GROOM & GROOMSMENS OUTFITS

Plan Ahead

The Groom (in consultation with the Bride) should begin thinking about the glad rags around nine to twelve months before the Big Day and look to go into a shop to make a booking some six months before hand. You may be incorrectly advised that such timescales are excessive but anyone who tells you this simply doesn’t know what they are talking about. Beginning the planning period early will allow for sufficient time to browse through websites, catalogues and high street windows before making any decisions and making the reservation six months before should ensure that you get what you want. Outfit hire shops don’t just cater for the Wedding trade, university students going to end of term balls, racing enthusiasts heading off to Ascot for the Royal Meeting, and businessmen attending high profile dinner engagements are just some of the people who will all be clambering for outfits through out the course of a year, so don’t presume that just because the marriage is taking place in the middle of the week that everything can be left till the last minute. For anyone having a suit custom made, the initial contact with the store can be left a little later, though again try to avoid leaving anything to chance.

To Hire or Buy?

How come the Bride gets to spend a small fortune on a dress she will wear only once yet the Groom only gets to hire his glad rags for 48 hours? It’s a question that Groom’s up and down the country have been asking for years, and to be honest the answer is more about tradition than common sense. It is a common fallacy that all Brides will buy their outfits and all Grooms will hire theirs. Many Brides these days are economising by taking a trip to a Bridal Hire Shop and many Grooms will visit Savile Row (or the equivalent wherever they live) and get a tailor made whistle and flute. In all cases, finance needs to be considered and if money is tight this is one area of the budget where it is possible to economise. Each couple will have different financial constraints and different priorities so what’s right for one isn’t necessarily right for another. The general consensus is that if you can afford it, and if you want to, then go out and buy a lovely frock for the Bride and designer suit for the Groom, but if cash is tight then the Groom should hire his outfit for the day so the Bride can afford to get exactly what she wants. We don’t make the rules, we you inform you of them!