Styling the Groom

Five Irresistible Tips for Styling Your Groom

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Take it from a photographer ladies – when it comes to your wedding day, your grooms need to look gooooooood. After all, they’re 50% of the subject matter in a bride and groom photo, and you want your future kiddos to see the man you married as the sweet, wonderful, and stylish man that he is. I’ve seen it happen all too often – in the flurry of designing a vintage estate destination wedding, your main man ends up in a rented black tux that doesn’t fit with the look of the wedding or the look of his fabulous bride.

So ladies, this post is for you AND your man. Grooms listen up, ‘cuz our grooms are the kind of guys with a whole lot of style and impeccable taste, so take a note from these awesome men with five tips that will make the biggest impact on your wedding day look. I make one promise to you – by the time you’re done reading this, you’ll look so handsome that your bride won’t be able to take her eyes – or her hands – off of you.

1. Fit the Style of the Wedding

When it comes to picking your groom look, don’t just go with a basic rented tux and coloured vest that matches the bridesmaids – can you say blah? Pick an outfit that helps you feel your best. This is your wedding day, folks, not your prom, so find a suit or tux that will fit pair with decor and formality of the wedding as well as your personality. Are you getting married in a meadow under an oak tree? Go with a light gray suit with a fitted jacket and a pop of colour in a patterned bow tie. Is it going to be an elegant west coast wedding at a seaside resort? Think about navy suits with solid ties instead of formal black tuxes (you’ll fit the elegance of the wedding without going too formal).

We loved Ipp’s look for their backyard 1920’s Pasadena Estate Wedding – a three-piece suit with a patterned bow-tie matched with a brown belt and shoes. The bow-tie matched the wedding colours, and the rest matched his personality. Perfect.

Alex’s traditional southern morning suit was perfectly classic for their morning church ceremony and tea reception in Asheville, North Carolina.

Of course, if your wedding has a black tie dress code, then you’ll need to fit the bill with a formal tux, but even formal can vary in style and taste. Kent’s smashing tailored tux fit marvelously with their black tie New Year’s Eve wedding at The Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara and didn’t feel stuffy or formal at all. Cesar went with white tie attire for their upscale wedding at the Langham Huntington in Pasadena. Nothing short of these trim outfits would work for such glamorous occasions.

2. Buy. Don’t rent.

Before you make another move, please hold up your left hand, place your right hand over your heart, and say out loud!!!.

“I will not rent my wedding day attire.”

Rentals are meant to fit every shape and size, so even though the wonderful folks over at the rental shop wrap you in measuring tape and give you a suit ‘perfect for your size’, I can’t tell you how many baggy tuxes with crazy long shirt sleeves we’ve had to photograph. There is nothing personalized about a rental no matter what they tell you. We see the finished product every weekend, so please trust me when I say that no guy looks good in a rented outfit. Plus, I’ve heard way too many horror stories of rental shops forgetting to include shoes, shirts, pants, or the right sizes altogether.

Think about it this way: the wedding is the perfect opportunity to buy a super nice tailored suit or tux that will last for a lifetime. Every guy needs a nice suit in his wardrobe for job interviews, black tie events, career opportunities, and upscale dinners, so why not invest in one for the wedding? You’ll thank us later when your bride gets invited to that swanky black tie fundraiser event at her favourite boutique hotel and you don’t have to worry ‘cuz you already have the perfect outfit…

3. Get Your Suit Tailored

Since you won’t be renting, make sure to get your suit, tux, or whatever you wear tailored to fit you perfectly. Some guys like to lose weight before the wedding, so get it tailored a month or two before the wedding when you’ve reached your ideal size. Ill-fitting clothes automatically add ten to fifteen pounds in photos, so avoid the in-camera weight gain and make sure your suit or tux fits your body perfectly.

4. Add Personal Details

Once you’ve chosen your suit, add some personal touches that are meaningful and reflective of you.

For example, we’ve had groom’s wear Vans…

Striped socks…

Their favorite watches…

Meaningful cufflinks…

And everything in between to add personality to their looks. Do what fits your personal taste, but add a little somethin’ somethin’ to round out your wedding day style.

5. The Groomsmen

We think it’s only natural to put a lot of effort into the look of the bridesmaids – there’s so many options, colours, fabrics, and styles with the girls that it’s just plain FUN. But Jeff and I have had our fair share of rockin’ bridesmaids matched with severely blah groomsmen, so don’t forget the boys on your inspiration board.  The look of the groomsmen has a big impact on the entire look of the wedding, so help the guys look and feel stylin’ by thinking buying instead of rental.

Whatever you decide with your look and with the style of the groomsmen, just make sure that it’s something that fits YOU. Don’t rent black tuxes just because you feel like you should. It’s YOUR wedding and you should be the best version of you on that day. So consider this official permission to make your wedding day look all about your personal style!

THE OFFICIAL TO-DO LIST FOR THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

She’s one of the key people in your life, so it follows that she’s heavily involved in your wedding. Here’s how to make the most of the mother of the bride.

