You’ve narrowed down your best friends to a group of five (or so) groomsmen. The hard part is over—now you need to choose the groomsmen attire they’ll wear for your wedding.
Table of Contents
How to Choose Groomsmen Outfits
Casual Groomsmen Attire
Groomsmen Attire for Formal Weddings
More Groomsmen Advice
How to Choose Groomsmen Attire
Choosing the right groomsmen attire for your wedding is a lot easier once you’ve considered some of the details—particularly, the season and time of day, the venue, and your wedding’s theme or style. These details can point you in the right direction or help you narrow down your outfit options.
When Is Your Wedding?
Some suits and tuxedos are more seasonal than others. You might dig that black velvet jacket tuxedo in theory, but it’s probably not the right choice for your groomsmen on a hot summer afternoon—too toasty. The season and time of day veto the outfit. However, if you’re planning an evening wedding, darker tuxedo or suit colors might be the way to go.
Where Is Your Wedding?
Location matters. For example, beach weddings are a casual venue and (hopefully) mean warm weather, so a light colored suit would make sense for the tone and temp. If you’re planning a traditional ceremony, a more formal groomsmen look—a darker suit, or even a tuxedo—would match the vibe nicely.
What Are You Wearing?
It just makes sense to set the groomsmen attire on par with the formality of your own wedding outfits. If one or both of you are wearing tuxedos, a casual suit with no tie and no shoes would look out of place—extreme example, sure, but we’ve seen it happen.
What Is Your Wedding Style?
Not everyone chooses a theme for their wedding (i.e. Rustic, Whimsical, Vintage, etc.), but that doesn’t mean your wedding won’t have a style. The more you’ve dialed in what the vibe of your wedding will be, the easier it is to choose groomsmen attire. That’s not always easy when you’re early on in the planning process, but at least try to decide whether your wedding will be more formal or more casual.
Casual Groomsmen Attire
A casual wedding style means casual groomsmen attire, like a suit. The most casual suit colors for groomsmen are the lighter ones (the darker the suit color, the more formal it can be). Tan, grey, and light grey all are neutral, casual suit shades that work well with almost any wedding color.
Casual weddings are typically a little more colorful, but neutral suit colors are recommended for a wedding party. Too many people wearing the same bold suit color can be overwhelming.
Instead, work color into the groomsmen outfits through the accessories. As far as the type of neckwear, neckties are more casual, but the right bow tie can make a casual suit a lot more interesting.
Groomsmen Attire for Formal Weddings
If you think your wedding style is more on the formal side, you’ll probably want to look at tuxedos or darker suit colors—maybe a 3-piece suit. Formal weddings tend to use color in less obvious ways, so take the same approach with selecting groomsmen attire. Think classic: black, midnight blue, charcoal or navy.
Neckwear and pocket squares for formal occasions are often just as toned-down in color as the suit or tux they’re paired with, but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Subtle patterns and subdued colors each have their place in formal groomsmen outfits. Bow ties are the standard for a tux, but as long as you keep it dark, a necktie is usually fine, too.
More Groomsmen Advice
We’ve barely skimmed the surface of groomsmen attire here, so if you need more guidance on all things groomsmen, we’ve got you.
More On Groomsmen Outfits
➝ Groomsmen Suit Ideas & Styles
Hold your breath and take the deep dive into groomsmen suits, broken down by season and wedding style.
➝ Wedding Ties for Grooms & Groomsmen Ties
Inspiration for neckwear, plus tips on how to coordinate ties with your wedding party.
➝ The Black Tux’s Suit Size Calculator & Size Charts
Once you lock in the groomsmen attire, make sure they get the right fit. No sloppy wedding pics allowed.
➝ The Best Groomsmen Socks for Every Wedding
Our round-up of the best groomsmen socks, with recommendations for any wedding vibe.
General Groomsmen Advice
➝ How Many Groomsmen Do I Need?
Tips for deciding who makes the cut, and alternative wedding roles for your friends.
➝ How to Ask Groomsmen
Advice about when and how to ask your friends to stand with you on your big day.
➝ Best Groomsmen Gift Ideas
It’s the thought that counts, so put some thought into the swag.
You obviously care a lot about how your groomspeople will look and feel on your wedding day—you seem to be a good friend. But don’t forget about yourself—or worse, let the groomsmen attire outshine your own wedding outfit.
Visit one of our showrooms nationwide to preview our collection, get styling advice for you and your crew, and experience your own personal fitting.