Since men are generally not clothing shoppers, the bride will have to make sure she gives her fiance a deadline to find a wedding tuxedo. Generally, its best if the groom gets his tux at about three to four months before the wedding. He’ll then have to apply some pressure to his groomsmen to get their attire in a timely manner as well. If they wait till the last minute they may not be able to find a matching tux or all the accessories they need. The biggest question with men’s attire is to rent or to buy. This is a good question, just as any rent vs. buy question is. The groom (and groomsmen will have to figure out if/how many times they will wear the tux again. Since rentals only cost about 15-30% of the original price, you’ll have to wear the tux a couple times a year to get your money’s worth. Even if you won’t wear it that much, you may still choose to buy if the idea of renting is absolutely disgusting to you. Even though the tuxes are cleaned after every use, some grooms may choose to skip the “unknown” and just buy a tux. Don’t worry grooms- tuxes are not your only option. If your wedding is going to be casual, or semi-formal, you may choose to wear a suit instead. The suit will have to be more or less formal depending on what time the wedding is (day/evening). However, if you are having an ultra-formal event in the evening, you can kiss your casual dreams goodbye. Usually, an ultra-formal occasion will call for black tailcoat tux with black accessories and a white tie. You will be able to tone that down a little if the wedding is in the daytime or in the summer.
Of course, don’t forget that your groomsmen have to match your attire. You’ll have to make sure that you still stand out though- since you don’t want people thinking your best man is the groom. There are three different ways to make this distinction. First, you can have them wear slightly less formal attire than yours, in matching colors. Second, you can have them wear different vest/tie colors than yours, possibly matching the bridesmaids dresses. Third, you can wear a more ornate boutonniere than them, either by having more flowers, more variation of flowers, or completely different flowers (in a coordinating color).
One of the most important things to remember is that you need to rent or buy matching accessories as well. You don’t want to wake up the day of the wedding and realize the nicest shoes you own are your three-year-old Dr Martens. Usually, the store you buy your tux from will have accessories for sale as well. If you buy/rent your tux and all of the groomsmen tuxes at the same place, you may be able to get free rental on accessories or a deal on the whole outfit.
