What Color Suit to Wear For Wedding: Expert Tips

Whether you're the one sending the wedding invitation, or receiving it, choosing what color suit for wedding occasions is a crucial choice you'll need to make, early on. It can feel downright daunting to make the right decision. Especially with so many factors to consider, from the wedding theme, time of day, the season of the year, and the sheer volume of options out there.

Luckily, you're not alone! We've scoured the internet, reviewed current trends, and considered wedding guest attire etiquette, so you don't have to! Read on to learn how you can select the perfect suit color options for wedding occasions!

Factors to Consider When Choosing Suit Color

Wedding Theme and Colors

Weddings feature themes and colors; several popular color palettes often highlight these events and may change according to season or trends. Popular suit colors for wedding events include black, gold, and hunter green. Or, mauve, navy, maroon. Or, Sage and French blue are all timeless themes.

There are usually two to three colors; one primary color and two complimenting colors. Choose a suit that matches any of these colors. Also, consider what the bride and bridesmaids will wear, then select a color that compliments the bridal party.

Season and Time of Day

The wedding color may complement the season, with warmer months featuring softer or brighter colors and cooler months featuring deeper, richer colors. Match your suit to compliment these themes.

Summer weddings often showcase brighter colors like orange or yellow, blues, greens, and shades of pink; spring colors may be softer and include palettes of blush, Fuschia, sage, and violet.

Cooler months like autumn may give way to more rustic-colored palettes that feature brown, rust, copper, and bronze, while winter weddings may feature emerald green, navy blue, maroon, burgundy, and mauve.

Furthermore, consider the time of the wedding. Day weddings tend to be less formal than evening weddings, which may influence the type of suit you select.

Formality of the Event

The wedding invitation may state that the dress code is casual, semi-formal, or formal. Here are some tips for selecting the best color and style for these dress codes!

A casual dress code means fewer rules and more aesthetic freedom! A tailored navy blue or light gray suit is always a winner. Or, toss the blazer and opt for a fitted white shirt and chinos; remember, if you're not going to wear a blazer, the shirt and pants should still be fitted.

Semi-formal or cocktail attire is more polished than casual but less restrictive than formal attire, meaning you can play around with modern fits and styles. The rule of thumb is that charcoal and navy suits are best for late afternoon or evening weddings.  

Lastly, formal attire calls for fewer patterns and more classic yet understated looks, such as jet black, midnight blue, or charcoal gray suits. Pair your suit with black dress shoes and, if you'd like to add more personality, play with accessories such as pocket squares, socks, or cufflinks.

Enhancing Guest Experience with Seating Genie

One of the most important aspects, and often most overlooked, of planning your wedding, is creating a seamless flow; from the moment your guests arrive at your venue to gracefully making it through each key event during the reception, flow is the all-important keyword.

Imagine your guests arriving at your wedding reception, walking up to a table with a tablet, signing in, and knowing exactly where their assigned tables and seats are. There's a consistent flow of guests arriving and seamlessly making their way to their tables. No hassles, no worries, no problems; just flow. With software like Seating Genie, this and so much more are possible!

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Gone are the days of endless spreadsheets, misplacing place cards, confused wedding guests, and attendees congregating at the entrance, causing a bottleneck in the flow and overall guest experience. Seating Genie is a guest list management and simplified check-in tool that helps you manage your guest list, seating chart, and guest check-in from your Android or iPhone tablet with just a few clicks.

The process is simple, straightforward, safe, secure, fast, and easy. It's so straightforward that your guests can check themselves in, and find their assigned seating!

Start by logging into your dashboard, following the prompts to create your guest list and seating chart, customizing your theme, and setting your tablet on a table or stand at the entrance of your reception venue; and voilà! You're set up for a graceful and elegant event that flows seamlessly!

Seating Genie Guest Benefits:

• Simple, easy, and straightforward check-in experience
• Guests easily find their assigned seats
• Less stress
• Enhanced guest experience

Classic Suit Colors

Black

Black suits, the undisputed icon, are best suited to semi-formal and more formal indoor, evening weddings during cooler months such as winter.

A timeless classic is a black suit, white button-down shirt, and black dress shoes. Or, you could add any other colored shirt underneath that matches the wedding theme and color. Make it your own and add personality with unique socks and a pocket square.

Navy Blue

Navy blue suits are the chameleon of wedding attire because you can wear them to nearly any type of wedding, and still look great, feel comfortable, and match most themes. This suit works during all seasons, any time of day, and with most themes.

Navy blue, fitted pants, go well with a button-down shirt in various shades. Consider losing the tie and blazer for casual attire. If the wedding is held during warmer months, select softer colors for the shirt, like blush or champagne, and for cooler months, consider burgundy, black, or brown. It's a versatile color that can go with nearly any other color or pattern, provided the pattern has navy blue in it. 

Creativity is your friend. Many accessories complement navy suits, including ties, pocket squares, black, brown, or blue belts, matching dress shoes, and gold or silver cufflinks.

Gray

You have two options here: light gray versus charcoal gray. Light gray wedding suits are ideal for casual weddings during the day or late afternoon in warmer months, while charcoal wedding suits look great during evening weddings in the cooler months.

