Using Blacktie for wedding suits

breffnij

Hi,

Looking for a bit of help from anyone who has gone with Blacktie for wedding suit hire. I've been to Aston, BondBros, Swords Formalwear and for choice and convenience I think I am going to go with Blacktie. I have read the horror stories here so wondering if many have had positive (or indeed let me know the negative so I can bring it up with them) so I can be 100% happy with decision.

Also has anyone managed to get better deals than the standard €100 per suit? The deal I currently have albeit hoping to do better if I can is Black Tails/Grey Pants/Waistcoat/ Shirt & Tie for €100. I think that I can get shoes in for free but we don't get to keep the shirts (never asked). I have seen some people say they got it for €67.50 at a wedding fair including they get to keep the shirt!

Also we are having a BlackTie wedding so hoping to get a Tux rental deal for our guests for €50.

Any advice greatly received as meant to be booking this week!

Sleepy

Have you really thought through the Blacktie wedding? Personally, I think it's ridiculous to ask guests to waste their money on tux hire and it ends up looking like a Debs or a Business Conference... I know some women think it looks "classy" but that's an awful celtic tiger hangover imo. It's also incorrect ettiquette to wear Black Tie, or the more formal and far classier White Tie, before nightfall as it's "evening wear"

The type of suit you're looking for is called Morning Wear and is the "correct" formal wear for day-time. I'm going with almost the same thing (though getting cravats rather than ties) for about €70 a suit from a small dress hire place in the town we're getting married in. From what I can see, the smaller the place, the better the rate.

In terms of Blacktie, I've certainly heard some nightmare stories about them but one of my Groomsmen used them for his own wedding and had no complaints. Problems I've heard of include mis-matched suits/waistcoats/ties etc., ill-fitting suits, stained trousers etc. IMO, they're best avoided.

lazygal

We had a black tie wedding, if people thought it was pretentious or whatever we didn't hear about it. Considering more than one man turned up without even a suit I wonder what they'd have worn if we hadn't said it was black tie, jeans maybe!

Blacktie the chain is very, very bad. Don't go there.

Extra Minty

I used Blacktie in November and nothing but praise for them. 7 suits and no hassle with any of them.

Sleepy

lazygal wrote: »

We had a black tie wedding, if people thought it was pretentious or whatever we didn't hear about it.

To be fair, as a guest at someone's wedding, how pretentious or tacky would you have to find it before you'd go so far as to tell them your opinion? Most people would just bitch about it to their friends...

Black tie is ridiculous for an otherwise normal Irish wedding. It's evening wear so insisting your guests wear it during the day is just showing up your own ignorance of etiquette rather than adding any touch of "class" to the day.

It'd be less stupid (though even more onerous on your guests) to insist on formal dress i.e. morning suits. The different types of morning wear available would also allow men to express their individuality through their dress rather than looking like a bunch of footmen who've dressed as the Lady of the Manor has commanded them to...

If you're having an evening wedding it might work, though again, I'd personally go with "Evening Wear" on the invite to allow those who'd rather wear the more formal White Tie (since it looks ten times cooler imo) but it's still rather an imposition on people who are supposed to be your guests in this day and age imo.

lazygal

Sleepy wrote: »

To be fair, as a guest at someone's wedding, how pretentious or tacky would you have to find it before you'd go so far as to tell them your opinion? Most people would just bitch about it to their friends...

Black tie is ridiculous for an otherwise normal Irish wedding. It's evening wear so insisting your guests wear it during the day is just showing up your own ignorance of etiquette rather than adding any touch of "class" to the day.

It'd be less stupid (though even more onerous on your guests) to insist on formal dress i.e. morning suits. The different types of morning wear available would also allow men to express their individuality through their dress rather than looking like a bunch of footmen who've dressed as the Lady of the Manor has commanded them to...

If you're having an evening wedding it might work, though again, I'd personally go with "Evening Wear" on the invite to allow those who'd rather wear the more formal White Tie (since it looks ten times cooler imo) but it's still rather an imposition on people who are supposed to be your guests in this day and age imo.

