What To Wear To a Summer Wedding

So listen guys, I’ve probably been to over 50 weddings in just the last couple of years, so I want to take a few minutes to discuss what you should wear to a summer wedding and a few rules you should follow.

About a year ago I made a video talking about 10 things you should know on how to be a great guest at a wedding. Go check that out, it’s a pretty good watch.

In that video I suggested that you do dress up and also that you pay close attention to the dress code. Because most likely this will be an event that you’ll want to dress up for. However, dressing up and dressing for the specific occasion can be different. That’s why I strongly suggest paying attention to the dress code that’s most likely written on your invitation. If it’s not specified, you have a few options.

#1. Talk to someone close to the family or to the couple themselves and ask if there’s a specific dress code. There may not be, but if there is, you should know about it.

#2. If there isn’t a specified dress code, look to see where the wedding is being held. Is it a formal indoor church wedding, is it a outdoor venue, a beach wedding, a barn wedding or maybe it’s just a simple backyard wedding. Knowing this can help you choose your attire.

For example, if it’s a beach wedding, you probably wouldn’t want to show up wearing black tie. And on the flip side, if it’s a formal event, you might not want to show up wearing seersucker.
Okay, let’s say for example there isn’t a specified dress code, but you know based on the invitation that it’s an outdoor venue. Let’s also say the wedding is in June, July or August, so chances are, it’ll be warm that day. This is where your lightweight summer suit comes in. While Navy blue and Charcoal gray are your most versatile suit colors and would absolutely work, I might suggest going with light blue, light tan or light gray. These colors give off a nice breezy summer vibe and because they’re a light tone, they’ll do a better job of reflecting more heat than they absorb keeping you cooler.
Now, unless you know the wedding is going to be super flamboyant, this isn’t the time to peacock and stand out with your suit choice. You don’t want to overshadow the couple. However, with that said, you can play around and have a little fun with your accessories. Go with a bright pocket square if you want to snazz yourself up a bit more.

If the wedding will be all indoors (ceremony in a church and the reception inside a ballroom or something), I’d probably consider going with a darker color suit like the Navy or Charcoal. The darker color tones will read a little more formal and they’ll make the transition from day to evening very seamlessly as opposed to a lighter color suit.
If it’s a beach wedding, like actually on the sand, chances are it’s going to be super casual. Again, check the dress code, but most likely you won’t be needing your suit. At least from my experience, it’s a casual cotton chino pants situation and white short-sleeve button down with loafers, and that’s about it.

Here’s another thing I need to address. If you go out and buy a new suit for the weddings you’ve got coming up this year, PLEASE make sure you cut open the jacket vent, as well as all the pockets on your jacket. These come stitched closed and you need to cut them open. A lot of times they’re stitched up pretty good and might not look like they’re supposed to cut, but they are. If you’re in doubt, ask the store you’re buying it from the cut them open for you.
Here’s a little story time about that. I was filming a wedding a few months ago and there was a sports celebrity who was a guest. I’m not going to say who he was, but he was a world champion fighter. Now, these guys spend their whole lives in a gym and hardly ever wear a suit, so it’s completely understandable that this guy didn’t know certain things about his suit. So, since he was getting photographed a lot, I grabbed some scissors we carry with us and waited until he was alone. I walked up, introduced myself and asked if I could save his life. He looked confused, so I laughed and offered to cut his suit jacket vent open for him. I told him that since he was going to be photographed all day long, I wanted to make sure he looked his best. He was super thankful and we ended up chatting and hanging out the rest of the night.

Anyway guys, all of the photos you’re seeing are from my former partner and good friend Carrie Mcguire. I just wanted to call her out and thank her for the use of the photos. She runs a pretty incredible business, so if you know anyone who’s getting married and needs a destination wedding photographer you can trust, I can 100% vouch for Carrie. And maybe, just maybe, she’ll hire me to be the 2^nd photographer and I’ll get to meet you in person. I’ll drop her website link right here, so go check out her site and leave her some positivity in her blog comments.
Fellas, if you’re not already subscribed to my YouTube channel, please consider it because I’m here twice a week with new videos. That means I’ll be seeing you in just a couple days for a brand new one. But until then, be good to yourself.