should the groomsmen wear suits or tuxedos?

Most of the time the guys rent their suits or tux (so I'm not sure about wearing it again), but I guess they can buy if they want.

It all depends on his preference, but if you guys are buying definitely go with the suit. My FH has never worn tux, he hates tux so everyone's renting their suit for the wedding.

We decided to be non traditional and have the Boys wear Dark chocolate Perry Ellis Pants with skinny tie. My fiance will be dressed like them except he'll be wearing a vest. It's really what kind of look you wanna go for. We're getting married on the beach so we wanted something semi-formal.

If you want a formal wedding or are planning on having an evening wedding then yes you need to rent tuxedos. If it is a casual wedding or day wedding then suits would be fine.

Unless they have suits already, you'll have an easier time getting them in a tuxedo. Since the outfits are picked out in advance and include everything except their underwear, they're pretty foolproof. Even if there's a fitting error, it can usually be corrected pretty quickly and without hassle.

I think it depends on the look you want to achieve and how formal you want to be. Tuxes are usually rented with those weird plastic looking shoes. Suits, they might buy and then be able to use again.

Thanks everyone. If we go with suits, they would all be buying them. (We didn't know that suits could be rented.) We are also throwing around the idea of renting the tuxes and just having the guys buy their shoes...

FH is going to wear a suit he already owns and loves (its his interview suit so isnt worn very often) and we are going to have his GM rent suits that match each other and compliment his dark grey suit! hopefully it will work out nicely but we will only have 3 weeks from them going suit shopping to the wedding day! I know its a bit tight but destination weddings are a pain like that!

What time are you starting your event? What kind of feel will the event have? Is it going to be a rustic wedding in the country or a modern loft wedding in the city? Without knowing the type of wedding you're having, it's hard to really answer the question.

That said, we had an afternoon into evening wedding on a Sunday. My DH wore a three piece dark gray suit while his groomsmen wore black suits with matching ties. The look worked for our wedding, but in a classier setting, it would have looked a bit too casual. I thought they all looked handsome though!

Also, forgot to mention, that the GM all wore their own black suits. I know one had to buy a black suit specifically for the wedding, but overall, most just had a black suit that would work. And I don't think they look mismatched even though they weren't specifically the same suits.

Suits are always my first pick! Just my opinion.....but let's be honest, they look great in both!!

My FH and GM are all wearing suits. They wanted to go western so they are wearing a dark brown jacket with black pants and will have stetsons to wear at the reception and for pictures. They are all really happy about not having to be in tuxes and they will be able to wear the suits again! Good luck deciding!

@ Rebecca- I feel the same way and I know that my FH will look great in either.

We are thowing around the ideas about all the questions. We will probably have an afternoon to evening wedding on a Saturday. We dont have a venue yet still looking. But thnx for all the advice.

Thnx Martha. We need it. lol

You can have some ideas here, http://blog.bridesview.com/. They have a lot of pictures on suits and tuxedos.

This is FH and a GM. It all depends on your level of formal!

We went with a suit, for multiple reasons. Besides the more casualness of our event...

DH bought 2 suits, and 2 ties in the wedding colors for less than he would have spent renting a tuxedo. He needed some suits anyway, so it worked great for us. He's also been able to wear them on other occasions.

But I agree- it depends on your level of formalness. I can't see a bbq wedding with tuxedos. And I can't see a super formal event with suits.

But just a personal opinion- I think ties and vests look much better than a bowtie with a tux.

Thanks for all the great advice and sites to visit. it really helps us with our decisions.

Several of my couples recently have gone with tan linen suits which look amazing! I think it's nice too, to have the guys be a little more comfortable than they would be in a tux....

A lot of this should be dependent on the style of your wedding. Tuxes should be reserved for formal, evening events. Suits are far more versatile (and a lot more in vogue, I might add) and go with more styles of weddings. You should never, for example, do tuxes on a beach wedding...it just looks out of place. Early afternoon/day weddings should go with less formal menswear...just as you really shouldn't be wearing an enormous princess ballgown to a mid-day, garden ceremony. Go for the suits! You can customize with awesome ties and fun socks.

For our afternoon garden wedding, I wore a tea-length gown and DH bought a navy blue suit.

We are all renting our tuxes, $125 each from Men's Warehouse, it's easy, quick, cheap and we just have to worry about getting it returned the next morning.