In some ways, there’s much less pressure on the groom. Generally, your outfit is more defined, and you’ve got less leeway. That tends to go for men’s fashion in general, at least, as compared to women’s fashion. However, just because you have slightly fewer avenues for mistakes doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to look your best accidentally. Turns out, there’s more to the whole wedding outfit than just your half of the his and hers wedding ring set. If you’re a groom getting ready for your big day, this article is for you. Read on to discover nine fashion mistakes to avoid so you look your best on your wedding day.
1. Poorly Fitting Suits
This is likely the biggest issue for guys in general, whether in casual attire or formal wear. Most dudes never learned how a suit should properly fit, so we can’t fault them entirely. However, if you’re going to get married, you should know how your suit optimally fits. Go see a tailor, even if you think it fits you perfectly off the rack. Worst case scenario — the tailor tells you it fits perfectly and sends you home without any money changing hands.
2. Looking Like You’re Attending Different Events
Your bride is in a ballgown, and you’re in business casual. Maybe it’s vice versa, though you’re likely not in a ballgown. We don’t know your life, though. Point being, you want to be coordinated in terms of formality such that you look like you’re getting married to each other at the same venue and time of year. This shouldn’t be too hard, so just, ya know, ask.
3. Over-Accessorizing
Usually, guys under-accessorize, but occasionally you can swing to the opposite extreme. You obviously want your men’s wedding ring, and then maybe two more pieces max. Consider a ring, a watch and maybe a bracelet or earrings. For most guys, though, a ring and a watch are going to be just fine. Just know what type of watch is proper for the formality level of your wedding.
4. Not Understanding the Levels of Formality
This is a good thing to know for life in general, really. However, if there’s one place you want to get this right, it’s gonna be your own wedding. You probably know the terms business casual, cocktail and formal (and maybe some of the others for extra credit), but do you actually know what they mean? If not, that’s fine, but you want to brush up on them or you’ll show up to your own cocktail hour in the wrong attire.
5. Not Understanding the Level of Formality of Your Own Wedding
Kinda like accidentally looking like you’re attending different events but slightly different. Not all suits are made equal in terms of quality and formality. For reference, suits and tuxedos are not synonyms. Tuxedos are a higher level of formality and are going to be ideal if you’re having a black-tie wedding. If you aren’t going for black-tie, you want a suit. We assume if you’re having a white-tie wedding, you don’t need this list, so we’re gonna skip that option entirely.
6. Shopping Haphazardly
Read: buying stuff at the last minute. What are you doing? Seriously, do the legwork ahead of time, and you’ll be so much more relaxed when the day gets there. Granted, you’re going to be stressed out no matter what, but at least you’ll be relatively calm. Take the little wins where you can get them, ya know?
7. Not Owning an Iron (and Making It Obvious)
Don’t show up to your own wedding in a wrinkled suit. Just don’t do it. Why would you do that? That feels like the bare minimum, but we’ll state it anyway. On the off chance you folded your suit poorly the night before and now have a gnarly wrinkle in your shirt, make sure you have an iron on hand.
A steamer is one of those things you want in a groom’s emergency kit, so make sure you’ve got one. Alternatively, if you’re staying in a hotel beforehand, make sure it’s one with an iron. Or make friends with someone who has an iron. Just make sure you have use of an iron – that’s what we’re trying to say.
8. Lack of Grooming
Now, don’t read this as “I need to shave my beard before the wedding” because that isn’t what we’re saying. In fact, you probably don’t want to do that, and you probably shouldn’t do that. If you have a beard, make sure that it’s neat and groomed. Even if you’ve got a bushy full beard, you can keep all that length while maintaining a neat appearance. Consider getting your beard professionally shaped up a couple of days beforehand.
The same goes for your hair and nails generally, so just make sure you’ve got everything trimmed, groomed, manicured, plucked or whatever it is that you need to do to look your best.
9. Wearing Stuff That Obviously Isn’t Your Vibe
If you’re uncomfortable in your suit, tux or whatever you’re wearing, it’s going to show. Just stick with what you like and elevate that a bit. We are not giving you carte blanche to show up in a t-shirt. We are, however, saying that if you tend to have a more casual vibe, a more casual suit is what you should choose over a tux that you’ll be uncomfortable in.
As long as you do good prep work, you’ll get ahead of 90 percent of the problems. If you aren’t already committed to some sort of grooming routine, start now so it’ll be second nature when your wedding rolls around.
