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Wedding Settings

The Destination Wedding Suit.

For Udaipur, Bali, Tuscany or the Maldives — dressing correctly when the venue is somewhere extraordinary.

The destination wedding adds a layer of complexity to the wedding suit commission: the suit must travel well, perform in an unfamiliar climate, and look appropriate in a setting that may be dramatically different from the tailor's workshop where it was made. A suit made for a December Udaipur palace wedding has different requirements from one for a Maldives beach ceremony in March. At The Black Lapel, destination wedding commissions begin with the venue and the month as the first two design constraints.

Photograph to follow

Climate first — the most important design constraint

The climate of the destination determines the fabric more than any aesthetic consideration. A Rajasthan palace wedding in December is cooler and allows a mid-weight worsted or a lightweight flannel — fabrics that would be wholly inappropriate in Bali or the Maldives in any month. A Southeast Asian destination in March calls for the lightest possible cloth: linen, fresco wool, or a tropical 150s count worsted that breathes genuinely in humidity.

Most Indian domestic destination venues — Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Goa, Coorg, Kerala backwaters — have climates that require lightweight, breathable cloth almost year-round. The linen suit, which many Western grooms choose for summer events, is appropriate for Indian destination weddings for much of the year and photographs beautifully in outdoor settings.

Packing and travelling with a bespoke wedding suit

A bespoke suit in quality cloth travels better than a cheap suit in inferior fabric. Fine worsted wool has a degree of natural wrinkle resistance that allows it to recover from folding in a suitcase; linen, while it wrinkles characteristically, recovers quickly when hung in a humid bathroom. Linen and fresco wool suits are both appropriate destination wedding choices and both travel reasonably well.

For transport, the suit should be hung in a garment bag for the journey wherever possible. If checked luggage is necessary, fold the jacket inside-out and pack it flat on top of the suitcase with the trouser rolled loosely around it. Hang the suit immediately upon arrival — 24 hours on a hanger in a room-temperature environment will remove most travel creases from a quality worsted. For linen, a light steam press is helpful.

Commission your wedding outfit.

Bespoke wedding suits, sherwanis, bandhgalas and Jodhpuri suits — made at 4 Sardar Patel Road, Adyar, Chennai, since 1963. First consultation free.

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