The first wedding appointment is the one that does the most work. Walk in with a date, a palette and a list of names, and half an hour settles the groom, the groomsmen and the fathers. Here is what to bring, who to bring, and when to book so nothing is rushed.
First, the date
Everything else follows from how far out you are. We have not rented suits for years; every wedding we dress is bought and tailored in-house, which means the clock runs on the suit, not on a warehouse. As a rule, come in two to three months before the wedding and nothing is tight.
If the look is a suit from our rack, tailored to each man, two months is comfortable. If the groom wants a made-to-measure suit, plan on three months: about five weeks to make it, then a fitting and any finishing. A suit made to order by the maker, cut from their cloth in their workroom, is a three to five month clock, so book five months out. Mills and workrooms close over the summer and again at Christmas, so a date just after either one wants an earlier start.
Under four weeks is not a no. Call us at 780-431-4293 or chat with our team before you book and we will tell you what can be done in the time; anything that has to be made in a hurry carries a rush fee.
Who to bring
Keep the first appointment small. The two of you, or the groom and the one person whose opinion decides things, is the right room. We ask a lot of questions in that half hour, about the venue, the time of day, the dress code, the colours on the other side of the aisle, and a crowd of groomsmen turns a conversation into a committee. The decisions get made faster with fewer people, and nothing gets missed.
The rest of the party comes in afterward, each on his own fitting, once the look is settled. We schedule those with them directly so you are not herding anyone. If a groomsman lives out of town, we send him our measurement form, coordinate the measuring from here, and have his suit fitted and ready when he lands.
What to bring
- The date and the venue. A July lakeside ceremony and a December ballroom are different cloths, different weights and different colours. Indoors or out, afternoon or evening, and the dress code if there is one.
- The palette. Photos of the dresses, the flowers, the invitations, anything that carries the colours of the day. We build the groom and the party to sit inside that palette rather than fight it.
- A swatch, if you can get one. Most dress designers include a fabric swatch, and an alterations cut-off works just as well. A swatch lets us match a tie, a pocket square or a waistcoat to the real colour without the groom seeing the dress, so the first look stays a first look.
- Inspiration. Screenshots from Instagram and Pinterest, a photo from a friend's wedding, a film still. We do not need it to be perfect; we need to see what you are drawn to, so we can show you the versions of it we can actually put on you.
- The party list. Names, roles and where each man lives. Fathers and ring bearers too, if they are being dressed. This is what we build the fittings schedule from.
- A budget range. We dress wedding parties at five price levels, from a tailored rack suit at $299 to full custom from $999, and the groom does not have to be on the same tier as his groomsmen. Knowing the range before we start saves everyone trying on things that were never in play.
- The shoes you plan to wear, or an open mind about new ones. Trouser hems are set to the shoe, so the right pair at the fitting means the right break on the day.
A brown suit, a grey tie and a rust square. The palette does the work when the fit is right.
What happens in the room
We start with the questions, then we pull. You will try on a few cuts so we can see how your shoulders and your seat sit in each, and we take measurements while you are in them. From there we propose the look: the groom's suit or dinner jacket, what the groomsmen wear beside him, how the fathers fit in, and the shirts, ties, squares and shoes that finish it. Before you leave you will know the tier for each man, the price, and the date everything will be ready.
Orders are confirmed with full payment, no deposits or split billing, because the suit goes into production the day it is paid for and that is what locks your timeline. If you would rather sleep on it, that is fine too; the appointment costs nothing and the plan keeps.
After the appointment
Once the party is confirmed we open a profile for each member, with his measurements, his sizes and what he is wearing, and we track every order against the date. We book the fittings, follow up with the men who have not come in, and chase anything that is late so you do not have to. When the suits arrive they are tailored by our own tailors on the premises, then pressed and held for a final try-on a comfortable distance from the wedding. Free tailoring comes with every suit at $899 and up; below that, most alterations run $75 to $125 and a simple hem starts at $15. Nothing leaves the building unfinished.