So much attention is paid to the bride on Wedding Day, but it’s Nick’s day, too. He wants to look and feel good, as much as I do.
We started to brainstorm male attire months ago and immediately thought khaki suit for our outdoor summer wedding along the river. And it was important that Nick and the groomsmen be cool, casual, and comfortable.
(August in Pennsylvania has the potential to be very hot. My parents got married on August 25th 30 years ago, and before every photo, my dad had to wipe the sweat from his face. The hanky he used showed up in the corner of some of the photographs!)
We also didn’t want to ask the groomsmen to pay for a new suit (though we did find some decent deals at JoS. A. Bank), so we started the search for a rental shop that carries khaki suits – it was a more challenging task than we thought! Most shops carry dark tuxedos, which was the opposite of what we were looking for. Men’s Warehouse had a nice chocolate brown suit, which we almost considered, but we really did not want to give up on what we envisioned.
We ended up at Formal Affairs in York where they had a snazzy khaki suit on display – it looked like linen without actually being linen. On the display mannequin, it was paired with a mint green tie. We knew we wanted the groomsmen to wear red ties to match the bridesmaid dresses, and I wanted Nick to try on an ivory tie. He was hesitant at first – he thought the light colors would wash out his complexion (yes, guys consider this stuff, too!). But when he walked out of the dressing room, he looked handsome and confident. And our Best Man agreed.
Here’s a sneak peek at the look {credit Geoff White}
And, if you’re in the market for buying a suit for a summer wedding, I recommend checking out the Stays Cool collection from JoS. A. Bank (the fabric was developed by NASA and is designed to absorb body heat and stay dry) {credit JoS. A. Bank}:
Total cost for each groomsman comes to $130 and includes the pants, the jacket, an ivory shirt, a red tie, and brown shoes. Nick will get his for free. Oh, and our sweet little ring bearer will likely wear an ivory tie to match his uncle.
Did you rent or buy? Anyone else have a hard time finding a khaki suit?
Definitely – we’re getting married in August in Massachusetts and never thought we would have such a hard time finding a casual suit. We started the process thinking either khaki or brown – our colors are brown and sage. We were totally disappointed with Men’s Warehouse (where we thought we would hit the jackpot), no khaki and one brown suit that had thin blue strips running through it. We found a khaki suit in a regular mall store and the second he tried on the jacket it we knew it wouldn’t work, his complexion is too pale and he has dirty blonde hair – he looked like he belong on the beaches of Miami. So we moved on to brown – we found nothing and sales people would immediately shake their heads or give us this ‘ekk’ look. He tried on every taupe suit under the sun but it just wasn’t looking good on him and I didn’t want to settle. On our third weekend of hunting we finally had to travel a bit to K&G (large warehouse store of men’s suits) and we had about 4 other places on our list to go. This turned out to be the metropolis of men’s suits. We found something almost instantly. The sales people were really nice and get this it was $80!!!! For pants and jacket. Everything we had looked at previously cost that much, if not more, as individual items. We also found him a pair of shoes there and oddly enough they cost almost as much at $50. My FFIL went there yesterday and found his suit.
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@Becky Fantastic! Sounds like your fiance took the suit shopping just as seriously as mine. Good luck with the rest of your planning!
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Where did you find the ivory tone-on-tone tie? I have been searching far and wide for that exact style and haven’t had much luck. Any leads would be greatly appreciated. Our wedding is a month from today (eek)!
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Better yet, what BRAND is the tone-on-tone tie? That may aid my internet search toward a similar look. The suits we have found also look very similar to the one you and Nick chose — great look, if I say so myself ;) Did you find that the ivory shirt worked well with the khaki suit and ivory tie? Our local tux shop recommended a white shirt with the an ivory tie. Whew…this is where the details get too detailed!
Thanks in advance for any help! It’s much appreciated!
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@Ali We rented the suits, shirts, and ties from our local tux shop. Nick was concerned that the khaki/ivory combination would wash him out, but I think he looked very handsome :) Here’s a photo of his whole ensemble http://bit.ly/cdd9u0. His ivory shirt was very subtle and complimented my ivory gown.
Sorry I can’t give you more specifics about the brand. Maybe you can take the photo with you to a tux shop and ask if they have a similar style?
ENJOY your final month of wedding planning! (I’m now officially following your blog!)
.-= Emily’s most recent blog post: Blueberry Cobbler and Blueberry Crumble =-.
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Aw, he looked very handsome! Thanks for the help! Our local tux shop had one ivory tie to choose from, and I didn’t love it. I ended up ordering these two ties this morning from cheap-neckties.com (I just hope the “cheap” part is only reflected in the price, not quality).
http://www.cheap-neckties.com/white-silk-ties-p-709.html
http://www.cheap-neckties.com/striped-silk-ties-p-10843.html
Thanks for following my blog! I’ll keep it updated as all the festivities begin to unfold so you can see the outcome :)
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The ties looks great, Ali! The white stripes look like a close match to the one Nick chose. Good luck! And have fun :)
.-= Emily’s most recent blog post: Blueberry Cobbler and Blueberry Crumble =-.