My wedding is getting closer and just by typing this I'm beginning to panic about how much I have left to do! I'm getting married in July and the months are quite honestly passing by far quicker than I'd like.It's not that I'm scared of the idea of actually getting married and having a wedding, (I love my fiance very much as we've been together nearly 8 years) it's the feeling of disorganisation that lingers and missing something important.
We have the venue, photographers, band, wedding dress, invites, hen do all sorted... so the main things are pretty much checked off but now we needed the men's wedding suits. A task which I'm somewhat clueless about but decided to join Nick on his quest to find the perfect suit at Debenhams.
Wedding Colour Schemes
It's taken me ages working out color schemes but I finally came up with lavender blue and mint green as our main tones. I had originally chosen spring green but couldn't find anything to match, I also discovered lavender blue to be pretty awkward as well... trust me to choose two difficult colours! My bridesmaids will either be in mint green with lavender blue bouquets or in lavender blue, by the way lavender blue is the tone seen most commonly in a hydrangea. It's not as washed out as lavender and is much brighter.
To buy or hire a suit?
Colour schemes aside I knew time was running out of time to get Nick and his groomsmen suits sorted. At this point I was starting to fear the costs of it all too, as without knowing wedding costs can creep up regardless of having a budget. With this all in mind we decided to hire the suits as it's easier than buying and good grief, it's far cheaper too! Nick doesn't wear suits very often unless there is an occasion to do so, or I tell him, so it seemed daft paying out for something that wouldn't get it's wear.
Debenhams Formal Hire Experience
I've previously gone into Debenhams to try out wedding dresses and hunt for bridesmaids dresses before and whilst doing so spotted they had a hire service for wedding suits. Being honest I didn't really pay much notice before, however when Nick and I were discussing hiring I suggested we book and try the service out.
Most Debenhams stores offer a formal hiring service it's only the very small ones that don't. We were in London for a mini break from our hectic schedules so I organised for us to go in and see what the formal hire service was like. I don't know about other stores but the Debenhams Oxford Street has a specific area dedicated to the hiring of their suits, with a comfy sofa, a changing room and a display of everything they can do... including kilts!
I first spotted tailed coat jackets... I did start to panic a bit as to me that is totally not mine or Nick's taste. We were shown a variety of suit colours and textures, but based on our other colours some kind of gray suit was what we were looking for. Men being men, Nick didn't really want to mess around he knows what he likes and what he doesn't, so it was an easy experience! Staff were on hand to help and give us (lots of) options and advice.
The Suits
Much to my surprise we were shown a variety of styles and colours that you could chose from, there were all kinds of sizes too which was good to know.
Waistcoats and accessories
Patterned waistcoats to me scream early 1990's... I had a dashing pink one my Grandma made me that I wore with jeans, (I was a cool child) therefore I don't really give them a second look, but they seemed to be on display as part of the hiring service. Nick happily flicked through them all selecting the ones he wanted to try, it was then I started to realize this whole process was exactly the same as buying your wedding dress - you need to try them on! Sometimes items don't always look how they do on the hanger, which is exactly what Nick and I discovered. Nick tried on a few waistcoats and one really stood out as it complimented our colours.
We looked at ties, ruches and cravats in the variety of colours on offer. Nick initially tried a ruche but felt it wasn't to his taste so decided on a tie with a cravat instead. We both agreed it looked very smart and Nick said he felt ready to get married!
The Groom's Review
Nick was my main priority throughout this entire experience. I hadn't enjoyed wedding dress shopping myself I felt really flustered and it only highlighted how unhappy I was with my figure, (which I'm working on) so it really put a damper on it all. I wanted Nick to love his suit shopping and feel good about himself.
He told me afterwards that he was genuinely impressed with how well made the suits were and the options available to him. He also was really impressed with the cost by how cheap it was, how flexible the formal hire service was and how helpful the staff were. He appeared to be glowing when he had his suit on... and looking very handsome might I add!
Overall
With my fiance being content that was all I was bothered about, however being in the driving seat of the wedding (don't tell him that!) I was very happy with the entire experience. Price wise it's very reasonable with a standard two piece suit starting from just £35.00.
I was concerned that each person from the grooms party would then have to come to this particular store to get measured, which could of been a real pain! Luckily Debenhams are clearly on the ball and have a system in place where your grooms party can go to their nearest Debenhams store and get fitted for their suit! Debenhams will have the booking on the system so they can simply be added onto that - clever or what?! Really, really impressed and to be honest I'd totally recommend the experience.
If you want to find out more about wedding hire service click here.
I get married in July so I'll be sure to let you know how part 2 of the hire service goes. Also watch out for a vlog coming soon of Nick's experience wedding suit hunting in Debenhams!