Its just as well you didn't have to attend our day, with all your rules about etiquette to analyze!

Sleepy

TBH, depending on how good a friend you were I'd have either declined the invite or gone along with the black-tie while thinking you were being a bit silly/pretentious tbh.

lazygal

lazygal wrote: »

Its just as well you didn't have to attend our day, with all your rules about etiquette to analyze!

Dont know about anyone else but in the past I have turned down invitations to weddings because I was told what to wear, to insist on blacktie is precious in my opinion

davetherave

lazygal wrote: »

Its just as well you didn't have to attend our day, with all your rules about etiquette to analyze!

He's right though, if you are going to do something then you should do it right.
"Black tie" and "white tie" are two different orders of evening dress . Evening being defined after flag down/sun down.
Morning dress "tails" would be the expected attire.

niallam

I wouldn't go to a wedding if it was black tie, had to turn down a cousins invite before for the Shelbourne because couldn't justify the suit, room and a gift.

tinkerbell

Tangos in Temple Bar is really good for suit hire.

Also I agree with Sleepy, black tie weddings are a hideous idea and completely OTT in this day and age. People these days aren't going out and buying new outfits for every wedding they have to go to - people just don't have the money for it anymore. To then suggest that your guests have to go out and rent a black tie suit and the girls have to buy a dress appropriate for a black-tie occasion is just complete madness on top of all the usual wedding expenses such as drink for the night, taxi if not staying over at venue, accommodation costs, a present for the bride and groom, etc.

For those who did have black tie and heard no complaints, well people are hardly gonna say it to your face, they'll moan about it behind your back.

lazygal

Of course they'll moan behind your back! I've had many a moan about church weddings where the couple don't believe in the faith, crap meals, stingy pours of wine and long drives between venues! Several other friends have had or are planning weddings which were or will be black tie, so its not seen as a big deal. And we made sure the expenses on guests were lessoned due to having a free bar all night and public transport was easily accessible to most.

pooch90

I'd decline the invitation too.
Fair enough if you want to splash out on getting blacktie for the bridal party but expecting people to hire a suit is presumptuous and ignorant IMHO. Most men have their own suits that get pulled out for weddings/funerals etc. I would never expect anyone to go to extra expense for their clothing for our wedding.
The guests I'm inviting to our wedding, I want there. I don't give two hoots what they wear, once they enjoy the day I'll have spent 2 years organising. I'd hate it if one of my close friends declined as they couldn't justify spending money on something so frivolous.

breffnij

Haha whoops. I didn't mean for this to be a forum on suitability of BlackTie weddings. Blacktie weddings don't restrict you to a Tuxedo so if someone has a black suit they are covered and to be really honest if they came in jeans I wouldn't turn them away. I like the idea and certainly wouldn't refuse going to a wedding on account of it being blacktie. That was only be the excuse I'd use to avois a wedding I never wanted to go to in the first place! But I understand that everyone is different and there is no right or wrong answer- some people support UTD or Liverpool (scum ) and some support Super Leeds!!

With regards to Blacktie the company I called them today and decided to go ahead with them after a chat. The deal I got was 6 suits including shoes to Top Hats & everything in between- I won't want Top Hats!!) I got it all in for €500. Issue with fittings tend to come when people don;t bother with second fittings and leave for grooms to pick up after doing the initial sizing. I'm happy with it anyway so touch wood the rest of it goes to plan.

breffnij

Thanks Extra Minty- reassuring!

Zaph

Only ever been to one black tie wedding, and it looked like a bouncers convention. Personally I wouldn't be a fan of them.

As for Black Tie the company, I've never heard of anyone having a good experience with them. As with everything in life, you get what you pay for, and all I've ever heard about Black Tie is poor quality suits, often poorly fitted. Somebody recommended Tangos, and I'd definitely endorse that recommendation. The guy that owns it, Mark, really knows his stuff, has excellent quality suits and was a pleasure to deal with. He even opened up early one Saturday for me so that I could make an appointment elsewhere. AB Formal Wear in Swords had excellent quality suits as well, but I went with Tangos in the end because it was more convenient. If you haven't paid Black Tie a deposit I'd strongly urge you to reconsider.

breffnij

Zaph wrote: »

As for Black Tie the company, I've never heard of anyone having a good experience with them. As with everything in life, you get what you pay for, and all I've ever heard about Black Tie is poor quality suits, often poorly fitted.

