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Even though the bridesmaids’ attire was decided a while back, the guys’ attire took a little bit longer to finalize. King Hippo was debating between going the rented tux route or the wear-your-own-black-suit route. I honestly didn’t care either way, I just wanted him to make a decision. Any decision. Well… maybe not any decision.
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King Hippo was concerned about two things: looking good and making the process inexpensive and convenient for the groomsmen. There were basically four viewpoints to consider:
Tux - Pro:
With a tux, all the guys would look exactly the same, creating a cohesive look, and with Men’s Wearhouse doing tux rentals and having a million stores throughout the country, getting the guys to get their rental wear wouldn’t be that difficult. The cost for renting a tux is low to moderate, and it is definitely less expensive than asking the guys to buy a particular suit.
Tux - Con:
It’s a rental. King Hippo’s concern with the tux rental option was simply that it was a rental, and would not be tailored perfectly for his bod. I can’t argue with the guy. I wouldn’t want to be wearing a rental dress. My wedding dress will be custom fitted to me, and I don’t blame King Hippo for wanting the same custom fit and feel for his wedding day get up.
Wear Your Own Suit - Pro:
Having the groomsmen wear their own black suit would be the easiest way to go. Since we’re in our thirties, it’s safe to say that most (if not all) of King Hippo’s groomsmen already have a black suit, making the cost a non-issue. King Hippo and all the other guys would be able to wear a suit that they liked and that fit them, without having to shell out cash for something they would just wear once. We could get the guys matching ties and call it a day.
Wear Your Own Suit - Con:
The suit styles will likely be all different: one, two, three button jackets, double breasted…there’s no telling. The cohesive look thing would basically be limited to the suit color.
So… what to do? King Hippo decided the custom fit and saving his guys some dough was more important than being matchy-matchy, so we’ll be going with black suits of each guy’s choosing. We’ll have the guys supply their own white shirt and we’ll get them matching ties. King Hippo and I added tie shopping to our Dallas agenda and decided on this one, which matches the bridesmaids’ navy blue dresses perfectly:
And the best part is… the ties were half off! The bad news? We hit three Macy’s stores in the Dallas area and then hit up the Macy’s in New York City and were only able to find four of them, so we are having to go with something completely different for King Hippo… perhaps something in white.
Are your groomsmen going the tux or suit route? If the suit route, are all the ties the same, or is your groom wearing something different?
We are going the tux route, simply because that’s what my fiance wants 
Anyway, we are having all the groomsmen match, and my fiance is wearing something different. The groomsmen are all wearing black jackets, and my fiance is wearing an ivory one. The groomsmen are wearing white shirts, my fiance is wearing black, and the groomsmen are wearing Victorian lilac vests but my fiance is wearing ivory. They are all wearing the same Victorian lilac ascot though.
We did the same thing you did.
Black suit and white shirt of their choosing and we gifted them ties.
It was FINE! The guys surprisingly communicated among themselves (even though my husband was like whatever you guys want) about their suits so they’d all match relatively. How many buttons, tie clip or not, cuff links or not, etc.
Everyone looked quite dashing and the ensemble was cohesive. The ties definitely tied everything together.
We’d love to go the suit route, but the two groomsman do not have black suits!
I sorta wish we had gone this route….I didn’t realize that cost wise it would have made more sense to invest the money into a nice suit. Silly me didn’t think of all the great deals out there and the possibility that Mr. L could have found a suit for $150 (cost of rental).
This is the next big item on our list. I think we’re going to look at both options since most of the groomsmen could really use a suit after the big day.
Same as you - men get their own black suits, we provide the matching ties for unison. And FI will have a different/complimenting tie to stand out as the groom.
we asked all the guys to wear their own grey suit and they looked great! yes, some were slightly different shades of grey but i was fine with that. with matching shirts (white) and ties (black-on-black striped which was part of their gift) they still looked cohesive. if i could post pics in the comments i would show you 
This is what we’re doing! We just decided that this week actually. My bridesmaids will be in two different dresses too, so I think it will look just fine. We are going to gift them skinny black ties.
I really, really want to see my honey in a bowtie… he dresses up for work every day so I see him looking nice often, but when else might I get a bowtie?! Love the ties that you chose though - pretty blue!
We’re going with suits, because we didn’t want to go as formal as tuxes. P doesn’t own a suit, so it’ll be a good investment.
We think we want them in coloured shirts, so we will give them the shirt and tie to wear.
I bet you could find one more matching tie with the power of the hive! What’s the brand?
We’re doing the same thing, and we’re not concerned about how matchy the guys are - it’s just like having BMs in different dresses of the same/similar colour, IMHO FH will be in a charcoal grey suit so he’ll stand out, just like how I will stand out in my white gown against my BMs in light grey. We haven’t yet decided if we’re going to get all the men the same ties or if he will also have a slightly different tie though.
I’ve been struggling with this debate myself. I would really like all the guys to match and to look formal. I want my FI to wear a tux, but like you said, they are rented and not necessarily fitted well.
But I think that having the groom in a different color tie is ok so that he will stand out. But if you are wearing ivory, I would say have him wear ivory because the difference will be noticeable.
@fromcharleston: Good thinking. It’ a Sean John tie. Seriously, 4 Macy’s! Let me know if anyone happens across one.
@missDNA: Ahhhh! I didn’t even THINK about that. My dress is ivory. THANK YOU FOR THINKING OF THAT. This makes me want to find the other navy tie even more!
We did the same thing, black suits of the guys’ choosing, and it looked great. Much better than tuxes in my opinion.
We went with Tuxedos. This is the most anticipated day in a girls life, definately a tuxedo, they can wear a suit for every other occasion! We went with Tuxedo Junction ~ they matched my girls dresses perfectly.
We are doing charcoal suits of the groomsmen’s choosing, FI already owns one and the others would have needed to buy a suit anyway so we are looking out for good deals at Mens Warehouse. The guys will provide their own white shirts and we will gift them with matching ties!
Either tux or suit, Men’s Wearhouse often has BOGO sales or buy one/2nd one $100. This is a great way for the guys to own their own fitted suit or tux at 1/2 the cost. Wait for the next sale, (they’re quite frequent) and jump on it. Which ever way you go, you can’t lose. I always do this when looking for a new suit and still check the clearanced suits. If they don’t have your size in stock, they’ll get it sent in from another store. Best advice is have the guys measured in advance, then when the sale hits you’ll know up front if they can get all the needed sizes. Then every guy gets to take home a fitted suit/tux and no late fees.
[...] We decided what the guys would wear. [...]
[...] you remember from this post, we decided to have the guys wear their own black suits. We found ties we liked on sale at Macy’s [...]
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Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TX Age and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance IT Engagement Date: August 8, 2009 Wedding Date: March 2011 Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc Events About Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
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