Groomsmen suit colours: six wedding parties, drawn
Updated September 2026 · Sam’s Menswear editorial team
The groomsmen’s colour sets the whole wedding party, so it is worth choosing on purpose rather than by default. Each of the parties below is drawn in a row, the groom in the middle and the fathers at the ends, on the Wedding Party Board, where you can open any of them and change it.
Navy: the safe choice
Navy suits almost every wedding, every season and every hour, flatters nearly every complexion and photographs better than black. A navy party with silver ties and the groom in a navy three-piece is the classic for a reason. The fathers in charcoal sit alongside without matching.
Light grey: daytime and summer
A light grey party is fresh and easy in daylight: spring and summer weddings, outdoor ceremonies and afternoon receptions. It wants a darker tie, navy most of all, to give the row an anchor.
Charcoal: evening and autumn
Charcoal is the serious, evening end of the everyday suits: dark, formal and at home in a ballroom in November. Deep red ties give it warmth, and the groom can go double-breasted without looking out of place.
Summer linen: the hot outdoor wedding
For a hot day outdoors, stone or tan linen is cooler and more relaxed than any wool. The groomsmen can go without ties in sky blue shirts while the groom keeps his, which sets him apart without any other change.
Black tie: dinner jackets for everyone
If the invitation says black tie, the whole party wears dinner jackets, with bow ties and no exceptions. The groom sets himself apart in the jacket: a shawl collar, or midnight blue where the rest wear black. Black tie, decoded explains what the invitation asks.
A mix of greys: each man his own shade
Mix and match looks deliberate when one thing holds the row together. Here every man wears his own grey, lightest at the ends and darkest in the middle, and the navy ties keep it one party. It suits a relaxed wedding and groomsmen who would rather choose their own cloth.
The ties
- All the same is the cleanest: the row reads as one.
- Two colours, alternating or mirrored, adds interest without chaos, as long as both go with the suit.
- The groom’s own is the easiest way to set him apart; seven ways, drawn has the rest.
At a glance
| Colour | When | Ties | The groom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | Any season, any hour | Silver, navy, oxblood | A waistcoat, peak lapels |
| Light grey | Daytime, spring and summer | Navy | A waistcoat, a deeper grey |
| Charcoal | Evening, autumn and winter | Oxblood, silver | Double-breasted |
| Linen | Hot outdoor days | None, or navy for the groom | His tie |
| Black tie | Formal evening | Black bow ties | Shawl collar or midnight |
The fathers
The fathers of the bride and the groom stand at the ends of the row. In most parties they look best in their own dark suits, charcoal with a navy party or navy with a charcoal one, so they belong to the wedding without looking like two more groomsmen. At black tie they wear dinner jackets like everyone else. Dressing the fathers covers the rest.
Draw your party
On the Wedding Party Board you can start from any of these, set the number of groomsmen, dress the groom and the fathers, and see the whole row before anyone is measured. Send the drawing to Sam and the party is booked as one, measured at the studio in Vaughan. The largest party so far was 38 men, and two to three months before the wedding is comfortable.