Contemporary and Trendy Suit Colors

Bold Colors

Bolder suits allow you to express your personality and style because they add a pop of color. These colors are more daring and fun, and can easily create depth and character by adding unique accessories. What's great about bolder colors is that they pair well with other bold colors. For example, you can pair burgundy, emerald green, and purple in various ways to create a suit.

Imagine this, a burgundy suit with an emerald shirt, brown belt, and matching dress shoes. Or, a deep purple suit with a navy shirt, black belt, and dress shoes. These suits are best suited to semi-formal weddings where creative expression is favored.

Pastels

Pastels, as you can imagine, are great colors for summer and even better for spring! And, just like bold colors, you can pair various shades of pastel colors together. The idea is to select a base color and work around that. These colors are ideal for daytime weddings or casual and semi-formal evening weddings.

Tan or neutral is an excellent pairing color for pastels. Consider this combination, a light blue suit with a white or pale yellow button-down shirt, and tan accessories. You may opt to pair your primary color with a bold color. Pastel and navy blue work excellently together. Or, you could wear a soft pink shirt with nude pants, formal pants, and tan accessories.

Patterned Suits

Pattern suits are fun but can be very tricky to pull off. You have options here; plaids, checks, or stripes. Again, these suits are best for semi-formal weddings because you're allowed more creative freedom. There's a rule of thumb though.

If you plan to wear a patterned suit, pair it with a solid shirt. However, if you're daring and confident enough to match patterns, ensure you mix the sizes. Keep one small, one medium, and one large. One last thing about patterns; there should be different levels of bold. 

Seasonal Suit Color Guide

Spring Weddings

The best suit materials for spring provide more breathability; materials include wool with a higher yarn count, linen, cotton, and seersucker. These materials are lighter and more comfortable during spring. The best colors for spring emulate the season and include softer pastel shades, including soft yellow, baby blue, sage green, pink, lilac, etc.

Summer Weddings

Similar to spring, summer calls for lighter fabrics that offer more breathability and are better suited to warmer conditions. Seersucker suits are perfect for summer weddings and a staple in a Southern gentleman's wardrobe. Choose materials that absorb moisture and feature an open weave. Consider 100% cotton and madras materials.

Creamy whites, neutral shades, and brighter summer colors like orange, bright yellow, and sky blue are perfect for summer weddings. Pair your summer suit with a printed silk tie.

Fall Weddings

Fall is all about earthy and warmer notes. You can apply the colors of the season for the perfect suit color. Think rich chocolate browns, lively copper and bronze, and deep, dark blues and greens. Consider heavier worsted wool or lighter wool with a weave or pattern that you typically find in winter materials such as flannel, tweed, etc.

Winter Weddings

Traditional wool and cashmere suits are a winter staple and are the best options for winter wedding suits. Both wool and cashmere suits offer insulating abilities to keep you warm during the event. Consider deep and rich colors, with heavier fabrics. Tweed and flannel also work well during winter. Black, charcoal, and navy blue are staple suit colors for winter.

Suit Color for Different Wedding Roles

Groom

It's vitally important that the groom's suit matches the wedding color, theme, season, and time of day. In addition, if you're opting for a suit, select a color that compliments the bridal party. Groom suit color choices are based on the wedding color palette.

Groomsmen

Coordinating the groomsmen and bride's maids is fairly simple. Select your wedding colors and decide which color the bridesmaids will wear. The groomsmen can either wear a similar color, or they can wear another color in the palette. The key is that there should be one color element between the two that matches.

Wedding Guests

There is one simple rule! White, ivory or any pastel shade too close to white is off the table. Only the bride may wear white during a wedding. 

Matching Accessories and Footwear

Ties and Pocket Squares

Your pocket square should compliment your tie. If you have a bold pattern on your tie, ensure your pocket square has a smaller pattern and similar colors.

Shoes

Matching shoes to your suit is fairly simple. Match warm tones with warm tones and cool tones with cool tones. Here's an example. If you wear a cool tone like navy blue, match it with charcoal gray, or black. If you're wearing a warm tone, like nude, brown, burgundy, or green, match it with warm tones, like tan or brown.

Other Accessories

Always match the color of your belt to your shoes. Also, any jewelry or cufflinks should match the tone of your attire; gold matches warm colors and silver matches cooler tones.

Expert Tip

Always opt for a color that compliments your skin tone, hair color, and personality. Find your perfect color and ensure you have a suit in that color in your wardrobe. Consider a wedding suit color guide choosing suit color for wedding.

Common Mistake

It's best to select a color that matches the theme of the wedding while considering other factors such as the color palette, time of day, season, etc. When in doubt, opt for navy blue. It suits any season, theme, or time of day.

Final Thoughts

Look closely at the wedding invitation. It'll tell you everything you need to know before you select a suit. What is the color palette, theme, venue, dress code, season, time of day, etc.? These factors will help you narrow your choices to select the most appropriate suit style and color.

If you're planning a wedding, consider Seating Genie, to help you stay organized and create a memorable experience for you and your guests.

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FAQ

What suit colors are suitable for a summer wedding?

There are many wedding suit color trends for summer. Think vibrant, fun colors like light gray, bolder blue, or tan.  

Can I wear a patterned suit to a wedding?

Absolutely. However, consider the wedding venue, theme, dress code, and season before selecting this style.

What are the best suit colors for a fall wedding?

Consider the colors that are popular during fall. Burgundy, midnight blue, copper, emerald green, brown, etc. These colors are excellent choices.

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