There comes a time in every man’s life when he’ll need to carefully choose “the one” from a crowded field… of men’s wedding suits. And the shortest route to the perfect wedding suit is to make it all about color.
That’s the problem, though—it’s easy (and fun!) to focus on the accessories when you start looking at wedding suits for men. Instead of kicking things off by considering suit colors for wedding outfits, we get distracted by cufflinks. Or those ties. Or these shoes. Whatever your style vice may be, you’ll make life a lot easier by starting at the start: identifying the wedding suit styles that make the most sense for your wedding, and your wedding colors.
That’s why we’re putting the focus back where it belongs, on the most versatile men’s wedding suit colors: blue, grey, tan, and black. Some suit colors work better than others in certain seasons or for a specific kind of event (i.e. formal, casual, beach, etc.). Read on to find the right hue for you, or get started using the chart below. Because once you’ve decided on a base, finding the right tie is a breeze.
Table of Contents
Blue Wedding Suits
Grey Wedding Suits
Tan Wedding Suits
Black Wedding Suits
Blue Men’s Wedding Suits
Whether it’s the standard navy or a rich blue, you can’t really go wrong with a blue wedding suit. They work equally well with black or brown shoes, and bring out the color in your outfit’s accessories. That’s a good thing when you want your wedding colors to pop.
Navy Wedding Suit
If you’re a traditional guy, a navy suit will soften your look without getting too playful (no horseplay, kiddos). A true navy men’s wedding suit is typically a pretty dark shade, so this works especially well for weddings that start in the evening and go into the nighttime.
While navy suits are a great choice for weddings that have more of a formal vibe than a casual one, the right accessories can keep the look low-key. Bow ties and black shoes will dress a navy suit up, while brown shoes and neckties should mellow out an outfit anchored by a navy suit.
Recommended Navy Wedding Suit Accessories:
Clockwise from top left: Cotton Dress Shirt, Ivory Pindot Silk Bow Tie, Brown Quad Pocket Square, Black Watch Tartan Necktie, Gold Texture Cufflinks, Brown Leather Shoes
Blue Wedding Suit
One benefit of wearing a blue men’s wedding suit is that it will complement virtually every color you pair it with—even black gets a punch from the blues. While you could call it a modern style, blue suits aren’t necessarily trendy, so you can (thankfully) skip the neon green sock sneakers. (Actually, you can just always skip those.)
Compared with navy, a blue suit sets you up for a more casual wedding outfit. It’s also better for a daytime wedding, because its color isn’t quite as dark. When choosing accessories for a blue suit, you have options. You can either go big on color—think a bright pocket square—or hold back in favor of monochromatic blues and greys. Or both? Both, for sure.
Recommended Blue Wedding Suit Accessories:
Clockwise from top left: Blue Dress Shirt, Navy Plaid Linen Bow Tie, Yellow Quad Pocket Square, Grey Cotton Necktie, Silver Plaque Cufflinks, Brown Suede Shoes
Grey Men’s Wedding Suits
The grey suit is a staple for a simple reason—it’s formal, but can be dressed down easily enough. Still, it’s important to choose the right shade of grey suit for the season, time of day, or overall style of your wedding. And you’ve got a few options.
Charcoal Wedding Suit
Like the navy men’s wedding suit above, charcoal is a traditional suit color that’s great for formal and/or evening weddings that aren’t quite in the tux territory of black tie or black tie optional dress codes.
The dark charcoal color means a crisp white dress shirt will really pop, but you can still see this fabric’s texture which makes it a little easier to wear than a full-on black suit. Charcoal is also great in the fall and winter, especially paired with a vest.
Recommended Charcoal Wedding Suit Accessories:
Clockwise from top left: Fly-Front Dress Shirt, Ivory Textured Silk Knit Bow Tie, Linen Shoestring Pocket Square, Black Knit Tie, Charcoal Vest, Patent Leather Wood Sole Shoes
Grey Wedding Suit
If you’re looking for versatility—a suit you can match with anything—grey is the way to go. It’s equal parts formal and casual, and the medium grey works for both daytime and evening weddings. The grey suit gets the green light for any season, and also, you can apparently use it as a bottle opener (look it up), so… yes, it does everything.
