Groom Suits
Choosing Your Groom Suit
A groom suit is the suit the groom wears on his wedding day, usually a two or three piece cut a shade sharper than anything the guests will turn up in. It is the same garment as the rest of our wedding suits, worn with rather more responsibility, because it is the suit every other outfit in the wedding party gets arranged around.
MrGuild suits are cut slim and run from a 36 to a 50 chest, most of them with peak lapels, structured shoulders and hand-finished buttonholes in a premium wool blend. The real decision is colour, and the range runs from black and navy through grey and green to cream and beige.
What should the groom wear?
A tailored suit one step dressier than the dress code asks for. At most British weddings that means a two or three piece in navy, grey, green or beige, worn with a white shirt, a silk tie and polished shoes. An invitation that says black tie is the exception, and it asks for a tuxedo.
The useful test is not what looks best on a hanger. It is what will look right in three hundred photographs, in whatever light the venue has, next to a wedding dress. Deep colours photograph reliably. Light colours suit daylight and open air, and they punish spilled red wine.
Should the groom and the groomsmen wear the same suit?
Not necessarily, and it usually looks better if you do not. The common British approach is for the groomsmen to wear one suit between them while the groom separates himself with a single detail: a three piece where they wear two, a different waistcoat, a deeper shade of the same colour, or a different tie.
Matching the whole party exactly is still popular and perfectly correct. It just leaves the photographs relying on the buttonhole to say who the groom is. One deliberate difference does that job better, and it costs nothing.
For a group with different builds and different budgets, our mix and match suits keep a colour running through the party without putting every man in an identical jacket. Order everyone at the same time so the cloth comes from the same run.
Who pays for the groomsmen's suits?
Traditionally the groomsmen buy or hire their own, and the couple cover the shared details such as ties, buttonholes or pocket squares. Nothing obliges anyone to follow that. What matters is saying it plainly when you ask them, before anyone has agreed to a colour scheme and quietly assumed it comes free.
Suit or tuxedo for the groom?
A suit for a daytime wedding, a tuxedo for an evening one. If the invitation says black tie, that decision has been made for you. If the ceremony is early and the reception runs late, a dark suit carries the whole day, which is why it remains the most common choice at British weddings.
A tuxedo is not a smarter suit. It is a different garment for a different hour, built with satin on the lapels and buttons and meant to be worn after dark. Our tuxedos sit in their own collection rather than in this one, so if the evening is the point of your wedding, start there instead.
Two piece, three piece and the groom's waistcoat
The waistcoat is the easiest way to mark the groom out, and the most useful thing you can add to a wedding suit. It keeps the shirt covered when the jacket comes off, it holds a watch chain if you want one, and it photographs well when you are sitting down for speeches.
Our three piece suits come with a matching waistcoat, and most of them have an adjustable back strap, so you can take the fit in yourself rather than sending it to a tailor. A two piece is lighter, cooler and entirely correct, particularly for a summer wedding outdoors.
One habit worth having either way: keep the jacket buttoned when you are standing and open it when you sit. Double-breasted jackets are the exception. They stay fastened, and they hold a stronger line across the chest if you want the silhouette without the waistcoat.
Groom suit colours
Navy is the default for a reason. It reads formal without reading funereal, it works in any season and it sits well beside almost every bridesmaid palette. Start with our navy suits if you have no strong instinct yet. Black is the stronger, more formal answer, at its best for evening ceremonies and city venues, and our black suits are the sensible choice when an invitation is edging towards black tie without quite saying it.
Grey is the friendliest colour on camera and the most flexible across the year, light grey for a summer garden and charcoal for a winter church; our grey suits cover both ends. Green has become a standing choice for autumn and countryside weddings, where olive and forest shades hold up against stone, bare trees and low afternoon light. Our green suits run through those tones.
For summer, beaches and anything with the word barn in the venue name, look at the lighter end: our beige suits in sand and stone tones, or cream suits if you want something closer to ivory. Brown and burgundy are worth a look for an autumn date if you would rather not turn up in the same colour as three of your guests.
Whichever way you go, sit the colour next to the bridal party rather than matching it exactly. Two shades that nearly agree look like a mistake in photographs. Two that clearly differ look like a decision.
When should you buy your groom suit?
Three to four months before the wedding is comfortable. That leaves time to try the suit on properly, exchange it if the fit is wrong, and get the sleeves and trouser length altered locally. Two months is workable. Two weeks is a gamble, and a worse one if the groomsmen are ordering too.
Buy for the shoulders and the chest, because those are the parts of a jacket a tailor cannot easily change. Sleeve length, trouser length and a small nip at the waist are quick, cheap jobs anywhere on the high street. Every MrGuild suit runs from a 36 to a 50 chest in UK and US sizing, and if you are between sizes our men's suit size charts will settle it.
If you are marrying in the autumn, order over the summer rather than into the rush. The alterations queue at your local tailor is the part of the timeline nobody plans for.
Accessories for the groom
Keep the list short. A white shirt, a silk tie, a folded pocket square, polished shoes and a buttonhole. The buttonhole goes on the left lapel, pinned from behind through the lapel buttonhole, and it is usually the one thing the groom and his party wear that the guests do not.
A silk blend tie in a deep colour is the safe answer, picking up something from the bridal flowers rather than copying them. Bow ties belong with a tuxedo, not with a lounge suit, whatever you have seen on a styled shoot. A folded pocket square finishes the jacket, and braces are worth considering with a two piece, since they hold the trouser line better than a belt does under a buttoned jacket.
Shoes get forgotten until the week before. Black Oxfords with navy or grey, brown with green, cream or beige, both properly polished. Wear them in first. Standing for six hours in stiff new leather ruins a good day.
Frequently asked questions
What should a groom wear to his wedding?
A tailored two or three piece suit, cut slim and fitted through the shoulders, in a colour that suits the season and the venue. Navy, grey and green cover most British weddings. Add a white shirt, a silk tie, polished shoes and a buttonhole. A tuxedo is only expected when the invitation says black tie.
Do the groom and groomsmen wear the same suit?
Often, but rarely identically. The usual arrangement puts the groomsmen in one suit and gives the groom a single point of difference, most commonly a waistcoat, a darker shade or a different tie. Wearing exactly the same suit as the party is correct, it just makes the groom harder to spot in photographs.
Should the groom wear a suit or a tuxedo?
A suit for a daytime wedding and a tuxedo for an evening one, or whenever the invitation specifies black tie. A tuxedo is built for after dark, with satin lapels and satin-covered buttons, so it looks out of place at a midday ceremony. A dark suit will carry both halves of a long day.
Who pays for the groomsmen's suits?
In Britain the groomsmen usually pay for their own suits, while the couple cover the shared accessories such as ties and buttonholes. It is a custom rather than a rule, and plenty of grooms cover the lot. Agree it out loud when you ask them, not once everyone has chosen a colour.
Can the bride see the groom's suit before the wedding?
Yes. The tradition about not seeing each other applies to the wedding dress and to the morning itself, not to the groom's suit. Many couples choose the suit together so the two outfits agree on colour and formality. If you would rather keep it back as a surprise, that works too.
How far in advance should a groom buy his suit?
Three to four months before the day. That covers delivery, a proper try-on, an exchange if the size is wrong, and any alterations to the sleeves or trousers. Two months is enough if you know your size. Leave it later than a month and you are relying on everything going right first time.