What to wear to a wedding

[NMW1982]

Hi everyone....This is another post about wedding attire. I will be attending a wedding in June. It's going to be held on a yacht sailing from NYC for the evening. I was wondering what your suggestions are for attire. I am a 23 year old guy and most people at the wedding should be in their late 20's to early 30's. The invitation said "formal attire" but everyone has different standards of formality. Thanks for your help.

 

[cpac]

Well the problem is knowing what is meant by formal attire. These days it could mean anything from a suit up to white-tie. But you can also ask around to others you know who are attending, and you might have some sense of who these people are and what they are likely to mean by "formal."

Without more information, I'd go in black tie to play it safe.

 

[Tomasso]

Black tie, unless there is information to the contrary.

 

[MrDaniels]

If it is New York and they can afford a yacht, it is definately black tie.

 

[Oddly Familiar]

Originally Posted by NMW1982

Hi everyone....This is another post about wedding attire. I will be attending a wedding in June. It's going to be held on a yacht sailing from NYC for the evening. I was wondering what your suggestions are for attire. I am a 23 year old guy and most people at the wedding should be in their late 20's to early 30's. The invitation said "formal attire" but everyone has different standards of formality. Thanks for your help.


Sweat pants and walmart brand undershirt. Definately.

 

[new obsession]

June wedding, Yacht, "formal", tuxedo definitely. Perhaps think about a white shawl collar DJ instead of the standard black tuxedo jacket. Might be a nice twist.

 

[tiger02]

Yacht, or Circle Line Cruise? Big difference. Best to check with the happy couple. "Hey, formal means a tux, right?" Too easy.

Tom

 

[alflauren]

Originally Posted by Oddly Familiar

Sweat pants

Pleats or flat front?

 

[NMW1982]

The invitation made no mention of black tie. It is a yacht sailing from NYC. Also the bride and groom are both Harvard Business School grads. However, they're both incredibly laid back, and most of their friends and family members are the same way. I am at a loss as to what to wear. Everyone says it's not bad to look too stylish. But I certainly don't want to steal the groom's thunder if you know what I mean. I also do not like to stand out too much from the crowd.

 

[cpac]

Originally Posted by NMW1982

The invitation made no mention of black tie. It is a yacht sailing from NYC. Also the bride and groom are both Harvard Business School grads. However, they're both incredibly laid back, and most of their friends and family members are the same way. I am at a loss as to what to wear. Everyone says it's not bad to look too stylish. But I certainly don't want to steal the groom's thunder if you know what I mean. I also do not like to stand out too much from the crowd.

The invitation read "formal" which means black-tie. But, as we've said before, if you think that's unlikely, no harm in sending a quick email or making a quick phone call to find out.

At the very least though, you're going to need a nice suit.

 

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by cpac

These days it could mean anything from a suit up to white-tie.
Almost nobody wears a white tie anymore, you know that

 

[Stuttjukken]

Tuxedo or a classic black suit (white shirt, black tie).

 

[Concordia]

Originally Posted by Stuttjukken

... a classic black suit (white shirt, black tie).

Do we need to re-open this one?

 

[Mentos]

While everyone might have different standards of formality in the abstract, weddings are the last bastion of "yes means yes and formal means a tuxedo." This is all the more true in NYC, on a boat, in high wedding season. They would have said "Formal attire optional" if they wanted to dress it down a little. You may be able to pull a very dark suit because you're young, but no one will fault you for interpreting formal attire to require a tuxedo, and I suspect that all men of a certain age will be in one.

As an aside, I don't think you ever need to worry about upstaging the groom. Upstaging the bride, however, is done at the risk of ending up in the Hudson.

 

[darkoak]

Originally Posted by NMW1982

The invitation made no mention of black tie. It is a yacht sailing from NYC. Also the bride and groom are both Harvard Business School grads. However, they're both incredibly laid back, and most of their friends and family members are the same way. I am at a loss as to what to wear. Everyone says it's not bad to look too stylish. But I certainly don't want to steal the groom's thunder if you know what I mean. I also do not like to stand out too much from the crowd.

I'd say tux then. HBS has these balls all the time where you wear tuxes.