Our experts weigh in on what to wear for your summer nuptials this year, from the most popular wedding suits to trending summer wedding attire for 2024.
Everyone from the groom to grandpa should give their summer wedding attire more than a passing thought. So while this guide can truly help anyone dial in their look, we especially wanted to help all of you couples choose the perfect summer wedding outfit. After all, we’re talking about the suit you’ll be wearing in roughly six thousand of your most precious photos.
Whoever you are, you obviously need a summer wedding suit. We’ll bring you up to speed on the most popular suit and tux ideas, trends for 2024, and help you find the right fit for your upcoming spring or summer wedding.
Table of Contents
i. Most Popular Wedding Suits for 2024
ii. Trending Summer Wedding Suits for 2024
iii. Timeless Summer Wedding Attire
iv. Choosing Wedding Looks for Groomsmen
i. The Most Popular Summer Wedding Suits
The perfect summer wedding suit will work well with a variety of colors, and more often than not, the most popular options for summer have a classic color and style that helps grooms and parties look their best. Here are our picks for 2024’s popularity contest.
The Blue Suit
Navy is the conservative casual wedding attire option. We’re not talking navy—the true blue suit is a modern choice that’s been in high demand over the past few years. You might assume jumping on the blue bandwagon will limit your choices, but the opposite is true.
Blue suits match the intensity of brighter wedding colors, which can help to tone down an aggressive supporting hue. If you’re worried about the old “black and blue” rule (think black bow tie and black shoes), the rich blue fabric can actually make black textiles punchier. Blue suits obviously work just as well with brown footwear as black, and with colorful accessories.
The Grey Suit
The grey suit isn’t too flashy—the sedan of summer wedding suits, if you will. That’s perfect for a lot of grooms, and a wise, low-key choice if you’re on the guest list. A tame grey base may seem a little conservative at first glance, but that means you can turn up the volume on your accessories without blowing out your style speakers. (We got in deep with that suit metaphor.)
Not only will the grey suit complement the full color spectrum, but it’s a good choice for virtually every wedding theme, from boho to beach. It can also handle hot weather—good news if you have an outdoor wedding, because the relatively light color of a grey suit can do a lot to help the situation on a sunny, sultry afternoon.
Popular Neckwear & Accessories: Silk
Silk fabric is a luxe and durable material that releases wrinkles like grown men (should) let go of meaningless insults. These qualities have given silk ties a universal popularity for weddings. Plus, silk is made by worms! Nothing else at your wedding will be made by worms, guaranteed.
ii. Summer Wedding Attire Trends for 2024
Wearing an outdated suit may not be your greatest fear (mine is sinkholes), but you should still get familiar with the trends in men’s summer wedding attire. If 2024’s wedding suit trends speak to you, lean in. If the vibe doesn’t match up with your style or your personality, take the looks you like and leave the rest.
Bold Color: The Rose Shawl Tuxedo
If you pay attention to awards shows at all, they’re a good barometer of where men’s fashion and formal wear is heading. Unique, colorful suits are very much in fashion now, and while you’ll need to wear it with confidence, there’s no reason you can’t rock this trend at your (or someone else’s) wedding.
These options tend to be on the formal end summer wedding attire, but not as formal as a traditional tuxedo. For example, this rose suit will help you stand out and certainly looks more formal than a suit, but nobody would call it traditional.
Bold Light: The Light Blue Tuxedo
Fortune favors the bold, but fortunately, this light blue tuxedo isn’t really pushing the envelope. It’s bright and buttoned up. It’s fun, but not in a way that would undermine the importance of a wedding. A few years back, a colorful tuxedo would’ve been groundbreaking, but thankfully we don’t live by those rules anymore. As we gather for this big moments, we have a lot to celebrate. This is the tux you celebrate in.
If a full rose or light blue suit feels like too much, a dinner jacket outfit might strike the right balance of colorful and classic. These looks pair a unique (sometimes colorful) jacket with black tuxedo pants for a look that’s easy for anyone to wear.
Neckwear & Accessories Trend: Linens
Linen does a great job of creating the subtle textural differences that make for a thoughtful look. Keep this in mind when choosing neckwear and pocket squares.
iii. Timeless Summer Wedding Attire for Men
Choosing a proven look is a smart bet, so don’t skip these timeless picks—styles that have held their own year after year, and will keep holding it down long after the 2024 summer wedding season comes to a close.
The White Dinner Jacket Tuxedo
The white dinner jacket tux is our pick for an enduring wedding style this summer. It has all of the elements of the classic tux, but with a few improvements for warmer weather. The lighter color of the jacket fabric means you’ll stay cool when the temps soar, and this particular tux is made of Italian merino wool for improved breathability, even in the heat.
You can also dress the white dinner jacket tux down a bit by choosing less traditional accessories, like a necktie. It’s an especially good choice for grooms, but anyone can make this look work. If you’re a wedding guest, it may be wise to opt for a slightly more modern take, like our contrast shawl tuxedo. The lapel shape and color are unique while retaining the timeless qualities we love about white dinner jackets.
Timeless Neckwear & Accessories: Black & White
Keep it simple: black and white neckwear and accessories will always look current, because they’ll never go out of style.
iv. Choosing Wedding Looks for Groomsmen in 2024
Choosing the groom’s suit can be complicated, but picking out wedding suits for groomsmen is the to-do that most often trips up otherwise happy couples. If you need some detailed advice for selecting looks for your groomspeople, we highly recommend this dedicated post. That said, we wouldn’t send you away empty-handed—below is our recommended look for 2024.
Groomsmen Suit Trends
Couples are leaning toward more formal summer wedding suits for 2024, and that goes for the wedding party, too. A layered 3-piece groomsmen suit can really elevate the vibe of your wedding, and it’s the look we recommend using for your wedding party. When the jackets come off on the dance floor, a vest will keep the boys looking like men. Eternally grateful they’re not called “groomsboys.”
A vest can also differentiate the groomsmen’s look from the groom’s. Or flip the script, limit the groomspeople to a traditional 2-piece suit (jacket and pants), save the vest for the groom.
Better Suits for Summer Weddings
Summer wedding attire doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer, and neither should the size of your suit. The fit affects more than the way you look—it can impact the entire way you remember your wedding day. That’s why we design modern suits and tuxedos, made with the finest fabrics for a better fit. Plus, we make finding your fit easy—if you have 5 minutes, you can do it entirely online. Take our simple fit quiz now to get started.
If you’re looking to preview our suits in person, book a fitting at one of our showrooms (including in select Nordstrom stores) and get personalized style advice for your summer wedding suit.