Should the fathers' and the groomsmen's tuxes match?

[FLMountainMan]

My fiancee and I disagree over this issue. I'm only having one groomsmen (I have a lot of close friends and didn't want anyone to feel slighted and my best man had the same problem, so we both agreed to just do one for both of our weddings). I essentially think all the tuxes should be similar, but that only the fathers need to be the same (and all the groomsmen, were I having more than one). Additionally, mine can be different than either of the preceding classes. My fiancee, who I'm afraid is right, insists that all the tuxes should match, with mine being the only one where variation is permitted. Any thoughts?

 

[videocrew]

There's absolutely no reason why any of the tuxes should have to match. Perfect matching between all of the tuxes is a sure sign that you used rental tuxedos, a touch of variation makes it look like you have the kind of friends who already own tuxedos, which are a nice kind of friend to have.

That said, how much variation is there between tuxedos? Obviously you shouldn't be considering some sort of gaudy pin-striped contraption with a pink vest, and black tuxedos with peak lapels and black bow ties all look pretty similar.

 

[F. Corbera]

Tuxedos do not match unless they are on dancers in a musical.

There is an inherent similarity among dinner clothes worn to a public event in that the dinner suit, bow, and shoes are black and the semi-formal shirt white. To specify greater congruence would be somewhat odd and unfortunate.

If your party, however, do not own dinner clothes, guidance or even defrayment of the costs might lead to a kind of matching or duplication. If that happens, there is no reason to worry about it. Make your party as comfortable as you can and have fun at your wedding.

 

[JonasAberg]

I agree with the above posters; there is no actual need for the dinner suits to match perfectly.
However, I can certainly see why a groom would want to stand out just a bit, which could be done by wearing a waistcoat instead of cummerbund, a high detachable collar instead of turndown collar or a peak lapel instead of shawl.

That being said, odds are most people won't even notice these details, just that "they all wore tuxedos".

 

[sullivan025]

No they don't need to match.