What to Wear to a Wedding: The Wedding Invite Dilemma

I am often asked about wedding attire, which, for guys, can be a worrying task, taking them out of their comfort zone and comfortable clothes. When attending a wedding as a guest, your role depends on your relationship to the happy couple, and usually your invite will be clear about which part of the day you are expected to attend. Not wanting to show up over-dressed or underdressed for the occasion, it is understandable to feel anxious, especially for the younger crowd, but with the help of a J.Hilburn Stylist, anyone will look and feel great no matter how involved they are in the wedding activities.

What to Wear to Destination & Summer Weddings

Destination weddings are often in the middle of winter and are a lovely excuse to get away to a tropical shore. They are rarely formal, and my advice is to go with a suit in a lighter color than usual, such as a pale blue or grey, or perhaps a natural or a khaki with a half-lined jacket for extra coolness. These same guidelines should help with all summer weddings, which is what most couples opt for when booking the calendar. Most of our current suiting includes wool and linen blends that offer exceptional all-day performance, making them adaptable for warm and hot weather. In some cases, a J.Hilburn sportcoat can also work perfectly with an open-necked white shirt and light-colored chino or 5 pocket. Denim is never appropriate for a wedding – I would stick with our brushed cotton, Americano, or 4-way stretch, which all look great combined with tailored sportcoats. I also think that a knit polo under a sportcoat can work for these occasions as it is another way to keep cool as the day progresses.

Formal Wedding Attire: Suit or Tux?

Formalwear for the younger crowd can be tricky, and more often than not, some wedding invites are less strict about formalwear outside of the close wedding party. Dark suits in navy or black with a tie are usually very acceptable in these circumstances. That said, formal wear is usually considered for late afternoon into evening weddings, which reflects the strictly after 5 pm, cocktail and dinnertime that formalwear originates from. We offer formalwear at every price point in our current line-up, with stretch and performance included, and most of our solid essential suiting can be styled in more formal and regular tailoring, making it straightforward to decide your needs.

Formal Tuxedos come with different styling options, and it really is down to preference, as there are no rules as to whether a shawl collar tux is required over a two-button notch, for example. The same goes for finishing the outfit, cummerbund or not, bowtie, etc.; a stylist can help guide one through these options to finish every outfit, including formal attire, to exactly how it suits. With fabrics and colors now crossing the line from daywear into formalwear, with mid-blues and greys also showing up in designer formalwear, the big differentiator in today’s wardrobe between formal and daywear is the fancy grosgrain or satin trim on lapels and stripes down the side of the pants. We have recently included a more fashion-forward style in our familiar line-up with a 3/8” satin trim lapel that offers younger clients a less traditional look without stepping away from formal guidelines.

One note of my own personal taste, which you can use or not: suit vests or waistcoats do not substitute a jacket. I don’t care how casual your wedding plans may be, but a vest is part of a three-piece suit. It is fine as the dancing progresses to lose your jacket and remain in a vest or even shirt sleeves with a loosened tie – we have all done it – but wedding photos with a lineup of groomsmen in just vests are not in my repertoire of well-appointed outfits.

When you stand back and look at our current collection, including essentials, I would say that all of our tailoring looks and business-casual looks can also work for all types of weddings. With our gorgeous selection of accessories, including footwear, neckwear, pocket squares, and belts, every guy should feel fantastic not only when invited to a wedding but also in his everyday wardrobe curated by a J.Hilburn stylist.