13 Swervy Wedding Suits You Should Wear Instead of a Tux (2024)

On the hunt for the best wedding suits for men? You're in luck: we're coming to you live from Wedding Week, GQ Recommends’ exhaustive guide to navigating the nuptials circuit in style. Whether you’re looking for a non-corny groomsmen gift, the right venue to get hitched, or just trying to figure out how much to spend on a swanky new tux, we’ve got all the thoughts, takes, and, yes, recommendations you need to make planning your wedding—or attending someone else’s—a breeze.

Invited to a wedding that expressly bills itself as anti-black tie? The best wedding suits for men are a failsafe tuxedo alternative. See, for all the headache associated with navigating the intricacies of a wedding dress code—rushing your most somber black tux to the dry cleaner for an emergency resuscitation, frantically googling "what to wear to a beach wedding!?" while you check the weather in Maui—the most formal weddings are helpful in at least one way: you tend to know exactly what to show up in. Not so with their more casual counterparts.

When the dress code calls for anything other than classic black tie, figuring out what's considered appropriate wedding attire can be a headache. Enter the trusty two-piece suit. Faced with the frightening prospect of an especially confounding wedding invitation, a traditional suit—in navy blue, say, or charcoal gray—will always be a safe bet. Pair it with a crisp white dress shirt, a solid-colored tie, dark dress shoes, and voila: your gam-gam will be introducing you as her dapper grandson in no time flat.

The best wedding suits for will men will help you come correct on the big day, whether it's yours, your buddy's, or the cousin's you see twice a year who inexplicably made you a groomsman. (It's an honor, really.) To help you traverse the nuptial circuit in style, we tracked down the best of the bunch available today, including—yes—one or two tux-adjacent options you'll be eternally grateful you wore instead.

The Bang-for-Your-Buck Suit

Maybe this is your first wedding, maybe you got served with a last-minute invite and your tux is at the dry-cleaner, maybe you're working with a limited budget but can't stand the idea of settling for a suspiciously cheap rig that might not last until next season. On all accounts, Arket's wildly affordable Italian hopsack suit is the one you should get.

The Investment Suit

If, however, you've got a couple more grand to play around with, Zegna's razor-sharp suit—crafted from a blend of ultra-luxe Trofeo wool softened with cotton—is the kind of stealth wealth tailoring you're apt to see on Succession. The cut is classic but not dusty, the construction befits Zegna's reputation as one the premiere fabric suppliers in the biz, and the entire shebang is so versatile it'll get you through every wedding on your docket for the next few decades—and then some.

The Full American Suit

Some of the best suits on the planet come straight from Atlanta, home of modern-day haberdasher Sid Mashburn. The details on Mashburn's all-American tailoring are consistently excellent, down to the natural shoulders, full canvas construction, and 3-roll-2 lapel—plus plenty of the kind of sartorial fixin's that make tailoring heads drool. Mashburn bills the Virgil as an old-school sack suit, “but sexier”. We concur.

The Full British Suit

If your suiting preferences skew a bit more English in influence (we'll forgive the perfidy), the cheery Brits at Drake's have you covered. We wholeheartedly endorse wearing a double-breasted jacket on any occasion, but when the ceremony leans a little dressier, what more justification do you need to buy the coordinating trousers, too?

The High-Fashion Suit

When the soon-to-weds both work in the “creative industries”, you know the ceremony's about to look more like the Met Gala. Suit up accordingly.

The Semi-Rustic Suit

We've all been on the receiving end of an invite that asks guests to show up in something along the lines of “garden party chic” or a no-less-confounding variation of “choose-your-own-adventure”. When that save-the-date arrives, this workwear-tinged two-piece and a pair of black derbies will do the trick.

The Definitely-Not-Navy Suit

Navy, charcoal, black—the usual suiting options aren't a bad bet, per se, but they're probably not going to turn many heads. Allow us, then, to direct your attention towards the oft-overlooked brown suit (i.e. the color of choice for Distinguished Dudes™ across the globe). Pair Todd Snyder's earthy linen number with sleek penny loafers and a creamy linen shirt and all that's missing is the glass of merlot.

The Power Suit

If you know the happy couple's wedding song is Phil Collins' “A Groovy Kind of Love”, you should take the opportunity to pull up in an ‘80s-inflected suit that won't make you look like a clown. Fear of God's ditches the lapels in favor of an extra helping of shoulder pads, but the concrete gray color and exacting cut keep it all from veering into cosplay. Listen closely, and you can almost hear the sappy synth ballads now.

The Corduroy Suit

J.Crew's plush corduroy number could easily swap places with the washed-out cotton option from Alex Mill above, especially when the wedding ceremony is hosted in a meadow—or a location that looks like an accidental Wes Anderson set.

The Thigh-Positive Suit

Whether you're gearing up for a sweltering summer wedding (or just have a bunch Brian Johnson fits on your spring moodboard), COS' short suit will prove to be a deceptively versatile option.

The Period-Appropriate Suit

Like it or not, one of your friends is going to throw a “period wedding”, and that period will almost always be the Roaring ‘20s. Brooks Brothers might've famously supplied the costumes for Baz Luhrman’s adaption of the The Great Gatsby, but RRL's creamy three-piece feels a little truer to life.

The IYKYK Suit

The perfect pants for surviving the pandemic look even cooler as a full kit. Pair with a simple button-up and sleek hard-bottoms to channel Steven Yeun, the pleat papi himself.

The Groovy Getdown Suit

Cue the “Uptown Funk”.

The Summertime Suit

If there's one thing you can expect at a mid-summer wedding it's sweat. So when a regular seersucker rig won't cut it, make like you're hitting the courthouse and come through in a Thom Browne short suit that lets the breeze whisk away any perspiration.