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Tuxedo vs. Suit: What Should the Groom Wear?
Should a groom wear a tuxedo or a suit?
Wear a tuxedo when the ceremony or reception begins at or after six in the evening, the venue is formal, or the invitation specifies black tie. Wear a suit for daytime ceremonies, outdoor and coastal weddings, and any celebration where guests will not be in formal evening dress.
The traditional rule, and why it still works
A tuxedo is evening dress. Traditionally it is worn after six in the evening, indoors or at a formal venue, with satin or grosgrain facings, a formal shirt and a bow tie. A suit is day dress, and covers everything else.
The rule survives because it reflects light. Satin facings and a deep black or midnight cloth are designed to look extraordinary under candlelight and low interior lighting, and to look slightly out of place in midday sun.
When a tuxedo is the right call
Choose a tuxedo for evening ceremonies, hotel ballrooms, estate and vineyard receptions after dark, black tie or black tie optional invitations, and any wedding where the couple wants a formal photographic record.
When a suit is the right call
Choose a suit for morning and afternoon ceremonies, beach and garden weddings, destination weddings in heat, and celebrations where guests will wear day dress. A very well made suit in an exceptional cloth outranks a mediocre tuxedo at every one of those events.
The middle ground
A dinner jacket in velvet, ivory or a deep color is formal without being strictly black tie, and is well suited to receptions that begin in daylight and continue into the evening. Some grooms wear a suit for the ceremony and change into a dinner jacket for the reception.
Whichever you choose, distinguish yourself
The groom should read as distinct from the wedding party in photographs. That can be a different lapel, a waistcoat the others do not wear, a lighter or darker tone within the same fabric family, or a boutonnière treatment reserved for you alone.