Weddingbee

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Where were we? Ah yes, the failed attempt to emulate Bond number…1? 2? 7085? The white dinner jacket, while so tropically tantalizing on Bogart (”ooh, hold me tighter, Humphrey!)

…turned out to be completely bogus on Mr. Shortcake.

(*snaps fingers* “Ahem, waiter, my wine?”)

Even male Shortie reluctantly agreed that looking like the help wasn’t exactly the look he had in mind for our wedding day. So, we withdrew, regrouped, and resorted to option B - the black tux, white shirt, and black bow tie Bond outfit:

(Acting and Bond comparisons aside, how hot is Pierce Brosnan? Yeesh - someone pass me an iced drink, stat!)

And it worked. Really well.

(”Where is that iced drink? Seriously, I need it now!”)

Dashing? Definitely.

Especially when you consider that Mr. Shortcake is wearing his own black pants, a charcoal grey suit jacket, a navy blue bow tie, and nothing is in his size, or has been tailored to his body!

This shopping comparison trip was made in less than 15 minutes, so I was pretty pleased with the results (and so was the FI, that worried look was not related to his suit satisfaction). The rest of the groomsmen will be wearing the same outfit, but will have pale yellow boutonnieres, while Mr. Shortcake will wear a pink one.

Operation Suit-Up : Success!

What do you think, Agnes?
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Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece Two-Button Pinstripe Suit

He continued to bring it up and I started to realize that he was serious about wanting to wear a kilt. At first I was completely against the idea. I thought it would look completely out of place at our wedding site in Napa Valley and too dressy for a daytime wedding. I envisioned reds and oranges, and his family tartan (kilt pattern) is navy and dark green. He told me how much it meant to him and how he viewed it as a way of honoring his grandmother (who passed away several years ago).

I realized that it is Mr. Pinot Noir’s wedding too and he wouldn’t dare tell me what to wear. So, I got on board with the kilt with one condition - that he would bring pants to change into for some of the formal shots. He agreed and we started the search for a kilt maker! This is what Mr. Pinot Noir and his wedding party will look like on our wedding day:

A Kilted Affair

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Mr. Pinot Noir will wear the Prince Charlie Jacket and the groomsmen, usher and ring bearers (his four brothers) will wear the less formal Argyle Jackets.

Prince Charlie Jacket

Argyle Jacket

Since our original conversation I’ve come to accept the kilt for what it is. After all, all the celebrities are doing it!

Sean Connery

Vin Diesel

Sting

Samuel L. Jackson

What did your man choose to wear for the wedding? Is anyone else marrying a kilt lover?

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Last Friday, Mr. Cookie and I ventured into Al’s Formal Wear in Cherry Creek for his own personal groom’s fitting. Yes, you heard that right! Mr. Cookie got the Cary Grant celebrity treatment in an after hours fitting courtesy of the lovely saleswoman helping us, Shannon. (Really, the store closed at 6:00pm, but since Mr. Cookie doesn’t get off work until 5:30pm, Shannon kindly allowed us to stay after the store closed to do the fitting. Thank you Shannon!)

A week prior, we went into Al’s to scout out tuxes for Mr. Cookie’s fitting. He picked a tux by Perry Ellis and one by Joseph Abboud along with silver, pool, and black vests to try on. I wasn’t too keen on the pool or silver vests, but they were both definitely worth a try.

Ladies, if you go tux shopping with your man ask the saleswoman how many times the tuxes have been worn. I say this because Mr. Cookie wears Perry Ellis on a regular basis and it’s a good deisgner brand, but a lot of “I Do’s” had been said in that tux! The Joseph Abboud tux was not as worn, had lighter fabric, and was smokin’ on Mr. Cookie! I was totally wrong about the silver vest! Mr. Cookie looked hot, hot, hot in it, but the pool — oh, pool! Poor, poor, pool — let’s just say it wasn’t even a contender. In order to stand out, Mr. Cookie chose the silver vest for himself and black vests for the groomsmen. Now, to the Cookie’s dilemma: Tie or Bow Tie?

Mr. Cookie is thinking he wants to wear a silver bow-tie, but I personally like the silver tie on him much better. If all the boys were wearing black vests, I think a black bow tie, a la Cary Grant, would be very handsome. But this Cookie is just not digging the silver-bow tie on Mr. Cookie. Hive, below are photos of the different tie combination for the men, and we are letting you decided…

Groomsmen

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Mr. Cookie

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When Mr. Cupcake went to try some tuxes on a few months ago at Men’s Wearhouse, neither of us were really impressed and all of the jackets seemed ill-fitting on his not-so-tall and slender frame. We asked about renting suits, but the MW employees scratched their heads and said that they didn’t know of ANYWHERE that rented men’s suits. We heard this from other people as well, so we thought it must be true.

