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MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2020

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LISA IRIZARRYBYlisa.irizarry@newsday.com

I t’s not uncommon these days for abride to change from her ceremonygown into another look for the recep-tion, so that’s what wedding plannerRebecca Lynn thought would be a

given when conceptualizing the “epic”event she had in mind for the marriage ofMolly and Matt Hull.

“I would have expected the bride to have adress change, but it wasn’t until a day beforethe wedding that I found out that wouldn’tbe the case,” Lynn, of East Moriches, says.“The bride stayed in her dress the wholenight, and it was the groom who changed. Hehad on a blue tuxedo for the ceremony andthe cocktail hour, then he disappeared and

SecondGrooms regroomfor the reception

Matt Hull sees his bride, Molly, justbefore they take their vows at theMontauk Lake Club & Marina wearingan Indochino midnight blue tuxedo.

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entered the reception with a whitejacket on.”

SETTING THE VIBEMatt Hull, 30, whose wedding was

Sept. 14 at the Montauk Lake Club &Marina, is among a growing number ofgrooms saying “I do” to second looks,Long Island wedding experts say.

These grooms are commonly wear-ing a tuxedo during their vows and thenchanging into a different formal lookfor the festivities that follow — muchlike some brides do when they swap thewedding gown they wore to the altarfor a different style, such as a shortercocktail dress that’s more comfortableand conducive to dancing.

“I borrowed the idea from some ofmy friends who chose to do it at afew of their weddings earlier in theyear,” explains Hull, who lives inManhattan and grew up in St. James.For the ceremony, he wore a midnightblue tuxedo with peak black lapels byIndochino, and for the reception, hedonned a “Hampton Ivory” Indochinojacket with black peak lapels that hepaired with black tuxedo pants.

“I changed right before the intro-duction and first dance at the cere-mony to enhance the effect for the

guests. . . . We wanted the vibe to behigh energy, fun and upbeat, and Ithink we succeeded in that.”

Michael Russo, the Babylon-basedowner of Michael Russo Events, saysthat grooms choosing to go for asecond look is a growing nationwidetrend that, as many fashion trends do,started with Hollywood celebrities.Russo planned the July 31, 2016, Bev-erly Hills wedding of “Shark Tank’s”Robert Herjavec and “Dancing Withthe Stars” champ Kym Johnson, dur-ing which Herjavec wore a blacktuxedo for the wedding ceremonyand afterward changed into a whitedinner jacket.

GETTING COMFORTABLE“It’s been making more of an im-

pact lately — in the last three or fouryears,” says Russo. “Usually, guys arechanging their jackets from a tradi-tional [black] look to a white jacketfor the reception.” He adds, “Some ofthe guys also change their shoes tosomething more comfortable butfancy, like a velvet slipper look.”

Russo says the trend is all about thegrooms following the bride’s lead,noting the trend of brides changingtheir outfits started about 10 years ago.“The grooms are catching up,” Russosays. “The groom also changed hisoutfit in a wedding I did last summer ata private home in East Hampton. He

wore a navy tuxedo and thenchanged into a white dinner

jacket.”And owners of

Long Island tuxedo stores say thatgrooms having two outfits is some-thing that’s happening locally moreand more. Chris Tricarico, owner ofBlack Tie Tuxedo by Sarno, and othertuxedo shop owners say they featurepackages that can be used for secondlooks.

Tricarico, whose stores are inSmithtown, Farmingdale and Selden,says some of his second-look clientswill get something as simple as adifferent tie, while others will go allout. “The most impressive we’ve hadis a fella who wore a top hat and tailsfor the ceremony and then had aJames Bond dinner jacket for thewedding reception,” he adds.

Michelle Schioppa, owner of RSVPTuxedos in Bay Shore, says,“One groom went with thecutaway [tuxedo] for the cere-mony with Hickory Stripepants, then changed into a fullMichael Kors [tuxedo] to matchthe groomsmen.”

TRADITION WITH A TWISTMike Zisman, owner of Esquire

Tuxedos in Merrick, says the trendappeals to the guy who wants to goalong with tradition but then give it atwist. Paisley and floral jackets arepopular with grooms, says AndrewNigosian, owner of BonaventureTuxedo in Mineola, adding thatthose who want a secondwedding outfit are usually intheir late 20s or 30s.

“It’s a groom who wants toexpress his individual style, buthe’ll put on something more tradi-tional for the wedding so he’ll look acertain way in pictures in the years tocome, but he may put on somethingmore daring for the reception,” Zis-man says. “He can add a differentjacket and it can change his entirelook.”

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ON THE COVER AND ABOVE Bobby Berdon, 23, of Merrick tries on alternate looks at Esquire Tuxedos in Merrick including a“Hendrix” dinner jacket by Mark of Distinction, cover, a Dawson jacket by Ike Behar, left, and a paisley one by Soul of London.

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Some grooms make the changeupas simple as switching out their tie;these ties are from Esquire Tuxedos.

newsday.com/shopping

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A fuchsiatapestryby CardiInternational atEsquire Tuxedosin Merrick.

This Stacy Adams blackand gold metallic Swankloafer is also available in navyand burgundy, $59.99, dsw.com.

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