There has been plenty of focus on my dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses, but little attention has been paid to what the handsome men in our wedding party will sport on the big day. Realizing that our planning days are numbered, I figured it was time to start playing dress-up with my future husband and his groomsmen. So, with bridesmaid Erin and her boyfriend (and groomsman) Mike in tow, Andrew and I headed to MW Tux to pick out their wedding-day ensemble.
Andrew is the love of my life, and he has superbly handled his role in the wedding-planning process with just the right amount of interest. This was one of the only elements that didn’t directly involve me, so my plan was to be the supportive fiancé and let him lead the charge on tuxedo decisions. But things didn’t go exactly according to my plan. When Andrew started referencing the lime-green suit from the movie Dumb and Dumber as his dream outfit, I knew a female intervention was necessary.
A salesman showed us to a table to flip through photographs of the various tuxedo options, swatches of vest fabric, and different shirt styles. Most elements were easy decisions until we began to discuss the vest colors. My wonderfully fabulous wedding dress is a light ivory color, which means no white shirt for Andrew. It was directly after I relayed that information to him that I discovered something new about my fiancé: his disgust of all things ivory. As he and I discussed how white and ivory wouldn’t blend, Erin and Mike looked at the swatches to determine the groomsmen’s vest color. Although MW Tux has a partnership with David’s Bridal in the hopes of matching every dress with a vest, unfortunately the color I chose for the girls isn’t included in this partnership. To find a shade of blue that wouldn’t clash with the bridesmaids’ dresses wasn’t easy, so we had two decisions that weren’t working out perfectly.
The debates between the four of us droned on for a long time—so long that our salesman sought reprieve from a colleague. After a deadlock, I turned to Erin (who’s the most fashion-savvy person in my life) and begged her to make a decision. She pointed to a paisley print in cream and silver, and we all were in agreement that her judgment was best.
Andrew grumbled a bit about the ivory shirt, but we left there with decisions made and a content groom and groomsman. I think what truly made him comfortable was the salesman’s assurance that he could come back and change the outfit up to two weeks before the wedding. Let’s just hope he doesn’t change to the lime-green suit.
Lisa Marie, a local bride-to-be, writes every Friday about planning her wedding, which will be in Washington in July. To follow her adventures from the beginning, click here.
