Weddingbee Blog
One thing I’ve been continually putting off is the issue of dressing up the guys. You’d think this would be a rather simple decision… and I suppose it could be. Just throw them in some tuxedos, right?
Mmmm not so much! I think a tuxedo is very nice, but it really doesn’t go with the overall look for the wedding. We want everything to be semi-formal. So… it looks like we’re going to have to opt for some suiting!
I think that having the groomsmen purchase a suit has many advantages! If we time their purchase correctly and get a good sale, it could cost approximately the same price as a tuxedo rental (yeah, those babies are not cheap!!!). Although, unlike the tuxedo, the guys will get to keep them, and potentially wear them again. Both of Mr. Buttons’ brothers wear suits (or at least nice trousers, shirt, and tie) for work, so we are confident that at least two of them will put a suit to good use after the wedding is said and done.
So, we hit the ‘net (and the street) and started to search high and low for some reasonably priced options!
One thing we knew for sure from the start: Mr. Buttons needs a tailored/slimmer fit suit. He has broad shoulders and a small waist, so sometimes regular suit coats can look boxy on him.
Thankfully, Jos. A. Banks just came out with a new suit style: the Traveler Tailored Fit suit. We like that it is wrinkle resistant, stain resistant, and it is wool (nice quality!). It comes in a plethora of colors/textures as well. The consultants at the store informed us that Jos. A. Banks typically holds “buy 1 suit, get 2 free” sales pretty often. Amazing! Although it would take some coordination between the guys, if we purchased the suits together, we could score them at around $233 a piece!
Ah… but it can’t be THAT easy, can it? One of the Button groomsmen was a little concerned with price… so Mr. Buttons and I decided that we would keep searching a bit.
First stop: Express. Mr. Buttons already owns one of their tailored fit suits, and I think he looks pretty darn nice in it! So, he tried it on again… this time in charcoal grey:
Ahhh gotta love the 5 o’clock shadow…
Sadly, we were thwarted from this particular suit because although it fits Mr. Buttons really well, his twin is in-between sizes. Moving on….
I wanted to give a rental suit a fair chance… so we headed in to try one of those out. They were nice enough to order in what they called a “fitted” suit for Mr. Buttons to try on in his size. It was black (not my beloved charcoal gray)… but I wanted to give it a shot:
It looks… OK from the front… but then he turned around…
Ahhhh! That does NOT look fitted…Mr. Buttons looks like a hunchback with a saggy butt! P.S. he is going to murder me if he sees these pictures posted…
So… after a few days of shopping around, we were still at a loss! Who would have thought that finding a suit would be so difficult? This was proving to be harder than finding my wedding dress!
Do you prefer a suit or a tuxedo for a wedding?
do you have a mens warehouse near you? we bought suits for our guys during a buy one suit, get the 2nd for a $100. We picked out a black (they could have charcoal grey!) suit and it comes to about $180 max with alterations- not shabby! The Tux my fiance rented from there last may cost $180 to rent- at least the guys get to keep the suit and they do not need to return it by noon the next day! Also, we had them all get measured but we ordered the suits and paid for them all and then had the groomsmen give us the cash/check so they did not need to coordinate with each other (we have 10!)
I have a friend who bought the suit for his wedding (linen slacks and a blazer) at H&M for like, $70…
We’re thinking about Kohl’s, surprisingly! They have really great prices (and frequent sales), and their suits look really good on FI, who has a really hard time finding stuff that fits.
definitely suit over tuxedo. I really don’t want my wedding to look like we’re all going to the prom. Now I just have to talk fiance out of a vest.
i prefer the suit… it look better and they can used it after the wedding… my fi refuse to wear a rented tuxedo
My FI gets the willies wearing something that somebody else has worn..or sweat in..so he even owns his tux. But for the wedding, it’s a suit all the way!
haha, hunchback with a saggy butt…regardless, suits are the way to go!!
Are you set on the suits being exactly the same?? If not I would just offer some parameters for the GM so they can purchase their own suits that fit their budget; e.g. color, # of buttons, etc… Charcoal might be hard since there are different shades but you could give them a swatch or something. We did it for our GM (who wore navy, some already had a navy suit, some had to buy) and a friend did it for her wedding (the GM wore black). The guys ended up with what they wanted and no one is looking that close at the GM…besides, then Mr. Buttons can get an awesome wedding suit.
Another thought would be a Nordstrom Rack (if you have those) or Filene’s Basement, Off Saks, etc…
I thought about the suit thing too, but our GMs all work in very casual environments. And for some reason, my dude wants to wear a tux. Who knows lol.
@ms pink: @designish: Wow - those are both great deals! Dang!
@amanda.lynn: Don’t want to spoil anything…but so did we 
Hehe…
@bellenga: Gahhh when you put it that way….shivvvverrrrr
@Ms Potato Chips: Isn’t that such a lovely observation? 
@Miss Pug: Haha, he is normally quite shy…he totally is going to kill me if he sees these…
@sadie: Yeah we thought about that for a moment, but then were concerned that perhaps I wouldn’t be a fan of something that a GM purchased…it was probably just easiest to tell them what to buy so they didn’t have to worry
@mimi06d: Awww well a tux is definitely classic!
We ended up getting our suits for the bridal party at Brooks Brothers Outlet Store for about $165 a suit! And they are suit separates, so there are less alterations needed. Also, we asked for an additional discount since we were buying so many (all the groomsmen, the groom, and our 2 dads), and we opened a credit card to get the extra 15% off. It was a great deal and they are really nice suits. Good luck!
My FI and GM are going suits as well. Actually, for months my man swore he was going in jeans and a t-shirt (uh, no) but I’ve finally convinced him to wear a suit with jacket for the ceremony. Then whatever for the reception. Hey, I have to look nice, he should too!
We like both..at first my FI said he didn’t have an opinion…hahaha, that’s until I started showing him options and he vetoed them. Turns out he DOES have an opinion.
“looks like a hunchback with a saggy butt!”… I snorted at this remark. Audibly. Too funny!
I want everyone to rent tuxes! Luckily, the future Mr. agrees!
@Deanne: Great deal!
@NurseK: Jeans - oh no!
@Brian: Is that a long time or a short time? I wish that it only took 4 hours! We ended up going to 5 stores, and a few hours worth of internet research!
We went with the tuxedo - mostly for simplicity sake. And out of the 3 groomsmen, I don’t know if any of them would ever have reason to wear the suit again (besides to attend other weddings or a funeral). So, it wasn’t really cost effective - especially when we got such a wicked awesome deal on the tuxes.
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Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FL Age and Occupation: 24, "Working on it" Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial Services Engagement Date: June 13, 2009 Wedding Date: May 2010 Venue: Carlouel Yacht Club About Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
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