The bride and groom have spent a lot of time picking out their perfect outfits.  How about you?

Attending warm weather or daytime wedding is a chance for you to stretch your sartorial muscles, so leave the black and charcoal suits at home. Instead, embrace light colors and patterns!  In fact, the key here is to wear light earth tones and pastels.  It’s a great contrast to the usually monochromatic and dark/light combo of the bride and groom.

Note here that the groom is wearing a navy three piece suit with a silk black tie.  It contrasts well with the traditionally white dress of the bride.   In fact, it looks like Don (the groom) has put Adam’s look from New Years to use!  Both looks are classic and solid, which allows room for guests to fill in with color and creativity.  But don’t forget to be tasteful. This is the wedding couple’s day, not your day to show off.

 

This blog post will focus on what we as attendees wore to my cousin’s wedding, not on what you should wear as a groom or groomsman.  Typically, those items are picked by the wedding party and will most likely be matching suit or tuxedo.   Don’t let this dissuade you from dressing up; there are ways to look good at a wedding without going overboard with a coloured suit.  

Hopefully this article gives you some inspiration for the weddings that you’re invited to!  Remember, you don’t have to replicate the outfits entirely, but simply pull qualities that you like from each one and apply it to yourself! 

“Comfort Casual” on Richard

Richard is wearing a blue linen blazer with a light-blue shirt and white trousers.  It’s almost echoing the light nature of bride’s dress without going full white. You can definitely wear light colors without drawing too much attention!

There will be dancing at weddings, so try to go comfortable yet stylish.For shoes, he went with a taupe suede casual-style chukka, which is certainly a diverse shoe. It works with this “smart casual” outfit but can also be worn with jeans!  Bonus points for picking a jacket in a semi-pastel blue shade with patch pockets.  Patch pockets are an awesome detail that lowers the formality on a garment due to its functional nature and are widely recommended for sportcoats or blazers.  It’s a subtle detail that will set you apart from the guys wearing cookie-cutter black suits to a spring wedding.

If suits aren’t your thing, there’s nothing wrong with ditching the tie going with separates.  For example, a good blazer and a nice  pair of light trousers will work perfectly for your spring wedding!  Most of the time, spring weddings take place earlier in the day and are held outside, so a light color palette works best here.  It also helps if your clothes are made out of cotton or linen, which are naturally lightweight and breathable.  When utilized with “formal” clothes like blazers and trousers,they show that the dresser knows what he’s doing and dresses with confidence.

Most of the other people in attendance were wearing black suits.  While black is a formal color, it’s pretty impractical for a warm wedding and should only be reserved for tuxedos and evening wear.  It’s great that Richard went with natural breathable fabrics and light colors!  He’s still dressed very well compared to the other guests, with the added benefit of comfort.  His overall look could be repeated for brunch, a date, or any other event by utilizing a linen blazer (in white, blue, or khaki) and some plain pants like chinos!

“Suited Casually” on Camden

Sometimes you don’t have the budget to buy a whole bunch of separates for your closet.  In fact, formal wear isn’t really a huge deal for my brother Camden.  However, he does have one suit in a festive fabric (blue) that works well.  It may not work well for a job interview or a corporate event, but his suit fits in for a party!

Like Richard, Camden didn’t want to wear a tie.  He also didn’t want to wear a typical dress shirt.  Instead, I suggested that he wear a lightweight pastel pink shirt.  It’s not as sturdy as a dress shirt, but it fits with the spring theme of the wedding and was much more comfortable for him.  It’s originally a casual shirt that he would wear with shorts and jeans, but it works just as well with this suit!  Camden shows us that you don’t need to wear a tie to look good.  His look blends formality with a casual flair.

My main advice would be to always have a navy blue suit first before venturing out into other colors and fabrics, since this can be used for both casual and business use.  However, that’s a topic for another time.

 

“The Full Suit” on Ethan 

A full suit is always recommended for a wedding, as it’s a “dressy event” Keep in mind that as a wedding guest, you shouldn’t out dress the bride or the groom.  However this doesn’t mean that you have dress too plainly! Even with a full suit, you can still inject some personality into your outfit!  For example, from a distance, my outfit looks pretty simple. Even though the suit jacket may stand out already due to its double breasted status,  it’s still a light brown suit, with a white shirt and striped tie.  However, it gets much more interesting when you get closer.

The suit has a freaking  micro houndstooth pattern!  No one really wears (or stocks) these patterns anymore but thanks to Indochino, you can get a cool patterned suit that is made just for you for way less than $1,000.  Personally, I only paid $400 for this and that’s way less than most brands.  No one else offers double breasted (let alone houndstooth patterned) suits for that price.

Combining colors, patterns, and textures are a great way to stand out with your outfit without going too overboard.  While the suit has a pattern and is double breasted (another rarity) it still looks subtle enough to wear at this kind of event without it being the “main star”.  Note how the tie is made from a linen-wool blend, which gives it a visible texture when you take a closer look.   Due to the texture, it may be seen as a “casual” piece if worn to the office with just the shirt and pants, but when it’s with a suit, the tie choice is an intentional blend of formal and casual.  Plus it’s a better choice than the shiny silk ones that everyone else was wearing!

 

Conclusion

Ideally, a spring wedding allows more fun with colors, separates, and patterns. For winter or evening weddings, you would typically be expected to wear more formal clothes.  This includes tuxedos, wool suits, or wool separates.  When it’s spring and summer (and in the daytime) you can wear your business casual pieces, like chinos and linens, and mix them as needed!  If you have a statement blazer, like Richards linen patch pocket jacket, this is the perfect event to show it off.  You could also use this opportunity to wear some bright florals; keep in mind that subtlety is key here.

If you already own a bunch of plain darker suits, experiment by purchasing a suit in a lighter color or with a pattern.  Instantaneously, you are given two pieces that can be statement stand alone pieces.  For example, my double breasted jacket could be worn with white pants in Richard’s outfit to allow the jacket to be the star. The reverse would also work; a plain jacket with patterned pants. This works best if you have a boldly patterned suit that would be too much of a statement if you wore it whole.

Just remember that you don’t have to copy these looks exactly!  If you’ve got pastel purples or greens, go for it!  In fact, the outfit I wore to easter would also be good inspiration.  It still contains cream pants (like Richard) but a pastel green-blue jacket and a patterned shirt take it to the next level without being too crazy.

I hope this has helped you decide on some wedding attendee outfits!  The overall theme is to wear light earth tones with some patterns  or pastels.  Whether you wear a suit or a bunch of separate pieces, don’t conform to what the other family members are going to wear.  Use this as an opportunity to use your clothes to express your personality in a creative, yet subtle, way!

Always a pleasure,

Ethan W.

Street x Sprezza

Photography by Ethan W. and Camden W.