Maybe I am thick or just too naive but I don't get how they can be poorly fitted. You get to try them on and once happy you place the order with fittings. They come in and you try them on again. if happy you take them away & if not you send off again & continue to do so until happy to take them away. I was told I can take them away up to a week before the wedding and can start the fitting process right away. Surely if they don't fit you its your fault and providing you can spare the time (Granted I'm lucky my grooms men can) you shouldn't go wrong. As for quality it was as good as Aston or any of the more expensive places I went. I may be reply post wedding with my complaints and rightly deserve the bunch of 'told you so' messages if something goes wrong. I'll just hope not for now.

Ginny

Try the tux warehouse, they have a branch in balbriggan or in the city centre. As for blacktie ice only heard horror stories. Now having the suits ready until the last minute, then handing out unwashed stinking shirts and badly fitting or wrong sized suits, with them leaving it to the last minute screwing the wedding party, sure they were used on the Irish don't tell the bride and fecked them around.

Toots

I used Blacktie for my wedding (or more accurately my hubby did ). The suits were lovely and they fitted well. We got a deal (I think it was through a wedding fair if I remember rightly) that included the full suit hire including shirts, waistcoats, cravats & shoes for €69 per person.

They went for an "evening tails" suit and all looked really well, no complaints whatsoever about the suits, however on the morning of the wedding one of the groomsmen discovered that one of his shoes had no heel on it. All the guys had checked their suits when they picked them up the day before the wedding, however none of them thought to check the shoes. It wasn't a huge deal for us because it turned out the groomsman had his own pair of dress shoes which were pretty much identical so it was no biggie, however if he hadn't had them it could have been a pretty stressful morning trying to sort out alternatives.

Toots

breffnij wrote: »

Maybe I am thick or just too naive but I don't get how they can be poorly fitted. You get to try them on and once happy you place the order with fittings. They come in and you try them on again. if happy you take them away & if not you send off again & continue to do so until happy to take them away. I was told I can take them away up to a week before the wedding and can start the fitting process right away. Surely if they don't fit you its your fault and providing you can spare the time (Granted I'm lucky my grooms men can) you shouldn't go wrong. As for quality it was as good as Aston or any of the more expensive places I went. I may be reply post wedding with my complaints and rightly deserve the bunch of 'told you so' messages if something goes wrong. I'll just hope not for now.

They say that you can have them up to a week before the wedding, but they might not have all the suits in until nearer the day like if they have to get a couple of jackets/pants sent over from one of their other stores. We were told we could have them 7 days in advance but two of the jackets weren't available until 2 days before. As it was we didn't actually collect them until the day before because we didn't have room to keep all the suits in my in law's house where all the guys were getting ready on the morning.

pwurple

I will just advise you get the suits as early as you can off them so you can sort any problems early. One of my brothers used them for his wedding for morning suits. They picked them up morning of the wedding, as they had all flown over the night before. 2 of the 4 were fine. The shirt for one didn't fit, wrong size pulled out, and they had no other in that size available, and the last suit stank of puke.

I went out and just bought a white shirt for my brother in the dunnes nearby... That was ok-ish. But the poor boy in the stinky suit! We febreezed him. It was vile.

As for black tie. My husband bought a tux the first time we were invited to one of those, he hates rented suits. He has gotten a lot of wear out of it, maybe 6 or 7 weddings, and he has worn it to some evening events as well. I like it.

Buzz84

Sleepy wrote: »

Have you really thought through the Blacktie wedding? Personally, I think it's ridiculous to ask guests to waste their money on tux hire and it ends up looking like a Debs or a Business Conference... I know some women think it looks "classy" but that's an awful celtic tiger hangover imo. It's also incorrect ettiquette to wear Black Tie, or the more formal and far classier White Tie, before nightfall as it's "evening wear"

The type of suit you're looking for is called Morning Wear and is the "correct" formal wear for day-time. I'm going with almost the same thing (though getting cravats rather than ties) for about €70 a suit from a small dress hire place in the town we're getting married in. From what I can see, the smaller the place, the better the rate.