Traditionally the mother of the bride is the host of your wedding party – the recetion. It is her job to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Check out what other jobs are ideal to assign to your lovely mum…

Mother of the bride to-do list

1. Announcing the engagement to the press, locally and nationally
2. Working with the bride and groom to draw up the guest list
3. Ordering the stationery and chasing it up
4. Sending out the invites and keeping an eye on acceptances and regrets
5. Supplying the wedding gift details to anyone who asks for them
6. Helping to organise the seating plan
7. Help you to choose your dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses
8. Planning the flowers for the ceremony and reception
9. Ordering the wedfding cake
10. Arranging table decorations
11. Making sure all of the guests have got somewhere to stay that night
12. Help you to get dressed and ready on the morning of the wedding
13. Give the order of service sheets to the ushers
14. Organising the buttonholes for key members of the wedding party, including the ushers, best man, bridegroom, and the two dads
15. Look after the gifts during and after the wedding. This includes finding a safe place to store them during the day
16. Collect the photo proofs from the photographer while you are on honeymoon
17. Organise the photo list – send out the right ones to the right people. You may want her to chase up your photos while you are away on your honeymoon, too. It’s great if the contact sheets are already waiting for you to look through when you get back home.  

Remember…DO Look after her – she is going to be working hard for you behind the scenes

• DO Give her a bouquet at the reception, during the speeches
• DO Encourage her to wear a complementary outfit to the colour scheme
• DO Invite her to be involved with choosing your dress. It’s the most special bit for her
• DO Encourage her to meet up with your fiancé’s mum regularly so that they know each other before the day (and don’t wear clashing outfits)
• DON’T forget to thank her
• DON’T exclude her from anything
• DON’T forget her on the day – she’ll be longing to be useful
• DON’T leave her to do everything. By tradition, she would be the last to leave the reception, but don’t ask her to stay until the last drink is sunk
• DON’T forget to book her in with the hairdresser and nail technician in the run-up to your big day
• DON’T let her interfere. It’s your day really…

Traditions

15 wedding traditions you can forget

Here are 15 wedding traditions you could afford to forget when planning your wedding ceremony.

Of course, if you do chose to include any of these traditions in your wedding, do it because you’ve decided too, not because that’s just what happens.

Bridal party

Your marriage certificate requires two witnesses, but they don’t need to be in dresses worth hundreds of dollars and wearing a rented suit that doesn’t fit. It’s totally acceptable to not have a bridal party today. The tradition grew out of superstitions that believed that evil spirits would try and attack the bride, so bridesmaids would be dressed like her to try and trick the evil spirits.

At my wedding we both had about 5 close friends there and in the end I would have been better off not burdening them with the cost of a suit and what not.

For the girls, still invite your best friends to come with you on the journey, and they’ll probably still buy an expensive dress, but don’t make them buy the same dress as four other girls.

The bouquet toss

The intention behind the bouquet toss was to distract guests from tearing a shred of the brides dress as the couple left the reception, because it was good luck to have a piece of her dress. These days it serves to embarrass single girls.

The wedding dress

White, red, long, short, above the knee, Vera Wang, Coco Chanel, or not. Traditionally wedding dresses were seen to be the best dresses of that time, but ever since Queen Victoria got married everyone’s been wearing long white dresses.

Wear the most beautiful dress you can find, and don’t worry about the colour.

Your father giving you away

I’ve covered this in another blog post (Post: Giving the bride away), but there is no reason your father, or your mother, or any other person has to give you away. The tradition is rooted in women being possessions that were to be given to another man. You can make the tradition mean something else, but don’t just do it because it’s the ‘done thing’,

Parents giving their approval

Who gives this woman to be married to this man? No-one does, she made the decision on her own.

Not seeing each other before the wedding

You’ll be no less unlucky if you see your bride or bridegroom on the wedding day before the ceremony. But it might be nice to build the suspense. But don’t do it for luck.

Inviting every man and his dog you’ve ever met to the wedding

I don’t pay $120 for me to eat dinner, you shouldn’t have to. Any married couple will understand if they aren’t invited, they’ve paid the bills before. So don’t feel the pressure to invite every single person you and your parents ever met.

First dance

Do you dance? Is the art of dancing a big part of your relationship? If not, why is your first dance together as a couple an important milestone?

Garter toss

As sexy as it is for the groom to go up his bride’s dress and pull the garter off, I felt so awkward receiving my dad’s new wife’s garter on his wedding night. What are you supposed to do with that thing?

The wedding cake

Two desserts does sound like a great idea I suppose. But why get a cake if you don’t like cake?

The groom waiting at the end of the aisle

There is no reason that the bride can’t get ready early and arrive at the ceremony 30 minutes early like the groom and welcome everyone as well. Why does the bride arrive late and get all the attention anyhow?

Having an aisle

Why is there even an aisle if we’re not in a church or a supermarket?

Wedding rings

I wear a wedding ring as a symbol of my relationship with Britt and so every other girl on the planet knows that I’m taken, I like to show off. But you don’t have to exchange rings, in fact one friend where’s his ‘ring’ on a necklace, why not just have a necklace?

The veil

Brides look beautiful in a veil but they’re no longer warding out evil demons. So maybe there’s a different fashion accessory that you could wear on your wedding day?

Being married in a church

More weddings happen outside of churches today than ever happen inside churches. Embrace the creative opportunities by staging your ceremony anywhere in the world. Imagine being married on a rooftop, a mountaintop, on a boat, or in a tree. You can choose!