Okay, no—you can’t actually use a suit as a bottle opener. Unless it’s a twist-off. But metaphorically, the grey suit is the Swiss army knife of men’s wedding suits. While we’re really into a blue-on-grey palate, you can pair just about any hue (even more grey if you want) with a grey suit, with no fear and zero regrets. Sort of like adding extra cheese to a pizza. Grey suit = pizza.
Recommended Grey Wedding Suit Accessories:
Clockwise from top left: Blue Dress Shirt, Navy Pindot Silk Bow Tie, Blue Quad Pocket Square, Silver Knit Tie, Silver Pearl Cufflinks, Brown Leather Shoes
Light Grey Wedding Suit
There’s something breezy about a light grey suit. It gives your look a chill, whimsical element to your look that’s perfect for a wedding. It shows respect for the occasion but embodies how relaxed and ready you are. You’re relaxed and ready, right? Yeah? Good answer.
Light grey is best for daytime weddings in the spring and summer, and it’s the perfect option for a rustic men’s wedding suit. Light grey also makes it okay to have a little fun with your accessories. Socks, cufflinks, and neckwear can all loosen up—not literally with the tie, though. (#DadJokes)
Recommended Light Grey Wedding Suit Accessories:
Clockwise from top left: Pink Dress Shirt, Navy and White Seersucker Bow Tie, White Linen Pocket Square, Burgundy Knit Necktie, Vinyl Record Cufflinks, Brown Suede Shoes
Tan Men’s Wedding Suits
If you were vibing on the light grey, allow us to introduce you to the ultimate in summer men’s wedding suits—the tan suit. If this is a beach wedding, a tan suit should definitely be on your wedding attire short list.
Tan would also be a solid suit choice for any spring or summer wedding, or for a destination wedding in tropical climates. Like light grey, its tan fabric will keep you cooler in the sun than say, a charcoal or navy suit. Browns work well together, but for a bold contrasting look, try black accessories with a tan suit.
Recommended Tan Wedding Suit Accessories:
Clockwise from top left: Cotton Dress Shirt, White Linen Necktie, Banana Leaf Pocket Square, Black Polka Dot Bow Tie, Silver Dots Cufflinks, White Linen Necktie, Black Grosgrain Loafers
Black Men’s Wedding Suits
While the classic black tuxedo shines in basic black and white, you’ll want to use more color—either with your dress shirt or accessories—if you’re set on a black men’s wedding suit.
Warning: this is probably not the best option for spring or summer weddings. As the saying goes, a hot man in a suit is an angry man in a suit. But the black suit is absolutely fair game for the fall or winter months. Just skip the vest (for weddings) to avoid a blackout.
Recommended Black Wedding Suit Accessories:
Clockwise from top left: Pink Dress Shirt, Merlot Velvet Bow Tie, Coral Quad Pocket Square, Navy Pinstripe Linen Necktie, Gold Onyx Cufflinks, Black Leather Wood Sole Shoes
Bonus: Matching Your Groomsmen
If you’re the groom, your wedding day is obviously a big deal. You want to feel your best, but if we’re all being honest, the typical rental suit sucks. That’s just the price you pay to coordinate your look with your wedding party’s outfits, amiright? Uh—not quite.
First, there’s no hard/fast rule that says you and your groomsmen have to wear the same outfit. You’ll still want the outfits to match in formality—they will make more sense together if they’re either all suits or all tuxes—but there’s a lot of wiggle room there with neckties vs. bow ties, pocket squares, dress shirts, etc. Learn more about choosing groomsmen suits here.
And two, renting a men’s wedding suit doesn’t have to suck. We design our own suits and tuxedos with higher standards and a better, modern fit. Plus, we make it easy to set up looks for your entire wedding party, find their perfect fit, and track their orders—entirely online. Oh, and we deliver.
In fact, give it a try now, for free. Or, start creating a look for you and your groomsmen here.