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.
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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 groomsmen attire for weddings is a lot easier once you’ve considered the context—details like the season and time of day of your wedding, your venue, and the wedding’s theme, colors, or style. These details can help you narrow down your groomsmen outfit options.
When Is Your Wedding?
The time of day and season are the biggest factors to consider when choosing groomsmen attire. For example, a black velvet jacket tuxedo could look great, but it’s probably not the right choice for your groomsmen on a hot summer afternoon. However, if you’re planning an evening wedding, dark tuxedo or suit colors make sense, and if the season tends to be chilly, heavier fabrics become more appropriate.
Where Is Your Wedding?
Location matters. For example, beach weddings are a casual venue and typically mean warm weather, so a light-colored, breathable tan linen suit would make sense for the tone and temp. For a traditional ceremony in a church, a more formal groomsmen outfit like a dark navy suit would match the venue nicely.
What Are You Wearing?
It makes sense to align the groomsmen attire with the formality of your groom suit. If one or both of you are wearing tuxedos, a casual suit with no tie would look out of place. If it helps, use the wedding dress code to keep everyone on the same page.
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.
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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 suits and grey suits are neutral, casual suit shades that work well with almost any wedding color.
Photo by @daniellelovephotography
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.
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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.
Photo by @nicoleleever
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.
Photo by @kat.gillespie
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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 Best Groomsmen Socks for Every Wedding
Our round-up of the best groomsmen socks, with recommendations for every type of wedding.
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 groomsmen will look and feel on your wedding day, and that makes you a good friend in our book. But don’t forget about yourself—or worse, let groomsmen attire outshine your own wedding outfit.
Visit one of our showrooms nationwide to preview our collection and get style advice for you and your groomsmen outfits. You can even book a group fitting.
