wedding party kilts

[bridetobe]

hi there,
don't know if women usually post on these things but we have a dilema hope you kilt wearers can help, we are getting married next year, and my h2b and his boys are wearing a stewart of bute kilt,black shirt socks jacket etc, with red tie and flashes. we would like the ushers to wear kilts too, but want to distinguish between best men and ushers, but would like the ushers to look great too.
do you think we should keep the same kilt change the shirt socks ect to white for the ushers instead of black? or change the kilt?
thought who better to ask than a lot of kilt wearers.
if we changed the kilt, found a couple we like, one is called black shaddow, and the other is called Auld Lang Syne grey.do you think it would look good and if we used either of these what should it be teamed with for a wedding? black shirt ect or white.
hope you lot can help

[HeathBar]

I would think that typically the only member of the party who would be dressed differently is the groom. And the difference could be slight with maybe a different jacket or maybe diced hose instead on self colored.

[Kornkob]

You'll find that most here will advise you avoid the white hose. Many feel it is reminiscent of rental kilts or a piper's spats, not of formal kilt wear. It is notable that this contingent is pretty vocal on these boards but that does not necessarily mean that it is a majority opinion or 'correct'.

Swapping the color of shirts would be one way to differentiate your ushers from your wedding party. A different tartan may not really stand out as much as you think , particularly if you end up with kilted guests. Once it 'gets out' that there will be kilts int eh weddding you might find that a bunch of your guests jump in as well.

Alternately you could simply use different jacket styles to differentiate them-- if the groomsmen are wearing Prince Charlie, have the ushers in Argyle. Or even just have the ushers wear a fitted, 5 button waistcoat.

Ultimately, I'd worry less about making them look too different. At most weddings it is pretty apparent who is the usher and who is a groomsman, simply by what they do and where they stand.

[Cygnus]

Usually wedding attendees and members of the wedding party wear their clan tartan, whatever it may be - so weddings tend to have a lot of two tartans (for the bride and groom's families) with a scattering of others as worn by friends.

If you really want the ushers to match right down to their kilts, then I'd go with something really easy to hire from a shop - so Royal Stewart or Black Watch tartans (depending on which you prefer) would probably be the best choice.

And congratulations!

[Jock Scot]

Do the ushers have their own tartan Kilt? In Scotland we turn up wearing the tartan we have, as family are usually in attendance then some tartans may match, however, on the whole the effect of many coloured tartans at a wedding adds to the occasion, in my view.

Now I don't know where you are in the world, but probably the USA(?). Now it seems over there everything is encouraged to match----quite the opposite to Scotland----might I suggest, if this matching theme is pursued, then the groom often wears a fly plaid.

For me, I would advise white shirts.

[denmcdough]

Here's my two cents: if it were me, I'd keep the best man and ushers all the same, but would distinguish the groom from them by wearing a fly plaid. Oh, decisions, decisions................

[auld argonian]

Maybe the ushers wear standard Saxon formalwear with Stewart of Bute cumberbunds and ties? Otherwise, maybe the ushers wear the Argyle jackets while the groom's party wear Charlies?

The idea of the groom wearing the fly plaid to distinguish him from the fellas standing up with him is cool.

Sorry, though...cause the black shirts for a wedding just kinda makes me pause. I know the oft repeated mantra is "what the bride wants, the bride gets", but have you tried looking at the outfit with both black and white shirts? The black seems rather severe for a happy occasion.

By the way...is this a day or evening wedding?

Best

AA

[MacLowlife]

That is very good news about your wedding. May you be happy for a long time.

Reading your post, it sounds as if you have one groom, maybe more than one best man, and some groomsmen/ushers. Is that correct? Assuming you expect the best man/men to serve as ushers, too, why not consider subtle differences among the jackets?

I agree with whoever suggested argylls for the ushers- that is a short blazer style- and PCs ( Prince Charlies) for the best men. That is the short-tailed coatee that you will see a lot of. Would you consider a bow tie for the best men and a long tie for the ushers?

I think many people will find a fly plaid to be over the top in most situations, but I think being married is a good exception. So, contrary to many situations, I will vote for the groom to wear a fly plaid. You can look around on this site and see what that is and maybe even how to make one.

Since there is likely to be very little confusion between the two, have you considered a kilt and a fly plaid for the Father of the Bride, (or whoever is giving away the bride) too? Here is where that second tartan might be good- to set him apart, but to link him to the wedding party.

Just because, I'd ask you to think about white shirts. Black shirts are stylish, but might look a little bit dated by the time you show the wedding photos to your tenth anniversary party guests. I vote for white, just because you want a little bit of tradition in your wedding...

[Added- I see that AA has beaten me to the punch on the white shirts, but I really do think it bears considering...]

[piperdbh]

What about their boutonnieres? Could you not distinguish people by using a different type or color of flower pinned to their lapels?
Here's another question: does there even need to be a distinction? The ushers will be the ones escorting people to their seats, while the other gentlemen in the wedding party will not. It seems to me that that should be distinction enough.
I'm with the others about the white shirts. They make the rest of the outfit shine, whereas black tends to subdue everything.

Welcome aboard, by the way, from western North Carolina, the greatest place on Earth!

[bridetobe]

thanks boys for your help there are some good ideas there. and some stuff to think about, never thought about changing the jacket for our ushers it will certainly be a concideration, the groom wants to be in a prince charlie, (but dosen't want a fly plaid)
the ushers don't own their own kilts,i had thought about making the groom different the rest the same, but h2b wants to hire, so getting his family tartan is not an option, it would have to be specially made.plus one usher is his brother (same tartan) and he wants his best men to be dressed the same as him and the ushers different, i was going to only change the button hole and keep the rest the same.
to answer auld argonian's question the wedding ceremony is at 3.30 pm and the dance starts at 9pm. is this a concideration when choosing the outfits?
we're not from the USA, we are from orkney,a wee island right up at the top of scotland. generally orkney weddings are not strongly a kilt afair, (hence the need for advise) so would doubt there would be many other kilted men there, but as far as i'm concerned the more the merrier,there is something very dashing about men in kilts. i think it looks really good at a wedding.(and of course my man will be the most dashing man there)
we have seen the kilts with both white and black shirts and h2b liked the black.
don't know much about kilts and the accessories having never worn one myself,just think it looks great, didn't realise there was so many different combernations so you have given us a lot of options we had not concidered
thanks gents and sorry for the bad spelling.