Quote:
Originally Posted by
jaketheripper 
This is my first post so forgive me if I sound like an idiot. I have very little knowledge of how to dress at classy functions. Also I'm sorry if I go into too much detail but this event is fairly nontraditional. I am getting married this summer. Our ceremony will be somewhere on the beach and will be a very small deal with just family, so I'm not too concerned about my outfit there (unless anyone has any fantastic ideas). My reception however will be a large party after our honeymoon. It's going to take place in my large backyard. It will start around 7 there will be nice food, toasting, and music and dancing. This may sound tacky but we are aiming to make it as elegant as we can. I was planning on wearing a grey sharkskin suit I own with a white or light blue shirt. I wanted to have the pants altered and wear suspenders as well but I'm not sure if that is appropriate. I also am 50/50 on the tie issue. can anyone help me out?
Thanks
Making the reception elegant is never tacky. Elegant is the opposite of tacky. As it is an evening event, the white shirt is the better choice. Definitely wear a tie. It is of some very small inconvenience of cost to you, and raises the elegance of your outfit significantly. I recommend this one, which will do you good service in virtually any situation for a long time to come:
http://www.kentwang.com/navy-grenadine.html
If you get the pants altered, realize that pants made for suspenders are generally made with a higher rise and looser in the waistband. If your pants are fairly low rise right now, it may be impossible to make them look like pants that are really made for suspenders. Also, you'll want to get the belt loops removed. Also suspenders with no tie looks pretty weird IMHO so if you go suspenders, even more reason to wear a tie. Finally, you should keep your jacket on throughout the event anyway, but this also goes doubly if you are wearing suspenders.
