing is that with each visit I tried to make into an event (like a dress fitting), we would have something nice to eat in a local restaurant, get a couple of drinks nearby, essentially make a day of it.
It’s your big day as well guys, make the most of it.
Enjoy the process not just the outcome.
Let us know all about your suit shopping experiences, what colour did you choose? which wonderful companies did you use? What advice would you pass on to other grooms? Get in touch and tell us everything.