A Guide to Choosing the Wedding Attire

Most wedding attire is available to hire and the groom should make his choice first, thus allowing his party to take their cue from him. The colour of suits and accessories should match the overall colour scheme chosen for the day. If the groom decides to wear formal dress, then all the male groomsmen should be similarly attired, including the best man, the father of the bride and the ushers.

For the most formal of weddings the men wear morning coat, trousers, waistcoat, white wing collar shirt and cravat, optionally accompanied by top hat and gloves. Accessories such as the handkerchief and buttonhole can be matched with the overall colour scheme chosen for the day.

As soon as the groom's decided what he's going to wear, the groomsmen should go off to the hire shop with him to choose morning dress, suits, kilts or whatever he's got in mind. It's best to do this together, as it makes it easier to have one booking rather than several separate ones and means there's only one bill to settle at the end.

From an aesthetic point of view, shopping together also makes co-ordinating accessories - shirts, ties, cravats, cummerbunds etc - simpler. Organise a trip out to buy these items, which is usually easier and results in a better fit than renting them. Make sure you're aware of the wedding's colour scheme and pick two or three colours that fit in with it. Depending on how many of you there are, agree on who's going to wear which colour and shop for accessories in that shade. None of you should wear the same colours as the groom, who needs to stand out on his big day.

Traditionally, groomsmen were expected to pay for their own outfits, but if the bride and groom feel they can shoulder the cost there's no reason to dip into your own wallet. If you're paying for your own clothing and are on a budget, ask if it's OK just to buy accessories that will complement an existing suit, rather than buy or rent a new one.