Attire & Accessories Forum

Suit Color Problems

Hello!

I am wondering what to do about suit colors for our wedding, which is in August in Texas. The colors are black and white with red accents, at least theoretically. The ceremony location will have very little decor to represent the colors if any - perhaps an altar arrangement.

Tl;dr: There's more to the issue (financial), but to answer the main question, 

a) Can the groom wear bright blue/navy blue, GM wear light grey, and bridesmen wear black when the bridesmaids have black dresses, with our color scheme and no decor to back it up?

b) No? Would it work for all the GM to wear bright/navy blue with FH, and it not create a problem with the wedding colors?

c) What color scheme would work?

Bonus: d) How would you tackle FH suddenly wanting to buy a suit in a different color, which might force GM to buy/rent new suits instead, when all of our budgets are low?



The original plan: My FH and I had come to a pretty solid agreement that he and the GM would all wear light grey suits, as they all own them already - his idea. I decided since my bridesmaids are wearing black dresses and my bridesmen only own black suits, that I will suggest that they can both wear black suits. So all black on one side, light grey on the other.

Accessory colors: I was thinking that I would suggest that the bridesmaids can also wear any red accessories if they want, I would make the boutonnieres black and red, and the ties would be either black or red. However, I can also nix red accessories and change some of the colors to white.

Issue: Rather suddenly, my FH is thinking he wants to buy a new cotton suit, which I understand because it is pretty heavy for warm weather. However, the ceremony and reception are in a completely air-conditioned area. The problem is the color. He most recently suddenly suggested he'd like to buy a bright navy blue suit I believe? A bright blue or a navy blue.

Budget: I'm a little frustrated because I'm almost certain that the GM don't all have this suit color, and my bridesmen only have black. Suddenly telling anyone else they need to buy or rent new suits two and a half months before the wedding seems... silly, at best. Our wedding has a very low budget. Expecting them to rent or buy a suit seems unfair. At least one of the GM wore a suit he already had to his own wedding, so we're expecting him to rent/buy a new one for ours? Riiight...

Color scheme: I suppose I might work through the financial part with my FH, but what color scheme would work if it's alright that it changes? I feel like black all along the left and one bright/navy blue and three grey on the right is just way too many different colors going on. Even if we could work out the GM getting bright/navy blue suits like my FH, does putting all those suits in with the black/white/red color scheme work? Is there a way I can alter accessory colors for them to blend? I feel like, with there being no decor, the colors will be completely lost and eclectic with all the blue.

My FH is flexible on what color he gets, but he will not buy a black suit. He would like to get a new suit for the warm weather and he shouldn't have two light grey ones, but I could probably tell him he just needs to wear the light grey suit he has. I really don't know where he thinks a new suit is coming from our budget, anyway. Still, I want to be flexible. Any thoughts on what color scheme(s) could work?




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Re: Suit Color Problems

  • SP29SP29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Personally, I think the mix of colours is fine. Black, navy and grey are all neutrals, they will match everything.

    I think tying it all together with red will do the trick- red tie, red bout, red bouquets.

    Suit colour is also something that does not affect your wedding in any way. I think your FI should get to wear what he wants (and I understand wanting to buy something that he'll wear again), but I don't think it'd be fair to ask the GM to change their look to suit him, particularly when finances are an issue.

    I also think that if the bride is the only one who is *allowed* to wear white (which is always very different than anything the BMs wear), why can't the groom wear something entirely different too?
  • TyvmTyvm member
    First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited June 2016
    First thing I'm going to say is that: You can have them wear whatever. Guests are likely not going to notice and/or not care. So, don't get overly hyped up about this. It'll be okay!

    I think (a) works really well! The bride's side in all black, the groom's side in grey + blue. You can still do red accents, that'd be alright, but I think swapping it out might work slightly better...

    For (c), you could go with your side in black with navy or grey accents, and groom's side in grey + blue suits, with black accents. That could work nice, too. Black and navy can get along. I've also seen some photos of grey + navy + black going well with blush. But if you want red, that's fine! This would essentially make your color blue, black, and grey, so a bit of red might be a nice accent color?

    Bonus: d) How would you tackle FH suddenly wanting to buy a suit in a different color, which might force GM to buy/rent new suits instead, when all of our budgets are low?
    NO. Tell him NO. Unless you are planning to pay for the GM's rented suits. In which case, plan (d) is fine, too. He can change his suit colors, but if you ask your GM to buy new suits they're perfectly allowed to decline for financial reasons. Does he want to have no GM?

