Gentlemen!

We went a couple of weeks ago to pick out tuxes. I could have smacked myself because I forgot to bring the camera. I kept telling myself over in over in my head before we went, "Don't forget the camera!" And then I didn't even realize we had forgotten it until we were in the tux shop. Oops.

We took some pics with Michael's cell phone camera so we'd have at least SOME memory of what we picked. Unfortunately I have no idea how people get cell phone camera images onto their computers. I guess I'm technologically challenged in that way.

Anyway, by doing a little poking around online, I was able to basically rebuild the different tux selections we made. Obviously these are not the greatest representations, but it gives a general idea. We ended up picking a few different things than we expected. The poor sales girl, she dressed and undressed that mannequin a good 20 times. But she was a trooper--I guess she had nothing else to do working at a tux shop on a Friday night around 6:30 p.m.

First we focused on the groomsmen. I knew from the beginning that there was no way I was forcing those guys to wear aqua colored vests to match the bridesmaids. No way in hell. We thought we'd go simple and classic--black tux, black or silver vest, silvery tie. However, they had a really cool tie that we liked that tied in the aqua, which we never expected to do. But we really loved how it looked, so alas... the guys will wear just a little bit of aqua.

Here is the look for the groomsmen, but with the wrong tie:

Here is the actual tie pattern for the groomsmen:

After making our tux/vest/tie selections, I realized once we were home that the boutonieres we had previously discussed and preliminarily ordered for the groomsmen were not really going to work. The bridesmaids' flowers are going to be a mix of hot pink and orange--probably roses and calla lilies. We were going to do either a hot pink rose or an orange rose for the groomsmen bouts. I really can't picture it and don't think it will look right with the aqua-striped ties. Instead, I think we're going to scratch the bouts altogether and go with solid aqua pocket squares.

Next, we concentrated on the tux for Michael. Here is the look we came up with, but again with the wrong tie:

He is going to wear a white vest, with the same tie as the groomsmen, but in a white/silvery stripe pattern, as shown here:

Next, we tackled the tuxes for our dads. Normally, I would have said the dads can go in and pick whatever they want, but we knew that Michael's dad would probably prefer we just pick it and get it over with for him, and my dad lives 500 miles away. So we did the choosing for them. We really liked the look of this charcoal-colored vest the girl brought out, so we decided to go with that for both dads, but with different ties. I couldn't find pics of the ties online, but this is the general look:

That vest is really not the right color... the one in the picture is more silver. In actuality, it's a darker grey... it looks really nice. For the ties, we did different color/pattern combinations. One, if I remember correctly, is like a silver/black pattern, and the other is lighter. We'll see. If they go in for their fittings a few days before the wedding and want to switch it out for a new tie, we're totally OK with that.

We're really happy with the choices, and with the service of the tux shop so far. The prices are great--the groomsmen will pay around $100, the dads are $50 (50% off for dads!), and Michael's will be free. And the out-of-town groomsmen are able to submit their measurements right through the shop's website. Gotta love convenience.

I can't wait to see all the guys looking all handsome in their tuxes!