From July to September of last year, right in the height of the wedding season, I had three that I had RSVPed to—all of them in different cities and all of them with different dress codes. Which means I had to fork over a lot of dollars: three different flights and hotels to book, and three wedding outfits to purchase.
The first two were outdoors, each in a different part of Maine, with one having a semiformal dress code and the other having a dressy-casual one. Even though they were up north, it was still the thick of summer, and I understood that my suits had to be up to snuff. The one hanging in my closet—at least the only one that fit—was a black suit that was made of wool. This wasn’t going to work. So for the first wedding, I got my hands on a wool-silk blend single-button in gray. I paired it with a white cotton dress shirt and beige linen tie and matching pocket square. My shoes were brown loafers.
For my second Maine-bound trip—which took me two planes and a two-hour car ride to get to—I opted for a tan seersucker suit. Because the journey was long and the party laidback, the lightweight, already-crinkled material was the most ideal thing to pack. So too was a polo shirt, but I opted for a blue dress shirt at the last minute, which I kept unbuttoned. And because the rest of my outfit was relaxed, I decided to spruce it up with a pair of oxfords.
Basically, that key factor to consider before copping a wedding outfit is the material. You want fibers that are breezy, and can help you stand in the hot sun for hours on end. Wearing a light color will also help ward off the heat. And whether you are a guest or standing at the altar, the aforementioned outfits—along with others below—are the best options for a summer wedding.