    Being matchy-matchy really isn't that important!




    k thnx bye

  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited June 2016
    The rule is that all men should wear the same level of formality.  Color is not in the equation.  If the groom wears a suit, everybody wears a suit.  If the groom wears a tuxedo, then so do the other male members of the wedding party.  No groom wearing a suit and the groomsmen wearing shirtsleeves.
    I think the current trend of bright blue suits is a fad that will soon be gone.  Navy, grey, or charcoal are timeless.  Black is now permissible.
    Blech, I hate those bright green socks in Tyvm's picture.  JMHO.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • edited June 2016
    CMGragain said:
    The rule is that all men should wear the same level of formality.  Color is not in the equation.  If the groom wears a suit, everybody wears a suit.  If the groom wears a tuxedo, then so do the other male members of the wedding party.  No groom wearing a suit and the groomsmen wearing shirtsleeves.
    I think the current trend of bright blue suits is a fad that will soon be gone.  Navy, grey, or charcoal are timeless.  Black is now permissible.
    Blech, I hate those bright green socks in Tyvm's picture.  JMHO.
    Bright blue suits are tricky to pull off. A man needs the right coloring, build, and attitude. The model in the picture that @Tyvm posted looks fabulous, but a lot of men would look more like Ron Burgundy.

    ETA: A bright blue shirt with a neutral suit, on the other hand, would look terrific on most men. The key is just enough color.
  • TyvmTyvm member
    First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    All groomsmen in the same level of formality may be the rule somewhere, but I think visually it doesn't look so bad.


    k thnx bye

  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited June 2016
    This is not about opinion.  It is about menswear rules.  You can break them if you want to, but you need to know that you ARE breaking the rules and tradition.  These rules do change from time to time, but having a bride in a formal, floor length wedding gown and men in shirtsleeves not approved by most menswear authorities.

    http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/guide-dress-codes-men/

    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • CMGragain said:
    This is not about opinion.  It is about menswear rules.  You can break them if you want to, but you need to know that you ARE breaking the rules and tradition.  These rules do change from time to time, but having a bride in a formal, floor length wedding gown and men in shirtsleeves not approved by most menswear authorities.

    http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/guide-dress-codes-men/

    As a menswear buyer for 11yrs I've lived through a few different trend cycles. The link you have provided above is an article, a guide in a magazine. It is not a 'menswear authority' to tell us all the rules that should not be broken. What is socially acceptable in clothing is a fluid, ever changing standard. I don't think it's fair to act as though there are actual, hard rules. What someone wears to their wedding has little to no bearing on their guests, it's one of the only parts of the wedding that should be their own choice, and with any WP involved. The only real rules would be black tie or if a venue has a dress code that says all men must wear a jacket etc.

    No matter how classic you go your wedding photos will always look dated in 20yrs, let's not pretend there is a way to avoid that. And so what, everything is of its time. I don't think that has to be seen as a bad thing. 
                 
  • jacques27jacques27 member
    First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited June 2016
    CMGragain said:
    This is not about opinion.  It is about menswear rules.  You can break them if you want to, but you need to know that you ARE breaking the rules and tradition.  These rules do change from time to time, but having a bride in a formal, floor length wedding gown and men in shirtsleeves not approved by most menswear authorities.

    http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/guide-dress-codes-men/

    Oh no! Not the menswear authorities! Her marriage will be invalid! Whatever will she do? I sure hope she's hired a getaway driver to get them out of there real fast in case those menswear authorities come a-knockin' on their venue door to cart them away for breakin' them rules!

    OP, when you ponder and worry about your "color scheme" remember that your wedding party members are your friends, not your props. Your wedding party doesn't need to match your centerpieces or your napkins or your flowers. The dont even need to match each other - they don't the other 364 days of the year and somehow you still remain friends and everyone lives to tell the tale. Will they coordinate?  Yup. As an earlier poster pointed out, black, grey, and white are neutrals and go with everything (and many include navy in that "goes with everything" realm as well).  Focus your "color scheme" (which has no bearing on whether you are married at the end of the day or your guests' enjoyment of the wedding) on the things that actually are props in your ceremony and reception.  Don't make your friends spend more money to match and "let" your FI wear what he wants - you get to. It'll be fine.
  • Tyvm said:
    First thing I'm going to say is that: You can have them wear whatever. Guests are likely not going to notice and/or not care. So, don't get overly hyped up about this. It'll be okay!

    I think (a) works really well! The bride's side in all black, the groom's side in grey + blue. You can still do red accents, that'd be alright, but I think swapping it out might work slightly better...

    For (c), you could go with your side in black with navy or grey accents, and groom's side in grey + blue suits, with black accents. That could work nice, too. Black and navy can get along. I've also seen some photos of grey + navy + black going well with blush. But if you want red, that's fine! This would essentially make your color blue, black, and grey, so a bit of red might be a nice accent color?

