Wedding shopping can be a daunting prospect. Choices! Decisions! More decisions! Usually the bride takes on the bulk of the responsibility and thus, the seemingly endless and overwhelming parade of color swatches, post-it notes, phone calls and Advil. It can be extremely difficult to find answers to all the questions and so I offer my help. I have worked in the bridal industry for years, primarily with tuxedo formalwear, and I would like to give a step by step of how to go about making a tuxedo rental order a little simpler.
The initial questions before you go shopping for a tux
o Discuss what you envision. You might have very different ideas about what the ideal tuxedo will look like? If you disagree, come to a reasonable compromise before you get to the store. Continuing the argument in front of the salesperson can be somewhat uncomfortable.
o Do you know what color the bridesmaid dresses will be? If so bring a color swatch. Just because the dress is labeled as celadon doesn't mean that the celadon vest you're looking at will match.
Note: A color swatch is a lifesaver, bring it with you to all your major decision making appointments that involve your color scheme. The color might be pretty close but could look awful in pictures if it's not quite right. As overwhelming as it sounds, all the color matching for every part of the wedding should be done simultaneously. The color of the dress might be perfect with the flowers but won't match the chair covers and none of them will match the vests. The color selection will vary from item to item and most times will not overlap. Making a final decision only to have to change it three weeks later because it was impossible to match with something else is not a headache that you should put on yourself.
The Steps
1. Make appointment to come in for a color matching and style consultation. It's ok if you need some time to think about it but please-please-please don't make the consultant write down styles and names if you are not 100% sure about staying with that rental shop. If you still plan on shopping around, be honest, you might even get an extra discount for incentive to stay.
2. Once you have decided, make sure you have all information ready; what are the names, what their position will be (i.e.groomsmen,usher, ect) and who will be wearing what. The final decision can be made as far in advance as you want but should be at least three months before the wedding.
3. Assuming that all the groomsmen have already been asked and agreed to be in the wedding (don't laugh, grooms will put off this sort of thing for months if not kept in check) they should start coming into the store to get measured. All fittings should be completed by the date specified by that rental facility. Some can be as early as two months prior or as late as two weeks prior to wedding. Keep on top of those guys!! Most will likely forget or put it off until the day before the deadline. That deadline is there for your protection to ensure that all the styles in the colors you want are available in the sizes of your groomsmen.
Note: If you are getting married during the peak season keep this in mind: There are more than likely at least a dozen other bridal parties that have ordered that same Calvin Kline two- button wool for the same weekend. If your whole bridal party consists of average sized guys wearing a 40R coat you want to make sure that your order is places as soon as possible. Waiting until the last minute not only creates problems for the formal wear associate (and believe me when I say problems) but is difficult for the groomsmen who may be forced to wear whatever size is available or wear a different style. Although the establishment will hopefully bend over backwards to help, it's a situation best avoided altogether.
4. Check up on the groomsmen over those between months but also keep in touch with the formal wear associate. They have all the information about who has come in, who hasn't paid yet and where in the order process you party is. Be involved or make sure your groom in involved, but no need to go overboard.......
5. Once everything is ordered and confirmed, rest easy until the big day!
6. Depending of the type of rental shop you purchased from, the tuxes will generally be ordered from a larger parent warehouse and shipped to the shop a couple days before the wedding. Be sure your groomsmen are aware of the arrival date and know that they must try them on. There are no guarantees that the tux will fit perfectly based solely on measurements and the tux associate cannot help them if unaware of the problem. Measurements are necessary of course but they are just the first step as there are many different styles and cuts (i.e. classic cut, athletic, suit) and all have different proportions. The tuxes are typically in the store on the Wednesday or Thursday before the event and should be tried on immediately. If there are issues, some can be fixed on the spot while you wait but some replacements aren't available in house and must be reordered from the warehouse. 24hrs is standard for most companies but if the issue isn't brought to anyone's attention until the day before the wedding without time for shipping, there really isn't a whole lot that can be done. The tuxedo manager in me wants to remind you that most sales consultants genuinely want to make sure everything goes smoothly and they have already put a lot of time and effort into your order. Some things are unavoidable and I'm certainly not discounting human error, but if there were a problem verbal abuse would not be the best step towards finding a solution. There is almost always an answer but you must do your part to make sure all members of your party do theirs so the tuxedo professionals can smooth out the transition from try-on to wedding ready.
7. The final step up to you. Have a fantastic wedding day because at the end of it you are still going to be married and if that level of perfection you were aiming for wasn't a possibility (it does happen, sorry) take time to remember the things that did go off without a hitch and not the ones that were a little less than your expectations.
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