Wedding style for men: Marks & Spencer bloggers' styling event

What does a man wear for a wedding? This year sees my 37th wedding anniversary. I'm not sure if that makes me an expert on weddings or not. However, I was grateful to Marks & Spencer for inviting me with other bloggers to an event at which we were to select outfits for several different types of marriage ceremony, from traditional country to beach. 

Marks & Spencer x bloggers wedding event with cake and bubbly for that authentic touch

I quickly learned that, from the man's point of view anyway (it was a menswear event) there is a huge range of choice for all at Marks & Spencer, from groom, best man, ushers, to family and guests. I was pleased to see that top hat and tails are available for the traditional wedding (I wore morning suit all those years ago), while a wide range of jackets, suit and accessories can be found for any style of celebration. 

Some of the wedding accessories available from Marks & Spencer

Long gone are the days when morning suit or dark suit were obligatory at weddings. Anything goes now. That's a good thing, but remember that this is one of the most special days of your life, so looking back decades later at yourself wearing shorts and little else at a beach wedding, or a nondescript jacket and open neck shirt at a casual ceremony may lack that element of style that such a day deserves.

Grey Fox pontificates

Each blogger was given a wedding to style for. I drew a beach wedding and a wild card, for which I chose the morning suit. For the beach I chose a linen suit with panama hat, pink gingham shirt with no tie and a pocket square (see top image). 

Marks & Spencer morning suit. The shirt was small for the mannequin, hence the unbuttoned look

The morning suit was nicely-made and I selected a very classic grey theme with a crisp white shirt. I preferred a tie to a cravat. The morning suit is creeping back into favour. It seems to me that one great advantage is that, with a such a classic look, wedding photos won't look as dated when you pore over them nostalgically in 30 years time as they will if you wear current trends for suits or jackets.

Some of the Marks & Spencer wedding styles designed by the bloggers

If you prefer a lounge suit or jacket/blazer, M&S had a superb range from square cut traditional business suits to soft-shouldered Italian style in high tech fabrics. Colours ranged through greys and browns to one of the largest selections of blues I've seen in a while. Wedding costs can rapidly get out of control and being able to buy good quality but reasonably-priced menswear, such as is available from M&S, is a real advantage. M&S recently reported the first profits for a few years and I can see how their improving clothing offering must begin to fuel recovery.

If you're planning or attending a wedding this year, I suggest you have a look at the huge range of suits available at Marks & Spencer. 

If you have any suggestions or thoughts about styling for that special day, please get in touch.

This post was sponsored by Marks & Spencer.