Hi! I'm Taryn, a writer, designer and soon-to-be-bride from Atlanta, Georgia. Sit a spell with me and catch up as I plan the wedding of my beer-loving, confetti-throwing dreams to the wonderful Mr. Williford.What the Men Might Wear
Mr. Rooster is a great dresser. He dresses up for work every day (suiting up occasionally) and has a crazy obsession with neckties and cufflinks. I always thought he would have a strong opinion about what he and our groomsmen would wear, but he’s surprised me yet again. I learn every day that his laid-back attitude knows no bounds.
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He has some ideas, of course. We agree that tuxedos are too formal, but he thinks looks without suit jackets are too informal. He wants the groom to stand out from the groomsmen, and he’s set on french cuff shirts (see: cufflinks obsession) and definitely not having roses in the boutonnieres. But beyond those little details, it’s open season for me to pick out our menswear looks.
Styling by Soigne Productions, shot by Michael and Anna Costa via Elizabeth Anne Designs
Everything else is fair game.
We decided early on that we’d just have our men wear whatever black suits they own. It’s easier and less expensive for everyone involved. What I need to pick out is just the accessories—shirts, ties, socks, boutonierres and pocket squares—for our guys. But even though I’ll make the final decisions about the attire, I really want Roo to like what he and the men are wearing.
We turned to Pinterest to find some common ground. Searching for pins of “groomsmen,” I had him point out the looks he liked or didn’t like. I thought we would be on the same page for a lot of this stuff, but the man loves to surprise me. Roo always ended up picking out photos of groomsmen who looked like the missing members of Mumford and Sons. You know, suspenders, tweed vests, the occasional straw hat. It’s a lovely look for rustic barn weddings, but not what I had in mind for our modern soiree.
Threads by Jack London, shot by Tim Coulson via Green Wedding Shoes
Rock band or wedding party? The world may never know.
In my opinion, we needed something more quirky and fun, with graphic prints and bright colors. Being, you know… not a man, I’m not totally confident in this whole menswear thing, so I kept an eye out while scanning wedding blogs for inspiration for groomsmen looks Roo and I could both agree on. We both love mixing patterns creatively. And I discovered my favorite pattern for men’s dress shirts is definitely gingham. I think it can look really chic (and not at all country) in the right doses.
Eliza J. Photography via Style Me Pretty
The right way to gingham.
I hadn’t really found anything we could settle on until recently when, in spite of my endless searching, the perfect groomsmen inspiration ended up finding me in a twist of fate. While Googling something wedding related that I don’t even remember, I spotted the photo below from an Art Deco Australian wedding from Green Wedding Shoes.
Threads by P. Johnson & Drake’s London, shot by Jonathan Ong via Green Wedding Shoes
It was perfect! Graphic, modern. The groom stands out with a dress shirt in green gingham, incorporating a color from our wedding palette and the gingham print I love so much. There’s a bit of pattern mixing going on with the black Swiss dot neckties, but nothing too crazy. And I love that graphic black and white pocket square. Swoon. The mismatched flowers weren’t something we had considered before for the groomsmen’s bouts, but I really dig the look here. Thankfully, Roo does too (and he’s been especially picky about boutonniere flowers, so that’s a huge win for us), although he insists that the ties in this photo are blue and not black. Whatever. What does he know?
I was curious to know what it might look like with our men’s black suits. So I did what any sane girl would do. I went to Photoshop.
Image > Adjustments > Replace Color. Bam!
My Photoshop experiment showed me two things: (a) I have to admit that Roo was right and the ties are actually probably navy blue in this photo, and (b) I really, really like it! So far, we’ve only gotten as far as a cursory search for some of the elements that make up this look, but I did order a black Swiss dot necktie and two swatches of green gingham hues from Proper Cloth, a custom shirt tailor in Manhattan. I would love a striped black pocket silk that comes to a square at the corner like the ones in the photo, but I found a cool geometric printed square from Hugh and Crye that would work if we need it to.
Proper Cloth, The Tie Bar, Huge & Crye
We’ll wait to see when the tie and swatches arrive if we really like the look together (and together with my gray dress–a story for another day). Until then, I need to find bridesmaid dresses. And fast.
Anybody else feeling like they’re finally hitting their stride with this wedding planning thing?
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