Real Grooms: Chris Bartlett
Name: Chris Bartlett
Age: 32
Bride’s Name: Lisa Crompton
Best Man and Ushers Names? Matt Robinson and Brett Alegre-Wood
Where was your stag do – any scars? The south of Spain. The only scars I suffered were internally, predominantly my liver and kidneys.
Where did you get married? Althelhampton House, in Dorchester.
What did the men wear on the day? We wore single-breasted suits in a mid-tone grey with a light pin stripe. The shirts were fitted, what we call a European cut down South with a herringbone pattern through it and a French cuff. The cufflinks were sterling silver with a mother of pearl inlay and a swivel-fastening bolt.
Our ties were a straight silk affair in baby blue and we had a handkerchief in the same material – of course we had the buttonhole flowers, to be fair it looked like a small forest.
On our feet we wore straight black shoes, they didn’t match and none of us bought anything special, but they generally followed a similar style, which was long squared toe in black.
What three pieces of advice could you give to other grooms going through the wedding process now?
I don’t know about three pieces of advice, but I can give you one thing. Initially, Lisa and I wanted to get our suits and shirts made to measure, chiefly because hired jobs look hired, and we were coming across from another country so making a suit would be cheaper than hiring it.
With that said, the best bet is talk to people you know, go to a menswear store and try some suits on and mention that you’d really prefer to get them made – alas I didn’t do this, and for close on a couple of thousand quid I got an array of garments from well-fitting to something that looked like it was knocked up by a small working group from the association of the blind – it was woeful.
After they were made and I was telling friends and family about what was happening, all of a sudden I got recommendations for a few tailors that would have sorted me out. In the end, I bought off the rack and had them tailored to fit, they looked great on the day and all was well, but if I was going to do it again, I’d have talked around and got someone trusted.
And another two quick tips – Get involved in the preparations as little as possible, I know what you’re thinking and how she’s complaining you’re not helping, trust me you are, it’s exactly what she wants and she’ll love you for it.
And get the best photographer as possible, after the drinks have been drunk, and the memories fade to a handful of moments the quality of the photos will be what you have left to help reflect back on the day. I couldn’t believe how much our photographer was, but at the end of the day, from what we’ve seen so far, it was worth it.
A word for the lady, come on, say something emotional about your bride…
I’m Australian, we don’t get emotional! I will say that she looked pretty good, and was pretty chuffed at how she turned out. Honestly, we don’t have too many, if any, deep and meaningfuls but if there was anyone who understands me and takes care of me it’s her, and I love her for it – it’s only one thing I love about her.
Staggered Says: Another involved and savvy groom with some great advice on tailoring in particular. It’s well worth noting that if you want a half-way point between buying off the rack and bespoke then you can do what Chris did and buy the suit you want from a shop and have it tweaked by a tailor.
Not sure about Chris’ point about not getting involved – our view is get involved as much as you want – the more you help the more you enjoy it on the day. Don’t forget we’ve got a tailoring guide for advice on the specifics of suiting up. And thanks again to Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay Photographic Ltd for providing the excellent images.
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