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Although most attention is focused on the bride's dress, the groom's attire is an important element of the wedding as well. As with the bride's dress, the groom's chosen outfit should match well with the style and formality of the wedding.

In general, the groom and his ushers dress alike, with the groom perhaps wearing a different color/style jacket, tie, cummerbund, and/or boutonniere. The fathers of the bride and groom traditionally dress alike to the groom and ushers, although there are no hardfast rules about this. You will probably want to ask the fathers for their preference (particularly if dad is footing the bill for this extravaganza!); some may want to dress alike, others may prefer not to. It will also depend on the level of formality you are planning. At a very formal wedding, the men are most likely to be wearing tuxedos anyway so it won't be an important issue.

The groom's choice of attire will depend on the time and formality of the wedding. The following table will help you narrow your decisions to those appropriate for your wedding. It provides suggestions for both traditional dress and more contemporary trends.

Type of Wedding	Traditional Attire	Contemporary Attire
Very Formal Evening	Black tailcoat (full dress), matching trousers, white waistcoat/vest, white wing-collared shirt, and white bowtie, black patent leather shoes.	Black, white or other color tailcoat, matching trousers, tie and vest matching tailcoat, or, with black full dress, wing-collared shirt, vest/cummerbund and bowtie all in white, black patent leather shoes.
Very Formal Daytime	Cutaway jacket in grey or black, grey or dark striped trousers, grey vest, white wing-collared shirt, ascot or striped four-in-hand tie, optional top hat and/or grey gloves, black patent leather shoes.	Cutaway coat, striped or matching trousers, white wing-collared shirt, ascot or striped tie. Or, a tuxedo in conservative colors.
Formal Evening	Black tuxedo, white formal shirt, bow tie, vest /cummerbund matching tuxedo jacket. In warm weather, white dinner jacket and formal trousers.	Long or short jacket, matching trousers, matching wing- collared shirt, vest/cummerbund and bow tie.
Formal Daytime	Dark cutaway jacket, striped trousers, matching or contrasting waistcoat, white shirt and striped ascot.	Tuxedo, tailcoat, or stroller coat, dark colors for cooler weather, white and pastels for warmer weather, striped trousers, wing-collared shirt, ascot, optional vest.
Semi-formal Evening	Dinner jacket and trousers (white in summer, black in winter), black vest/cummerbund, white dress shirt, black bow tie.	Tuxedo with matching or contrasting trousers, white or matching dress shirt, vest/ cummerbund, and bow tie.
Semi-formal Daytime	Stroller coat in grey or other colors, dark or striped trousers, white formal shirt, grey vest, and striped or other four-in-hand or conventional tie.	Tuxedo jacket, matching or contrasting trousers, wing-collared shirt, vest/cummerbund, and bow tie.
Informal Daytime or Evening	Solid, dark colored suit, white dress shirt, bow or conventional tie (in winter), white suit or contrasting jacket and trousers in white and gray or navy (in summer).

Other Thoughts

If your groom and ushers will be renting tuxedos, it is a good idea, if possible, to rent them all from the same place to ensure uniformity. The store should be able to provide your groom with measurement cards to send to any out-of-town ushers. The ushers are then measured at a formalwear store near them and send the measurement card back so your local formalwear store is able to reserve the appropriate tuxedos. If your ushers will all be wearing their own formalwear, and, more importantly, if these details matter to you, consider the following:

• Are the colors truly the same? Black can come in different shades.
• Are the styles the same, eg. all single or all double-breasted jackets?
• Does everyone have the same type of collared shirt?
• Does everyone have the same type of formal shoes, of the same material?

These questions will be relevant not just for formalwear but for any attire the ushers will be wearing that belongs to them individually, for example, navy blazers for an informal wedding. But, again, it all depends on how important these details are to you and your groom.

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