Do you have to wear a suit to a wedding?

Long story short...I haven't had to wear a suit in a while, and I've put on a few pounds since the last time i wore my suit. Needless to say, it doesn't fit...I have a wedding on Saturday.

I've been so busy with life in general, I haven't had the time to go shop around for a suit. I quickly went out tonight to see if I could find one that looked good, in the hopes that there would be something...I found one, but there's something bothering me with the way it looks in the back. So I just saved myself 200 dollars, which is good. Basically, I have very little time to shop around between now and Saturday, and I feel rushed about it. I just don't want something that doesnt look good and be throwing my money away.

Anyway...that really wasn't short, sorry.....I have a really nice pair of pants, nice dress shoes, dress shirt, and tie...is this ok to wear to a wedding? I mean, I'm a friend of the groom, not family...I'm not a groomsman.

I mean, people normally take off their jackets anyway once they get to the reception.

Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by mrdlore

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Long story short...I haven't had to wear a suit in a while, and I've put on a few pounds since the last time i wore my suit. Needless to say, it doesn't fit...I have a wedding on Saturday.

I've been so busy with life in general, I haven't had the time to go shop around for a suit. I quickly went out tonight to see if I could find one that looked good, in the hopes that there would be something...I found one, but there's something bothering me with the way it looks in the back. So I just saved myself 200 dollars, which is good. Basically, I have very little time to shop around between now and Saturday, and I feel rushed about it. I just don't want something that doesnt look good and be throwing my money away.

Anyway...that really wasn't short, sorry.....I have a really nice pair of pants, nice dress shoes, dress shirt, and tie...is this ok to wear to a wedding? I mean, I'm a friend of the groom, not family...I'm not a groomsman.

I mean, people normally take off their jackets anyway once they get to the reception.

Any thoughts?

Bend over, here it comes.

Bunch of my work mates from Toronto took suits down to a 35c Kansas wedding and found out the groom wore a sportcoat with odd trousers and a badly tied FIH knot. The rest of the people wore whatever which ranged from jeans to a guy in shorts.

If you're going to that wedding, it's OK

So, I take it that I should buy the suit.

Yes a suit is a very good idea.

might as well go in your underwear if you arent gonna wear a suit

go rent a suit

Originally Posted by mrdlore

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So, I take it that I should buy the suit.

No one will say anything, but you will look like someone with no class.

would I wear a suit? of course. Is everyone at this wedding going to think you're white trash if you show up without one? Probably not.

You can make this decision better than anyone else can, because you know the groom and probably some of the other guests. Consider the time of day, where its being held, and the dress habits of the groom. This is only your first post, so Im assuming you're not really a style-obsessed guy, you just wanted some advice about this one event. Given that, you can probably attend this wedding without buying a suit and you'll be fine. If you can find one, great. You've still got several days. Im just saying dont let all of us snobs here convince you that you're going to be laughed out of the church for showing up without a jacket.

Just get yourself a blue blazer. You should be able to find one on sale right now.

Originally Posted by porcelain monkey

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Just get yourself a blue blazer. You should be able to find one on sale right now.

I second this motion. You may find yourself better dressed than the majority of attendees, depending on the formality of the event and the general class of guests. Failing acquisition of that (and suit as well) you might do best to ditch the tie and just go with nice slacks/shirt. Nothing says jr. bank teller/ stop & shop assistant manager better than tie + no jacket.

Hit a few thrifts and find something decent looking that fits you decently. For this one event, you will likely find something that will suffice unless you are an irregular size. Then once at the reception you can probably lose the jacket and be more casual.

You may actually find something nice. I have often and so have many here. Thrift stores are a suprising treasure chest at times.

Can't you call the host/hostess/groom and ask them what's the expected dress code? That would definitely help clarify stuff. If they say they expect most men to turn up in suits, then I second the suggestion to get a navy blue suit.

Brittain...you hit the nail on the head. I'm a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, but I clean up very nicely when I need to...I just haven't needed to in a while (haven't gone on a job interview in 3 years, cuz i like my job; the last two weddings I've gone to, I've been the best man, so I've had a tux to fall back on)...and so I've neglected my formal wardrobe.

I was just trying to get some pointers.

Instead of the suit, I was thinking about getting a blue or black blazer and wearing some nice khakis, along with a sky blue shirt, nice light blue/dark blue striped tie, and black dress shoes.

Are the khakis...tacky?

I mean, I've never been to a wedding where I haven't had a suit, so this is a first.

Or maybe a gray blazer with dark pants?

I was also toying with the idea of taking my nice black dress pants to the store and trying to match a black blazer to it...but I realize that the pattern of the fabrics will be different, the black probably won't match, and in the sunlight, you'll notice it. I have a really nice steel gray shirt and really nice white and silver tie, that look awesome with the black pants and black shoes, that I'd really like to try this option.

I'm just thinking of alternates to the suit, which will save me money, time, and aggrevation.

This is easy.

Buy a blue blazer and wear the "really nice pair of pants, nice dress shoes, dress shirt, and tie" you already own. Khakis will be fine with this outfit as long as they don't have cargo pockets/too baggy.

You'll be fine.