Attire close-up -- the men

Let's not forget the groom. Many grooms simply rent a tuxedo, but I knew from the beginning of planning that our wedding wouldn't be formal and I don't love the look of a tux (I know, call me crazy). We decided together that Mr. Onion should have a suit that he'd get to wear again and again. After lots of research we decided to have a custom suit made for him and found Alan David Custom in NYC. Mr. Onion also got a beautiful off white custom french cuff shirt for the wedding and a back up shirt.



Now I know what you're thinking -- "Mrs. Onion, that's great and all but we can't afford that." He will have the suit for a very long time and Alan David Custom offers free tailoring for the life of the suit. Yes, it's more expensive than renting a tuxedo, but it's not significantly more expensive than buying a nice suit off the rack. I happen to have fantastic taste (blast for our bank account) so I picked one of the more expensive fabrics, but their prices for a custom suits range from $695-$1,495.

Isn't the fabric rich and wonderful? Oh, and the boutonniere is white bouvardia (which was used in my bouquet) by our fantastic florist, Dana Barrow from Fresh Floral Design Studio.

Note: Have your fiance bring TWO shirts with him the day of the wedding -- you never know what might happen and you don't want a little spilled red wine to ruin your night.



And the groomsmen -- from left to right, his best friend, Mr. Onion, his brother and father. Another lesson learned with this one. When we first started planning I wanted the groomsmen to wear brown suits to compliment the bridesmaid's dresses. We hunted and hunted for a brown rental suit and could only find a tuxedo. So then we started looking for brown suits for them to buy but they were all too expensive and all three of them were adamant that they would never wear a brown suit again.

OK -- so here comes the compromise. We ended up renting black suits from Dante Zeller. The price was right and they looked pretty good for a rental. Then I found a stunning green tie at Bloomingdale's that really popped against the black and went nicely with all the natural greens of the flowers. The tie was our gift to our groomsmen.

At the end of the day it worked out beautifully, but at the time I was really frustrated I couldn't make it work. So, the moral of the story is, be flexible. Just because it wasn't your original vision doesn't mean it won't work out. This goes for attire, the venue, the dress....you name it.

Click to enlarge images

Big "guns"

Mr. Onion, his best friend/groomsmen and I were shopping for groomsmen ties at Saks 5th Avenue yesterday. We found a beautiful tie (see below) which we decided will be our groomsmen gift as it was a little pricey ($95) but I think it really "ties" together the groomsmen and the bridesmaids attire without being matchy-matchy.

Anyway -- while shopping we saw a young man, a girl we assumed to be his fiance and her mother and father and a few other hangers-on shopping for a tuxedo for their wedding. Just for a visual (because I couldn't exactly whip out my camera and take a picture of a total stranger...even in the name of weddingbee -- it would have been weird), the young man was in amazing shape like this:



Photo from flickr user "uk_arms"

Now imagine trying to fit those "guns" into a ready made tuxedo. It was just ridiculous. The poor guy got shoved into a jacket that was so tight around his biceps that he just looked silly. For some reason the sales men were floundering trying to figure out what to do. I was in pain just watching this fiasco.

So I casually put my hand on the back of the woman who I assumed to be the future mother-in-law and said "can I offer you some advice?" She looked a little surprised but gladly said "sure." I explained that we had Mr. Onion's suit custom made as he had very broad shoulders compared to his waist, that is was a wonderful experience and would be about the same or just slightly more expensive to have a custom tuxedo made for him. I jotted down the name for her -- Alan David Custom here in New York City and recommended she ask for Alan who we had been working with. Then our groomsman pulled out his cell phone and had the phone number handy! Yes, he carries his tailor's phone number with him -- I just loved it. The mother looked so relieved and said "we've been looking and looking."

Then this morning we returned to Alan David Custom to pick out Mr. Onion's shirt fabric because we decided to have an off white custom shirt made to finish off the look of the beautiful suit and tie.



(This is not the shirt -- this is just a white work shirt as a "stand in" for the fitting).

And here are pictures of the ties:

Groomsmen Tie:



Tie for my father (which compliments my mom's black dress with the
pink underlay). My dad's tie we got at Bloomingdale's -- it's a Valentino.



If you were thinking about buying a suit or tuxedo for your fiance as opposed to renting, I highly encourage you look into having it custom made. You might think it's WAY too expensive, but onnce you factor in the cost of tailoring you'd be surprised. And for a few hundred extra dollars to get something stunning your future husband will wear for years to come -- priceless!!

Call Alan at Alan David Custom16 East 40th Street, Suite 202
New York, NY 10016
Ph. 212-227-4040

Custom Suit

The one thing I knew from the beginning of wedding planning is that our wedding wouldn't be formal (ballroom, tuxes, big dress etc). So when it came time to think about attire for the men, particularly my fiance, I knew I wanted suits and not tuxedos.

After a little thought (and a very generous offer from our groomsman and fiance's best friend to pay for 40% as his wedding gift to us) we decided to have his suit custom made. Our very organized and excited groomsman did some research and narrowed it down to Alan David Custom in NYC.

16 E 40th St
New York, NY 10016
(212) 227-4040

First time buyers get the following great offers:

$100 off every suit purchase
$50 off every sport coat purchase
$100 off any tuxedo purchase
10% off any trouser purchase
10% off any shirt purchase

The whole experience has been fantastic. My fiance and I went with our GM and his wife to meet Alan, the tailor and partner in the business. What is different about a custom tailored suit vs. off the rack you might be wondering?

From his website:

"The process is easy. You come to our midtown showroom (or we can come to you) and select the fabrics that interest you. An intense measuring process then follows. These measurements are time tested through generations of trial and error, ensuring a perfect fit. Two weeks later your suit is ready for fitting."

The beautiful Scabal fabric we choose:



The price of the suit is largely based on the fabric you choose and range from $695-$1,495. Ours fell somewhere in the middle-high range. Once the fabric is selected then you get to pick every detail -- the lapel, the pockets (so many pockets -- oh boy), the number of buttons, the cuff buttons and on and on. Plus, the suit comes with tailoring for the life of the suit so over the years if you gain or loose weight -- no problem. They'll also replace the lining if need be.

So -- here are some pictures from his first and second suit fittings.





With his proud best friend/groomsman:



2nd Fitting:





Nice Touch:



So then we needed beautiful shoes for him. We found these (Hugo Boss) at Bloomingdale's and a month later I went back to get them for him as a surprise!