I’m best man at a friend wedding and he has just asked me what the protocol is for buying/hiring suits. Should he pay for it or does everyone pay for there own?

I have no idea so thought I would check with the oracle that is STW.

The groom pays… He better had anyway because i’m ushering on Saturday and i’m skint.

groom pays as far as I know

Groom, unless he’s skint I suppose and his mates want to help out.

I was asked to pay for mine as best man. And then found he’d chosen the most expensive one in the catalogue, and it further transpired that he got his free when hiring 4 other dress suits.

Depends how good a mate he is or how much of a **** you’re feeling.

Do people not own their own morning dress?

Please tell me you’re not going to be wearing anything other than a proper morning suit……please?

I (as groom) paid for morning suits for the best man, both fathers & the ushers. I think that’s the convention.

Do people not own their own morning dress?

We may agree on many matters sartorial, good Cap’n, but I fear this has gone a little far. This isn’t the eighteenth century, you know.

OMITN, they’re not exactly expensive and assuming one goes to at least two weddings a year for a period of around five to ten years, owning one’s own is far better value for money than renting some scuzzy one from Moss Bros!

For my wedding, I paid for all the suits and ties. Mine, my best man’s, my two ushers’ and both the fathers’. We all had our own shoes and shirts etc already.

“OMITN, they’re not exactly expensive and assuming one goes to at least two weddings a year for a period of around five to ten years, owning one’s own is far better value for money than renting some scuzzy one from Moss Bros!”

Hmm – we must move in different social circles, as the only time I’ve ever worn a morning suit is at my own wedding.

“We all had our own shoes and shirts etc already.”

ooh, posh 😉

Ah, but Cap’n, that assumes everyone is going to a wedding where morning dress is still worn.

I’ve been to those weddings conducted in the afternoon and been required to wear a dinner jacket – and we all know the rules about not dressing for dinner before 6pm….

To the extent that Mrs North and i ever actually tie the knot, I shall certainly not be weating morning dress: I’m 5’7″ and would look ridiculous!

Navy blue G&H it will be for me.

A dinner jacket? To a wedding? No wonder society is falling apart around us!

😉

Kilt all the way. Morning suits look daft, standard practice to wear a kilt for pretty much all hatched matched and dispatched type events.

I thought it was traditional to wear one’s uniform, with medals, at such events.

When I got married last year, all the ushers, best man paid for their own and we obv paid for EVERYTHING else.

I always thought it was tradition for the men to pay for their own suits…….thats always what all my friends have done in the past so I followed suit

We all paid to hire our own – i did pay for best man though – he got the free one when we ordered 5!

I bought my best men their suit. Asking them to pay for your wedding is a bit off. You asked them to be there.

I had to pay for a hire suit for a mates wedding, it was a little hard to swallow as the total spend was in the order of £45K, so a few £ on suits for your best man / ushers is a drop in the ocean. Compromise and don’t have the 400 white doves released when you come out the church and get your best man a suit.

The Groom does indeed pay for the suit or hire of a suit for you.
It’s the same thing as the bride paying for any bridesmaids or flower girls frocks.

I certainly paid for my ushers, best man and the page boys suits. Anything less would be tight.

I hate all the guff around weddings; I wore a morning suit as did others who came. I come from an upper class family and not sure what anyone thought I was doing anything wrong but don’t care anyway.

BTW, got married here, nice place….

I just wore linen troosers and shirt, but it was rather warm where I got married. 🙂 I did have to pay for witnesses though 🙂

I was best man for a mate a few years back, he paid a big chunk for the (tailor made) suits. I contributed, but it was agreed before hand.

Conks

Groom pays! How would it be that groom choses most expensive suit then expects best man to fork out … I don’t think so!
Mind wedding dress shopping .. how horrific! Don’t ever want to get maried! went with a friend (As I’m her bridesmaid) it was full of stuck up pretentious women, I didn’t find one dress that I would’ve worn if I was getting married adn the only one I thought was “okay” was £1400!! I mean FFS why does it have to be so ridiculous!! Would rather spend the money on an awesome month trip to South American MTBing .. what more can I say!!

Sorry for the hijack!

Agreed with the Captain on this one. One of my better investments in clothing…

😉

Munge-chick – You don’t have to have all that paraphenalia (sp?).
When you find Mr. right then maybe you’ll want to be married.
It sounds like your friend went to a very expensive shop.

We managed to avoid that whole issue by not having anybody else at our wedding 😉

Munque-chick, wedding dresses don’t need to be expensive, we found this on the internet, got it fitted and added a flower from Claire’s and in my (rather biased) opinion my wife looked stunning…
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/3094557909_e9f870b451_m.jpg[/img]

Whole lot was less than £200.

oh sound more promising!! I have found the man I want to be with however neither of us have ever wanted to get married to be fair! happy as we are despite everyone’s pressure!! Hey easier to get out of if it goes wrong I say 😉 only joking!!!

neilforrow – How Much?

Have to say I’m with CFH and BigDummy on this, there’s just something about a man wearing a morning suit.

there’s just something about a man wearing a morning suit

Yeah, he looks like an outdated prat – something similar to someone walking over Tower Bridge wearing a bowler hat. What a crock…

Hello, tinker-belle? Ding…..dong……

Darcy my dear old chap, you really must have that chip removed at some point! Why the hell shouldn’t someone dress properly if they choose to do so?

My whole wedding cost about £800 and many people said it was the best one they had been to. My church was free as was the band (my friends). Wife’s dress was about £400. Made own cake (couldn’t believe we had spend £40 HIRING a cake stand!!!). I bought a suit from M&S and bought a shirt and tie for best man and father of bride. Still wear it now!!

Got married at 3pm so we didn’t have to buy everyone dinner. Venue in evening had so much food we only ate half. £350 fir hire and food for 70 people. Funniest bit was when we booked it the manager said “so we’ll do canapes and vol-u-vonts (spelling?)”. We said “No, who likes that rubbish anyway? We want sausages on stick, chicken, pizza, and jelly and ice cream!”. She said they would be able to do loads for £5.50 a head. And everyone got a free drink too.

Use your heads and shop around. £40k on a wedding? Or even £10k? You need a mental health checkup if you spend that IMHO.

And Flash, you must stop assuming, my dear old chap, that everytime you and I disagree on something (which is mostly…always), that it’s because I have a chip on my shoulder. It’s getting tiresome…and now, look, I’ve let myself fall into your trap… 😉

To me, morning suits simply belong in the past, you know, like white breeches, codpieces, wigs, bowler-hats, top hats. But no, some of you will insist on being dragged kicking and screaming until you’re up to date.

Whole lot was less than £200.

Yeah, looks like it…

JOKE!!

Sorry, maths on mine a bit wrong. It was more like £1200 but still a bargain!

How did you get a free church?

I used the church I attend.

C of E? Still supposed to pay AFAIK – vicar fee, organist and hire.

my sister spend 1K on the church booking alone, she hadn’t been in a church for 15 years before that.

I don’t understand why people who aren’t religious insist on getting married in a church they never attend, in a place they won’t ever go back to. Mind you worked out well for me as it was on the edge of the Quantocks.