In terms of Blacktie, I've certainly heard some nightmare stories about them but one of my Groomsmen used them for his own wedding and had no complaints. Problems I've heard of include mis-matched suits/waistcoats/ties etc., ill-fitting suits, stained trousers etc. IMO, they're best avoided.

Same here it's ridiculous. Wedding are dear enough as it is without this pointless expense.

sidcon

Certainly would not use them now.

http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/blacktie-formalwear-liquidation-niall-ofarrell-766209-Jan2013/

Sleepy

Quite likely a play to reduce their rents as they'd have some fairly high profile units with upward-only rental agreements. That said, their name has been mud for years so perhaps better to simply start over with a new brand.

Berty

Sleepy wrote: »

Quite likely a play to reduce their rents as they'd have some fairly high profile units with upward-only rental agreements. That said, their name has been mud for years so perhaps better to simply start over with a new brand.

That or clear the warehouse out at cheapo prices. I was looking at a suit(x4) reduced from €179 to €149. Drop it further and I'd be happy to take them off their hands.

Mc Love

BB do you think they will be selling them off?

Sleepy

They seem to be looking to sell the shops as (a) going concern(s) so doubt there'll be a flood of cheap tuxes/suits available any time soon!

doughef

Hi

I was married recently, bought my own suit elsewhere but used Black Tie for the groomsmen.

one word.. Brutal!

We picked suits and the guy said we could rent them..
went in for fittings.
"sorry.. these are not actually for rent.. you have to buy them"

bought them, lads got fitted.. they all went back individually to collect and try on.. All wrong sizes.

This happened twice to two of the lads.
I accept that these things happen but the guys working there really did not give a flying fu**..

This was Terenure by the way

cmssjone

tinkerbell wrote: »

Tangos in Temple Bar is really good for suit hire.

I concur

Mc Love

I dont know why Blacktie get bad press - the called me today to tell me they are giving me back my deposit, Thats good service even if they are closing. Hope something gets sorted for their staff.

Sunny Dayz

A friend of mine had booked Blacktie for their wedding last year, the store (Athlone) closed up. They were told their booking would still be honoured but they would have to travel to get the suits - Dublin or Galway! They ended up losing their deposits.

I thought their suit quality was pretty poor going by what they displayed at wedding fairs.

leeomurchu

I'd have to agree with most of the above posters Black tie provide poor quality suits.

I went to Tangos in Temple bar and couldn't recommend them enough great service great quality and perfect fit. Final fitting and collection by each individual(yes a bit of an inconvenience) guarantees a perfect fit.

As for a Black tie wedding I've been to one and have to say it was grand albeit I had the cash for a tuxedo at the time. The tuxedo Blach tie provide will more than likely have been worn to death at debs up and down the country.

In the times that are in it I'd have thought a black tie wedding would be a breaking point for most folks and expect your wedding gift to take a hit if they've to shell out for suit hire. Either way the suit jackets and bow ties will be off by desert on most folks.

breffnij

Interesting to see what'll happen to Blacktie now that Liquidators are in. Once I found out I switched my deposit over to my credit card and feel like cancelling the whole order now and starting again. At least I know what suit combo I want. Its just a matter of finding a decent deal to match to come close to the one I got in Blacktie!

Just a heads up for people, a good few of the Black Ties are selling their stock off these days. I ordered my suits from them today, €100 a pop.

Dónal

Dónal wrote: »

Just a heads up for people, a good few of the Black Ties are selling their stock off these days. I ordered my suits from them today, €100 a pop.

A further heads up, I picked up 7 suits (and numerous extra waistcoats and one extra pair of trousers) for €650 from them last weekend. They're selling off/offloading everything mad cheap in the final week or two before they close up forever, could be worth a look.

bluesmurf

Hi did you go with Black Tie, I heard they have gone bust and are closing down there stores, The Tallaght Story is closing down this Saturday !!