When to Order a Wedding Suit: A Timeline for Grooms in Los Angeles
The most common question we hear from grooms is not about cloth or lapels. It is when should I start? Here is the honest answer, and a timeline to work back from your date.
The short answer
- Six months before the wedding is perfect. Time to choose without pressure, fit properly, and have the suit finished weeks early.
- Three months is comfortable. Plenty of time for a bespoke suit to be made and fitted.
- Six weeks is possible as a rush, at a 25% surcharge. We will be straight with you about what the timing allows.
And one thing people do not expect: we gently discourage starting a year out. Men change shape over twelve months, especially in the run-up to a wedding, and a suit measured too early can need more work at the end than one measured at the right time.
Why it takes the time it does
Every Mr James suit is cut from a pattern drawn for you and made by hand, full canvas, in our atelier in Southern Brittany, France. Making takes four to six weeks in domestic cloth, and six to eight weeks for Italian or English cloth, because it has to reach Brittany first. Around that sit the consultation, the fittings and the final adjustments.
Month by month, from six months out
Six months: the consultation
An hour, free, with me or with Ben. We talk about the wedding, the venue, the season and the time of day, then look through cloth with the prices in front of you. We take around thirty measurements and three photographs so posture is recorded as well as size. A 50% deposit at cloth selection starts the commission.
Five months: the groomsmen
This is the moment to raise the men standing next to you. Groomsmen tend to be left until the last six weeks, when everyone ends up renting something that does not fit, and the photographs show it. Wedding parties are 20% off, for the whole group including the groom. It does not have to be matching; the same cloth family in different cuts often looks better, and each man ends up with something he will wear again.
Four to three months: making and first fitting
The suit is cut and canvassed in Brittany, then comes back for your first fitting. Bring the shoes you intend to wear on the day, because trouser length is set from the shoe, and a shirt whose collar you like.
Two months to six weeks: refining
Further fittings as needed. We include unlimited fittings; most grooms have three counting the consultation, some four or five.
Six weeks to the week before: final fitting
The final try-on, with everything you will wear. If your weight has moved in the last stretch, this is where it is taken care of, and the year of complimentary alterations that comes with every suit means it is covered.
If your wedding is less than two months away
Call or text 310-503-3592 rather than booking online, so we can talk through what is realistic. We will not promise a date we cannot hold, and if bespoke is not right for your timing we will tell you.
What a bespoke wedding suit costs
A full-canvas two-piece starts at $1,795, a three-piece at $2,045 and a tuxedo at $1,795. The price is set by the cloth, and fittings and a year of alterations are included. More on our wedding suits and tuxedo pages, and the full price list on what a bespoke suit costs in Los Angeles.
Questions grooms often ask
How far in advance should I order a wedding suit?
Six months is ideal and three months is comfortable. Six weeks is possible as a rush at 25% extra.
Do groomsmen get a discount?
Yes. Wedding parties and groups are 20% off, and that includes the groom.
Should I get a suit or a tuxedo?
It depends on the dress code and the time of day. A tuxedo suits a formal evening wedding; a suit is more versatile and will be worn again. We are happy to talk it through at the consultation.
Ready to start? Book your free consultation. We are open seven days a week by appointment at 221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, with free parking at the front and the back.
Robb, Mr James