Wedding suits are an important investment. Well-fitted, bespoke suits will help you
and your groomsmen feel and look your absolute best in the wedding day photos
that you’ll look back on for the rest of your life.
But where do you start? How do you pick a style; a fabric; a colour? And if you have a
keen eye on cost, where can you make savings without compromising on the
finished look? Because it’s so important to choose the right wedding suits, Leeds
Manchester and Birmingham-based bespoke tailor (and MD of Crown to Cuff)
Gareth Beckwith has compiled the following step-by-step advice for grooms-to-be:
Step one: choosing a wedding suit style
Have a look around online and collect some images of wedding suits you like. Speak
to your partner about your ideas. You can discuss broad colour and style themes –
classic, formal, quirky, regal, rockabilly, hipster etc – while still keeping the final outfits
a secret. Also bear in mind the venue and the season you’ll be getting married in, as
weather and setting will affect how your suit looks and feels on the day.
Step two: setting a budget for wedding suits
You should also have a rough idea of your budget before you go shopping. The four
factors to consider are:
- the level of tailoring (ie off the shelf, made-to-measure or bespoke suits – see our
- blog on this for more details) [LINK]
- the fabric (which covered later in this blog)
- the construction (eg is the jacket fully canvassed or fused?)
- and any extras such as pearl buttons.
Step three: wedding suit shopping day: preparation for getting fitted
Shopping for your suit in the same season as your wedding means there will be more
choice of suitable fabrics, ie lightweight pale colours in summer and darker warm
fabrics in winter. Book your appointment on a weekday morning, as it will be quieter
so you’ll have more time. Take a trusted friend or family member with you. Someone
who will be honest and whose opinion you trust when it comes to style.
On your shopping day, do a trial run of your wedding day grooming routine. Trying
your wedding outfits on while cleanly shaven will give you a much clearer idea of the
final look on the day. Also, you want to feel good! Ditch the sports socks and wear thin dress socks instead. Take your wedding day accessories – cufflinks and shoes
etc – with you to try on alongside your suit.
Step four: Selecting fabric for wedding suits
The location and season will heavily influence the colour and weight of fabric for your
wedding suits (Manchester and the Bahamas will each require a very different
approach!). But within seasonal parameters, you still have a huge range of choices.
Bespoke suits in heavier fabrics like barathea and wool mohair will hold their shape
well, but light fabrics such as lightweight tweed can still create a sharp silhouette.
Crown to Cuff can draw on luxurious fabrics from various local companies around
Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds, as well as larger UK-wide stockists. Cloth
Dormeuil, Scabal and Smith & Co. (Woolens) Ltd. are part of our regular supplier list.
Bespoke wedding suits can be created in anything from pure wool to silk, and
cashmere to mohair; plain or with patterns such as stripes, plaid, herringbone and
hound tooth – the options are endless!
Step five: finishing the look
Once you’ve been measured up and have talked through your style and fabric
preferences with your tailor, the final step is to accessorise.
You may wish to leave your suit to do the talking, opting for flair and flourishes like
intricate edging, pocket details, statement buttons or a strikingly shaped lapel. Or
you may wish to keep the suit simple so that you can wear it again, and instead add
personality through your accessories.
Statement cufflinks and a designer watch can be enough to finish an outfit off. Or
more quirky additions like braces, a pocket watch and a cravat are also popular
nowadays too. High quality shoes in keeping with the suit style are essential to
complete the look.
Crown to Cuff stocks a wide range of ties, hankies, cufflinks, shirts, braces, pocket
watches and tie bars. Most importantly, we can give you expert advice on what will
look good on you personally. We want your tailored wedding suit to look as good as
you do on your big day!
We have been tailoring suits for generations, and have established a reputation as
one of the UK’s leading tailors. This has recently been recognised by The Wedding
Guide UK, which named us ‘Best Customer Service’ (Menswear category) at the Wedding Awards 2018. We are particularly proud of this accolade as it is voted for by
our clients.
Making clients happy is what drives us every day. If you’d like to look your absolute
best on your wedding day, contact us today for an informal chat about your
requirements on 07734 703066 or email info@crowntocuff.com.
When it comes to fittings for wedding suits, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds
customers are visited frequently by our team, but we are happy to travel throughout
the UK.