Destination weddings: preparing the groom's tuxedo

For a wedding far from home, the tuxedo should not sit in checked luggage. Carry it with you, choose cloth suited to the climate of the wedding place, plan for pressing at the hotel, and settle the outfit with your groomsmen while you are still at home. Done early, a wedding in a faraway place holds no surprises about clothing.

Carrying it on the plane

Checked bags can be lost or arrive late, and a wedding tuxedo cannot be replaced in the middle of a trip. The key rule: take the suit as hand luggage.

• A folding garment bag: many airlines allow it in the cabin or let it hang in a closet set aside for garment bags; conditions vary by airline, so ask in advance.
• Fold the jacket properly: turn it inside out, nest the shoulders into each other, fold once at the middle and lay it flat on top of the carry-on case. This is a travel fold commonly used for suit jackets.
• Trousers: fold along the crease, clip at the hem, and put them on the upper layer.
• Small accessories in a separate carry bag: bow tie, cufflinks, shirt studs, shoes, belt or cummerbund, a spare shirt. Small, valuable items should stay with you.
• Hang it up as soon as you arrive: however neatly folded, the jacket needs hanging so the folds can fall out.

The article on packing a tuxedo in a suitcase shows the fold step by step.

The climate of the wedding place

Choose cloth for the place, not for the season in Saigon.

• Tropical beach or island (Bali, Phuket, the Maldives): hot and humid. Choose a light wool or wool-linen blend, half-lined or unlined, in a pale colour such as ivory or beige, and consider dropping the waistcoat. See TUX-015, ivory with shawl lapel.
• Autumn or winter in Europe: cold, so a heavier wool, a waistcoat, and perhaps an overcoat. A velvet model such as TUX-012, smoke-grey velvet is warm and handsome in that air.
• Korea or Japan: clear seasons, so check the temperature on the day. Prepare an extra coat for cold moments rather than choosing a cloth too heavy for the main suit.
• Hot, dry places (the Middle East, southern Europe in midsummer): breathable cloth, light colours, no velvet.

Check the weather forecast shortly before the trip and tell the tailor when you are measured, so they can recommend cloth and lining.

Steaming and pressing at the hotel

Even folded carefully, the suit can crease slightly after a flight. Have a plan.

1. Hang it straight on arrival on a broad-shouldered hanger, not left in the bag.
2. Bathroom steam: hang it in the bathroom with the door closed and run a hot shower; light creases will drop out.
3. Hotel laundry: ask about price and timing, send only items that need pressing, and state clearly that nothing is to be washed in water. Never put the wedding suit through a washing machine.
4. A travel steamer or small steam iron: compact and worth packing; press through a thin cloth laid over the wool to avoid shine.
5. For velvet, use steam only and never press directly with an iron.

Do this on the day you arrive, not on the morning of the wedding.

Groomsmen in different places

Groomsmen may live in Hanoi, in Saigon, or abroad. To keep them in step without meeting:

• Settle the outfit early: colour, lapel, accessories. Send clear photographs and descriptions to each person.
• Use the same source if you can: the group can rent or have suits made in one place so cloth and shade match. Mon Amie has a tuxedo rental service; ask a consultant about arrangements for a group.
• Accurate measurements: ask each man to be measured at a shop near him, or send measurements; check them when you meet and adjust.
• Matching accessories: send bow ties and pocket squares from one batch to the whole group so the colour is identical.
• Someone carries a rescue kit: needle and thread, pins, spare buttons.

How the groom and groomsmen are coordinated is covered in wedding tuxedos for the groom. For other occasions abroad, see attending events abroad.

A tip from the Mon Amie workroom

Order early enough to leave time for fitting and adjustments before you travel; making time depends on the model and the fitting schedule, and the consultant will tell you specifically when you are measured. Have a last fitting when the suit is adjusted, and only then pack the case. See the models on the wedding tuxedo page. Book a fitting at a showroom.