Wedding Blog
Deciding what the men would wear had a big influence on the color scheme of our wedding. As I mentioned, we had a tough time deciding on our color scheme, largely because I had no idea Mr. Sunbeam was going to be picky about his attire. At first I pictured the guys in brown suits for fall.
(source)
But Mr. Sunbeam was not to be caught in a brown suit. He had his heart set on navy blue (which to me was not a fall color), or black. We were not seeing eye to eye here.
I also loved the look of a lighter suit, but Mr. Sunbeam wanted something he considered to be more useful and practical. Black or dark grey. Since our wedding isn’t going to be super formal, I wasn’t into the black suit idea that he was set on. While searching for an alternative in a sea of black suits, I came across images like this:
(source)
Yes! The men could wear various charcoal vests instead of black suits! That will give the wedding a casual feel and a sprinkle of personality and Mr. Sunbeam can sport a black or grey suit just like he wanted. Momma Sunbeam and Brother Sunbeam were a little taken aback by our proposal, but in the end they accepted that we just like to do things a little differently and went shopping for a vest. Like the bridesmaids, we let all our men pick out their own charcoal vests and pants, but first we sent a few inspiration photos and links to actual vests to get them started.
Banana Republic, $38 (source)
J.Crew, $125 (source)
Mango shop, now $20 (source)
Sadly the men are not on the ball like my ladies. I think my brother is the only who has his outfit ready to go. In retrospect perhaps we should have send an email saying, buy x, y, or z, but we thought some guys might want to buy a full suit with a vest (like my brother) and others might be happy just finding a vest to match pants they already had. Looks like it’s time to crack the bridal whip.
Are your men going jacket-less for your wedding? Did you give your guys freedom to pick out their wears or did you pick it for them?
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Haha, men. Hopefully, all the guys will pick out their attire in plenty of time!
The guys are not wearing jackets for my wedding either! Our wedding is very country casual so the fiance and I felt that jackets were not necessary because they feel so formal. I’m really loving the look of the vests though… those may have to be worn!!
Haha, it was a struggle just to get our guys to go to Men’s Wearhouse and get measured. I gave them an artificial deadline to get them going!
Those vests look sharp!
I think we are picking out what the guys will wear. Guys aren’t into wedding stuff too much and I don’t want them to wait till the last week to get their stuff. I want the guys to wear suits but my FI wants tuxes. I think he’s starting to come around though.
I would love for our guys to go jacket-less. In fact, I wanted a button-up-and-slacks ensemble for them, to just be very casual. However, my FI has been a groomsman for all of them already, and he was made to rent very expensive tuxes. He has a stick up his butt about it and has insisted that we make them rent tuxes too. What does this have to do with going jacketless? I HATE VESTS!! It’s a pet peeve of mine. I think they look really good on a lot of men, I just don’t like them. I told him that if the guys take off their jackets, they’d better take their vests off too. ::end Bridezilla moment:: =)
I really like the vests!
I am completely not on top of the menswear situation. We’ve just managed to figure it out. (Seriously, I mean we figured it out this past Sunday. Clearly I need to stop procrastinating so much!)
I’m also struggling with the groomsmen on this but Mr Lightning has his suit already (we’re using one he already has as it fits him like a glove) and I guess that’s what is important. I’d like him to wear a vest to as when it comes time to dancing etc it looks really great (and a little vintage) when he takes off his jacket.
i love the vests! I think if this were me I would have bought the vests and said…”here they are you owe me $20″. All the groomsmen would have been grateful not to worry about it themselves! For some reasons the boys just don’t get as excited about the wedding day getup 
Oh those silly boys! Have you considered calling their significant others (or better yet, their mothers) and getting them to crack the whip?
We are going with gray but not to color specific as we live in America and all the groomsmen will be coming from overseas. However my FI will be wearing a vest because how can you deny how sexy the shirtsleeves and vest is??
Yes! Ours went jacket-less in linen shirts. It looked great Love the charcoal grey, btw!
