Brides & Weddings Magazine
by Lisa Beth Miller
This week, I was approached with a question that I thought was important enough to be addressed: What exactly should a dad wear to the wedding of his son or daughter? Seems simple enough to tell dads to dress up, but should they match the actual wedding party?
No! Dads are not to be dressed exactly like the groomsmen, as they are not technically members of the wedding party. The key here is to dress dads in keeping with the appropriate level of formality for the event. So if the groomsmen are in black tuxedos with green accessories, dads should wear tuxedos, but not the same one and not with the exact same accessories as the groomsmen.
The dads are also not required to match each other. So using the previous scenario (black tuxes and green vests and ties for the groomsmen), perhaps the father of the bride could wear a black tuxedo with black accessories and the father of the groom could wear a black tuxedo with silver-gray accessories to match his wife’s dress. The dads should wear styles that they love and that feels comfortable to them.
Their tuxedo jacket could be single or double breasted and could have peaked, notched, or shawl lapels. Their accessories could be patterned or in a hue that coordinates with the gown their date selects. The important thing is that the dads are happy with their fashion choices.
Parents are traditionally the hosts of a wedding, or at least honored guests if the couple decides to host the event themselves. They should not be told what to wear specifically, but should always be given helpful guidelines (black tie, semi-formal, formal, ultra-formal, etc.).