We were discouraged, because we didn’t want to ask the men in the wedding party to buy suits that could cost well over $250, but Mr. Cupcake also didn’t feel great when he had a tux on, and it showed. He should feel just as happy and confident in what he’s wearing on the wedding day as I will. We considered having all the guys rent tuxes and buying one for Mr. Cupcake so it could be tailored to fit him, and eventually figured that was the most reasonable plan.

Since we weren’t thrilled with the service at the MW we visited, we took a shot at a local tux shop — Iacobbucci Tuxedo Rentals in Morton, PA. A staple of Delaware County, it is not at all glamorous but I am pretty sure this is where all of the prom-dates-of-Cupcake’s-past got their tuxes, and my dad still rents tuxes from here when he needs them, so I figured we should check it out. While we were there we just happened to ask about renting suits…. and guess what? They do! We cracked the menswear myth!

Not only do they have a simple black suit that they rent, but it is only $65! We were shocked, and very excited. For the suit and another $25 for shoes, it will cost each of our groomsmen only $90 to rent their attire. We checked out a sample jacket, and it was indeed a simple black suit, but not bad at all.

I also happened to call another local tux rental shop yesterday — B. Gross Menswear in Media, PA (don’t mind the hideous website) — and they also rent a black suit. Their price is a bit higher at $99, plus another $20 for shoes, but we are going to go check it out this weekend to see if the suit is any nicer and perhaps worth the higher price.

Mr. Cupcake will now buy himself a spiffy, dapper black suit that will be tailored to fit him, so he will coordinate with the groomsmen but stand out a bit (as he should!), and, most importantly, feel handsome and spectacular on our wedding day. The guys will also wear white suspenders and the ties we bought them, along with a teal pocket square and bouttoniere.

Are your guys wearing suits or tuxes? Has anyone else had any luck with renting suits?
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The boys thought this Bow Tie Getup was pretty killer - white flat tuxedo shirt, white bow tie and fitted white vest.

Personally, I felt that the white Bow Tie Getup was a little too summery for our fall wedding, but if they liked it, I’d support it. I was rooting for the green Tie Getup - but perhaps we’d mix it up with different patterned ties in the same color range. Mr. Pom’s tie could be in black and white to match the ribbon on my bouquet. Of course, this was all something that could be mirrored using Bow Ties as well.

Mr. Pom, Cousin Pomegranate and Groomsman weighing the pros and cons of Ties Vs. Bow Ties.

The Verdict?

The green Tie Getup!

Some mixed tie ideas, but not the in the right color green - all from Paul Frederick.

I’m loving the white vest over the green tie - I think it looks great and really showcases the green of the tie. I just need to make sure that the green matches our wedding colors - so they don’t clash with the gift I am giving the bridesmaids to wear. While this has proved rather difficult so far, I’m considering making my own custom ties using Zazzle. Has anyone used this service before?

Custom made ties from Zazzle.

What are your Groomsmen wearing - Ties or Bow Ties?

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Who needs original tiny cufflinks when you can get these amazing ties. I’ve been wanting to buy this pink one for Mr. Milkshake for work, but I’ve been hesitating because of the explicit “no guns or violence” clause in the dress code. But it’s pink!

I must confess that on my weddingbee appliation many moons ago, I indicated that I was big into the indie/handmade community, and I would bring the spotlight to my favorite off-the-beaten path artists and websites. And I haven’t done a whole lot so far, although etsy certainly isn’t a novel concept to any of the bees around here. So without furthur ado, I’m featuring a smattering of work from the following etsy artists: toybreaker, satisfactory, and regeneration. I was pleased to notice that toybreaker specifically offers groomsmen’s ties at a discounted price.

If I were having a super indie wedding I’d go with one of these ties:

And here are some that are a little more wedding appropriate in the traditional sense:

This would be pretty gorgeous as matching shawls for the maids that could be worn time and time again:

And if flowers aren’t your thing, this is still pretty classy looking:

I love all these navy on white ones. and how wonderful would it be to carry over the motifs and images from custom made inviations to ties! And for the science nerds:


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We are following their lead and our two male wedding party people (Nick, Mr. Hum’s Best Man and Greg, my Man of Honour) are wearing simple button up shirts with dark brown pants. And as for Mr. Hum’s outfit . . .

Nick in his wedding day outfit. Doesn’t he look nice?

He’s following his brother’s lead and wearing a dark brown blazer to match the pants to set himself apart from our wedding party. There will be no vest. There will be no cummerbund. There will be no tie. Just a relaxed summer suit to wear up the aisle and for pics, with a jacket he can easily shed later on in the reception if it’s too hot.

While the In-Law Hummingbirds purchased their outfit pieces at The Bay and Le Chateau respectively, we Hummingbirds bought all of our outfits at RW & Co. Not only was the stuff really nice, but we were happy that the shirt and the pants ended up coming in under $100 and that they could easily be worn again by our guys. My Best Man even called me this week to tell me how much he likes his wedding outfit!

Not everyone goes black tie, so I figured it would be cool to hear from people across the wedding spectrum. What are your guys wearing on your big day and what inspired your choice?

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