Suit, morning coat or dinner suit: what to wear on the day?

The choice has less to do with taste than with the time of the ceremony and the tone you want to set for the day. Here is what each outfit is for.

The suit, the freest choice

It is right for almost every wedding, from the town hall to the dinner. It leaves you free to choose the colour, the cloth and the cut. With a waistcoat and a fine tie it becomes a true groom’s outfit, and it is the one you will wear most often afterwards. Our article How to choose your wedding suit will help you decide.

The morning coat, for daytime ceremonies

The morning coat is the traditional dress for grand daytime weddings. It is recognised by its rounded tails and is worn with striped trousers, a waistcoat and a tie. As its name suggests, it is daytime dress: it suits the ceremony, far less a late dinner.

Our morning coat is in charcoal grey herringbone virgin wool, a discreet pattern that reveals itself up close. The trousers are in mouse grey striped wool twill, with side adjusters and brace buttons. The single-breasted waistcoat comes in sublime grey, the most classic, or in sand beige and light burgundy for more character.

The dinner suit, for the evening

The dinner suit belongs to the evening. It is reserved for late-day ceremonies and for weddings that carry on into a formal evening. It is worn with a white shirt and a black bow tie.

Our dinner suit is in a fitted English cut: one button, peak lapels and satin just where it belongs. Its 240 g virgin wool and mohair, woven by Vitale Barberis Canonico, gives it a subtle sheen under evening lights.

How to decide

• A very formal daytime ceremony: the morning coat.
• A town hall or a less formal daytime ceremony: the suit.
• A late-day ceremony followed by a formal evening: the dinner suit or a dark suit.

Coordinate with those around you too: when the groom wears a morning coat, the fathers and the best men often do the same. Our ceremony pieces are gathered on the Formalwear page.