I like the look of the vests. Very cool! My husband took care of picking the outfits for the guys! I figured I had enough on my plate! 
i love the look of vests. i wish my fiance would go for it. he’s a little bit more traditional than me but i think it could look cool
I love the vest look, & I agree with your FI :P-it’s good to give the guys something they can wear again. I gave our GMs the option to rent a tux or buy a black suit–I wish they had bought the suit!
Funny story-I originally went to MW for the guys, but then my husband decided to use a local place. One of his GMs rented his tux from MW even after we emailed him all the info on the local place. The kicker is, he had no idea I’d ever gone to MW, but he was able to make a deposit and everything on the old account I had set up!
I had visions of the guys in lovely v-neck sweaters with the tops of their ties showing through, but the mom-in-law shot that down so quick I just let it go. We went with suits, the groom’s is a lighter grey with a faint pinstripe and the guys are all charcoal grey. The vests look great, good solution.
I think this will look really nice if you can get them all to buy their outfits!
Oooo, that’s a sexy look! Mr. Lab vetoed my brown option for khaki suits.
Oh man, when I got to the part of your post where you said you e-mailed them a few inspiration photos, I thought to myself “West Coast Groom would be her least favourite GM EVER”. Some men, particularly when it comes to weddings, are best left with no choices and a clear request, than options. Crack that bridal whip!
LOVE IT! My FI picked out the tuxes, but then had me come along to “confirm” choices. LOL! He’s so darling - just wanted to be sure it was right… AND we ended up renting a vest and tie for my Dad too so he could fit in with the guys in his own personal tux.
Also @Miss Star - that’s so hilarious that you gave them the “artificial deadline” - great thinkin!
that JCrew pic was the inspiration for our groomsmen!
we ended up ordered vest+tie combos off ebay for an awesome $17 for each set and they were of good quality and turned out SO WELL! YAAY!!!
I haven’t even thought of the guys yet! Ohh gosh!!
… but i wish we could have a (non so cold) day so they could all wear vest - or suspenders - like in my inspiration for Mr. Poodle
I love that brides (and both families!) are allowing men to show their personalities and their sense of style by letting the groom feel more relaxed on his big day.
I’m getting married in September. It’s a non-traditional, outdoor wedding at a friend’s house in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley. Our theme is fall. We’ll be decorating with pumpkins, corn stalks, fall colored flowers, and different wooden ornaments that my parents are staining.
One of my favorite colors is orange and my fiancée is supportive of my odd tuxedo choice. I’m actually wearing an orange tie and vest. This will be complimented with a brown pinstriped jacket and pants, and a cream shirt. Together, the ensemble looks very fall and more casual than a traditional tux. Since we are not dressing our wedding party, they are free to wear that they want. Because my outfit is less formal, there will be less of a divide between my look and the look of the men in my wedding party. I am thrilled to have this freedom.
I was so inspired by Miss Sunbeam’s post that I referenced it and did a followup on our blog. Thanks for a great article!
I reallllly really like the vests! I wish that I was confident enough that my guy’s GM’s would look good in those…very very nice though!!!!
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Mrs. Sunbeam, San Francisco/Grove City, PA
Age and Occupation: 26, Grad Student & Office Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Motion Designer
Engagement Date: May 10, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009
Venue: Harbison Chapel & The Maple Lane Farm
About Me: Mr. Sunbeam and I are high school sweethearts. We both come from a small town in PA but are growing to love the California lifestyle. He loves wine and I love cheese... the perfect combination! When I'm not drooling over wedding blogs, I'm attending grad school, out being a foodie, or attempting to "walk" our cat at the park. Two things guaranteed to excite me are wedding cakes and breaking out my suitcase to travel. Mr. Sunbeam and I are personalizing our hometown wedding to celebrate our high school sweetheart status and PA roots with a few CA touches. After ten years of dating we couldn't be more excited to call each other husband and wife!
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