Wedding Tuxedos 101

It is customary for the groom and his groomsmen to wear tuxedos or nice suits that match the formality of the bride's dress. When the fathers and grandfathers are part of the ceremony, they tend to wear attire that is matches the rest of the party. Ring bearers are always a crowd please when wearing a child-size tuxedo or suit. Occassionally, ushers will also wear formal attire.

Just as the bride stands apart from her bridesmaids, the groom often chooses to wear a coat or accessories that differ slightly from the groomsmen. For instance, the groom may wear a traditional coat with neutral accessory colors while the groomsmen's accessories might match the bridesmaids or the theme color(s) of the wedding.

If your wedding style is semi-formal, outdoors, or alternative you may decide to have your men wear suits. Depending on the time of day and setting, there are black, navy, grey and tan suits or ivory linen suits. For beach weddings, some parties choose to wear matching taupe or tan slacks with a special wedding shirt. Overall, the formality of the men should match that of the bride and the rest of the wedding. Tuxedos always make for an attractive wedding party and great wedding photos but there are plenty of other choices to fit any wedding atmosphere.

Time of day and location (indoors/outdoors, cool/tropical) can play a factor in selecting garments. Most importantly, the color should match the women in the wedding party. Daytime tuxedo and suit choices might be tan, ivory, white, or an ivory linen suit, although some people wear traditional black tuxedos for daytime weddings. For evening weddings, black, navy, grey or pinstriped tuxedos or suits tend to be popular. Be sure to ask about tuxedos or suits that work better for hot or cool temperatures.

In the vast majority of cases, each member of the party will pay for his own ensemble.

Generally, the sooner the better, with our recommendation being to setup your tuxedos about 6 months prior to your wedding date. Should you have less time than that, there's no need to worry; we can still take care of you. Just drop by as soon as you're able.

There's a few factors that affect this: first, for adult men who don't fluctuate in size much, we suggest that you get fitted between 6 months to 3 weeks prior to the wedding. Young children should generally be fitted closer to the wedding (about 3-4 weeks prior) in order to minimize the effects of their frequent growth spurts. The same goes for any of your guys who are planning on gaining or dropping weight in the lead up to the wedding.

No. All Friar Tux Shop locations are connected via our extensive computer network, so your guys can conduct their business in whichever of our locations is most convenient for them.

Absolutely! See our out-of-town measurements page for more information on this process.

The exact date of your final fitting/pick up will be determined by you and your FTS consultant when you register your wedding. Typically, we schedule pick ups about 2 days in advance of your wedding so that your party members don't need to rush at the last second.

Friar Tux Shop strongly recommends that all members of the party try their garments on when they come to pick up. This final fitting process is done to ensure that our customers are satisfied with the fit of the garments.

Because of changes in body size or differences between designer cuts, it is sometimes the case that customers feel more comfortable after an adjustment or two has been made to their garments. Most often, these adjustments can be made while you wait. In some cases, however, a follow up visit may be required for some adjustments.

We generally schedule garments to be returned the day after use. If you'll require more time, be sure to tell your formal wear consultant at the time of pick up or you may be assessed an extended rental fee.

While your coat should be comfortable, tuxedo jackets aren't made as athletic wear. In other words, you're not going to have as much maneuveribility as you would in your t-shirt. The shoulder pads should not stick out prominently past your shoulders, and you don't want too much room in the chest and abdomen. If the chest and abdomen fit too close, then the arm pits are going to feel overly tight. If you plan on being in a lot of photos, err slightly on the tight side rather than the loose side.

The trousers should fit comfortably and ideally should not be restrictive through the rise (crotch) or the waist. Some men prefer a slight break at their shoe, while others prefer them slightly shorter with little or no break. In all cases, the trouser should be worn at the waist and not sagged below. Doing so will result in akwardly pulled pleats.

Because rental shirts need to fit a large number of body sizes, it is best to concentrate on the fit of the neck and the length of the sleeve. The neck should not be overly large, but should not be too constrictive either. The shirt sleeve should end just below the wrist.

Ties: Unless you purchased a self-tie bow or four-in-hand (long) tie, our ties will have adjustable neck bands, and generally come in two varieties:

• Clip ties: These ties do not go over your head like a lasso, but rather encircle the neck and hook together.
  
  Click here to see how a clip tie is worn.
• Zipper ties: These ties do go over the head, and are simply adjusted up or down for the proper look.
  
  Click here to see how a zipper tie is placed over the neck.

Vests: Vests wear much like a button-up shirt except that many of them let you make adjustments to the body via an adjusting band in the rear.

Cummerbunds: Cummerbunds are worn at the waistline and should cover the top of the trouser. They clip in the back and should be worn with the pleats facing up.

Studs and Cufflinks: Studs are the smaller jewelry items that you wear on your shirt chest in place of the buttons. Simply slide them through the hole next to your shirt button, and use them instead to button the shirt up.

Click here to see how a stud is situated.

Cufflinks are the larger jewelry items, and clip the cuffs of your shirts together. As with the studs, slide the cufflinks through the holes next to the buttons and then through the hole on the other side instead of the button. Note that not all shirts take studs or cufflinks.