What to Wear to a Spring or Summer Wedding – Smart but not Stuffy (2023)

What are you going to wear? Sometimes it’s good to look at a few suggestions then add your own tweaks and ideas. That’s what these are for. Dressing for warmer weather weddings can be tough. We’ll cover three levels of formality (Dressed up, Smart but not Stuffy, and Casual) in the coming days. Today’s wedding guest style scenario features the in-between. The ceremony won’t be crazy casual, but the groom won’t be in a tuxedo either. You’re going for styled, but not stiff. Photo by Carlo Buttinoni on Unsplash

The Suit: Suitsupply Light Grey Tropical Wool Lazio Fit Suit – $499. Tropical weight wool from Italy’s Vitale Barberis Canonico. The lighter weight of the wool will help keep you cool. So will the lighter shade of gray. A great spring and summer suit that you could even wear into the fall when pairing with darker shirts, sweaters, etc.

The Shirt: W.R.K Solid Performance Fabric (86% Polyester, 14% Spandex) Shirt – $98. Another spendy tech-wear shirt, but spring and summer weddings are famous for being over-cooked, way-too-warm events. These W.R.K. shirts are lightweight, moisture wicking, and have anti-microbial properties. Big thanks to DeJuan for the tip on them. And the hidden button down collar here is a major plus. The more affordable option: Whatever your favorite crisp poplin (not heavy oxford) white dress shirt happens to be.

The Sunglasses: Sunski Cambria – $68. Something a little different. Clubmaster-inspired without the designer Ray-Ban triple-digit price.

The Pocket Square: TheTieBar Classic Dot Navy Pocket Square – $14. Classy but not cheesy, which is how an all silk, solid pocket square could look for a wedding with this level of dress expected. 100% linen. Dots, a contrasting border. Lots going on but it all plays together nicely.

The Belt: Nordstrom Newman Reversible Leather Belt – $49.50. This one again, because it works. A basic, reversible, do-anything dress belt. Ships and returns for free.

The Watch: Orient Bambino Small Seconds Automatic – $215. A real beauty of a dress watch. The More Affordable Alternative: Original (no small seconds dial) Bambino Automatic – $155.

The Shoes: Nordstrom Dane Cap Toe Oxford – $99.95: Inexpensive. Ships and returns for free. Simple, warm brown cap toe. Flexible, y’know, for the dance floor. Full review here.

The Socks: Boardroom Knee High Merino wool Blend Dress Socks – $16.95. Made in the USA. Haven’t heard of/tried these folks before, but Amazon ships them, so, risk is pretty low if you’re a Prime member.