    Bonus: d) How would you tackle FH suddenly wanting to buy a suit in a different color, which might force GM to buy/rent new suits instead, when all of our budgets are low?
    NO. Tell him NO. Unless you are planning to pay for the GM's rented suits. In which case, plan (d) is fine, too. He can change his suit colors, but if you ask your GM to buy new suits they're perfectly allowed to decline for financial reasons. Does he want to have no GM?

    Being matchy-matchy really isn't that important!



    I think the bolded would like great. Easy way to tie everything together without asking the GMs to shell or money now and still having your FI wear whatever he wants. Will look cohesive and put together. 
  • TyvmTyvm member
    First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    Thanks @glasgowtolondon and @jacques27 I was momentarily concerned about that piece of advice, but then realized the link @CMGragain provided was just some rando spouting off his personal menswear beliefs. Looking for a more authoritative source on the Internet, I found a whole bunch of randos that agree that the grooms & groomsmen formality must match the formality of the event, but nothing authoritative that says a floor-length gown necessitates anything in particular.

    What they wear is a thing that does not affect guests. But if we're to start requiring the purchase of matching suits, we're essentially introducing a tremendous financial burden. I'd really like to see a peer-accepted authoritative source tell me that the groomsmen wearing shirtsleeves at a wedding will terribly inconvenience my guests before I decide to terribly inconvenience the groomsmen.


    k thnx bye

  • SP29SP29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Tyvm said:
    Thanks @glasgowtolondon and @jacques27 I was momentarily concerned about that piece of advice, but then realized the link @CMGragain provided was just some rando spouting off his personal menswear beliefs. Looking for a more authoritative source on the Internet, I found a whole bunch of randos that agree that the grooms & groomsmen formality must match the formality of the event, but nothing authoritative that says a floor-length gown necessitates anything in particular.

    What they wear is a thing that does not affect guests. But if we're to start requiring the purchase of matching suits, we're essentially introducing a tremendous financial burden. I'd really like to see a peer-accepted authoritative source tell me that the groomsmen wearing shirtsleeves at a wedding will terribly inconvenience my guests before I decide to terribly inconvenience the groomsmen.
    I agree while traditionally men wear the same level of formality (and I love a man in a suit ;) ), it is in no way "rude" to anyone, so I say, who cares!

    We also have brides who wear floor length dresses with quite a high level of detail, some VERY fancy, and yet it's A-OK for bridesmaids to wear something knee length.

    If the GM already have their attire figured out, and the groom wants something different, I say go for it!
  • Many brides come to the Knot knowing nothing about wedding customs and traditional dress rules.  I answer these questions.  Other brides come already decided and they want their bridesmaids to wear cowboy boots and the groomsmen to wear cowboy hats at their outdoor wedding.
    Either choice is fine, but if the couple does make a non-traditional choice, they should know that they are doing so.  "..but I thought it was OK to wear a tuxedo to a ten o'clock wedding!" is a sad thing to hear.
    Lately my DH has been wearing shirtsleeves and a tie to our cruise gala nights".  (They stopped calling them formal nights last year.)  It makes me cringe and he knows it, but he doesn't want the weight of a suit in his baggage for the air travel.  His choice.  It bothers me more in Europe, where they have a more formal dress codes, than in the Caribbean, where anything goes.
    I chose that website because it had clear explanations and great illustrations.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited June 2016
    Tyvm said:
    Thanks @glasgowtolondon and @jacques27 I was momentarily concerned about that piece of advice, but then realized the link @CMGragain provided was just some rando spouting off his personal menswear beliefs. Looking for a more authoritative source on the Internet, I found a whole bunch of randos that agree that the grooms & groomsmen formality must match the formality of the event, but nothing authoritative that says a floor-length gown necessitates anything in particular.

    What they wear is a thing that does not affect guests. But if we're to start requiring the purchase of matching suits, we're essentially introducing a tremendous financial burden. I'd really like to see a peer-accepted authoritative source tell me that the groomsmen wearing shirtsleeves at a wedding will terribly inconvenience my guests before I decide to terribly inconvenience the groomsmen.

    Just what I said.  Colors are not important.  Matching suits are not necessary.   Level of formality is important. 
    Groom and groomsmen in jeans + bride in a sequinned ball gown = no. 
    Groom in a tuxedo + groomsmen in shirtsleeves = no. 
    Groomsmen and groom in different colored suits + bride in ball gown = fine.
    I chose that website because I liked their illustrations and text.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
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