Dressing the Dudes Part 2: THE suit

Ok...so you've already heard about our suit shopping debacles...I bet you'd like to see how it turned out!

When Mr. Buttons and I were in Florida for Thanksgiving, we inevitably wanted to check for any amazing Black Friday sales. Normally, I do not get up at the crack of dawn to shop, but if there is something particularly good on sale I can be convinced to do so. When the Black Friday ads came out, Mr. Buttons noticed the Kohl's insert, which I had passed over (foolishly). Annnnd guess what? They were having a sale on their suits until noon! My ears immediately perked up.

So...Mr. Buttons and I arrived at Kohl's at 8am the day after Thanksgiving to scout out the suiting! I must say, I was VERY pleasantly surprised. The suit separates that were on sale were by Apt. 9, and they had a very nice textured charcoal suit that fit Mr. Buttons very well!

Don't judge me, lurking in the mirror...I didn't shower...

One of Mr. Buttons' groomsmen showed up to Kohls while we were shopping as well, and he and his wife liked it as well! Yay! And, do you know what we liked even more? The price!

Original price for coat and pants: $300

Sale price (with an additional 15% off coupon): $122

Mr. Buttons went ahead and purchased the suits for all of the groomsmen so we wouldn't have complications. We had to order some of the pieces over the phone at customer service because they didn't have them in stock...but they didn't charge us shipping - yay! And, because it was a sale, we received $10 in Kohl's cash for every $50 we spent...so we racked up $120 in store credit to use at a later date! Don't you just love a good deal?

So, the suit search was finally over! Now...what ever shall they wear underneath that suit?

Did you rent or purchase suits/tuxedos for your wedding? Did you find any good wedding items on sale for Black Friday or after Christmas?

Dressing the dudes part 1: Shopping around

One thing I’ve been continually putting off is the issue of dressing up the guys. You’d think this would be a rather simple decision…and I suppose it could be. Just throw them in some tuxedos, right?

Mmmm not so much! I think a tuxedo is very nice, but it really doesn’t go with the overall look for the wedding. We want everything to be semi-formal. So…it looks like we’re going to have to opt for some suiting!

I think that having the groomsmen purchase a suit has many advantages! If we time their purchase correctly and get a good sale, it could cost approximately the same price as a tuxedo rental (yeah, those babies are not cheap!!!). Although, unlike the tuxedo, the guys will get to keep them, and potentially wear them again. Both of Mr. Buttons' brothers wear suits (or at least nice trousers, shirt, and tie) for work, so we are confident that at least two of them will put a suit to good use after the wedding is said and done.

So, we hit the ‘net (and the street) and started to search high and low for some reasonably priced options!

One thing we knew for sure from the start: Mr. Buttons needs a tailored/slimmer fit suit. He has broad shoulders and a small waist, so sometimes regular suit coats can look boxy on him.

Jos. A. Banks

Thankfully, Jos. A. Banks just came out with a new suit style: the Traveler Tailored Fit suit. We like that it is wrinkle resistant, stain resistant, and it is wool (nice quality!). It comes in a plethora of colors/textures as well. The consultants at the store informed us that Jos. A. Banks typically holds “buy 1 suit, get 2 free” sales pretty often. Amazing! Although it would take some coordination between the guys, if we purchased the suits together, we could score them at around $233 a piece!

Ah...but it can't be THAT easy, can it? One of the Button groomsmen was a little concerned with price...so Mr. Buttons and I decided that we would keep searching a bit.

First stop: Express. Mr. Buttons already owns one of their tailored fit suits, and I think he looks pretty darn nice in it! So, he tried it on again...this time in charcoal grey:

Ahhh gotta love the 5 oclock shadow...

Sadly, we were thwarted from this particular suit because although it fits Mr. Buttons really well, his twin is in-between sizes. Moving on....

I wanted to give a rental suit a fair chance...so we headed in to try one of those out. They were nice enough to order in what they called a "fitted" suit for Mr. Buttons to try on in his size. It was black (not my beloved charcoal gray)...but I wanted to give it a shot:

It looks...ok from the front...but then he turned around...

Ahhhh! That does NOT look fitted...Mr. Buttons looks like a hunchback with a saggy butt! P.S. he is going to murder me if he sees these pictures posted...

So...after a few days of shopping around, we were still at a loss! Who would have thought that finding a suit would be so difficult? This was proving to be harder than finding my wedding dress!!!!

Do you prefer a suit or a tuxedo for a wedding? What did/what are your guys wearing? Did you have a difficult time locating something perfect?

A Dress for my Flower Girl

I’ve been scouring the Internet for an inspiring flower girl dress. There are so many cute ones out there…I don’t know how I’ll choose a style!

The bustle just kills me! How cute is that???

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I love how sweet this one is...almost like a little ballerina dress!

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This one is just spectacular...but don't look at the price tag like I did...it will depress you! Ah, how I wish that money was not a concern...

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I was so amazed at the array of flower girl dresses on the market, and how different they can all look! Who would have thought?

I stumbled upon this beauty from 5eizen’s Etsy shop…

Be still…my heart…

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I am in love with the fact that the dress is silk chiffon, the same material that my bridesmaids’ dresses are made out of. I think that this style looks young and sweet, rather than trying to dress up my 3 year old flower girl in something that makes her look like an oversized doll!

The flower detail at the neckline is just precious…and the bubble hem? So sweet…

In an ideal world, I would have purchased this, but the price on this little beauty is rather hefty. I'm going to use it as my flower girl inspiration for the time being, and keep my eyes peeled for something similar when I'm shopping!

Did you have a fun time picking out your flower girl dress (if you had/have one)?

A Little “Something Something…”

I’ve been on an Etsy spree (I know, shocking isn't it?)...searching for some homemade lovelies from the vendors.

One small detail about my wedding attire that I had forgotten about until now: garters! I’m going to take an eternity to select one of these lacy/feathery numbers to wear underneath my dress…commence drooling...NOW!

Meadowbelle Market

Garter Lady

myrakim

mollusa

Mia VonMinks Garters

Which one would you choose? Are you going to/did you do a garter toss at your reception? Would you still wear a garter even if you don't do a toss?