Groomsmen, Suit Up!

I've always been jealous of guys.  Yup.  I said it.  Not when it comes to the majority of things, but when it comes to clothes that green eyed monster rears it's ugly head.  Guys have it so easy!  Am I right?  Their pants come in sizes based on the size of their waist and the length of their legs.  They can walk into pretty much any store and buy pants off the rack without trying them on.  And then there's women's pants.  You can be a size 2 in one store and size 10 in another, easily.  And it's no mystery to any woman who has recently tried on bridal gowns that this phenomenon carries through into the bridal salons as well.  I know I tried on dresses in at least 3 different sizes that all fit me well.  And the dress I eventually purchased?  4 sizes larger than my typical dress size.  No, that's not a typo, 4 sizes.  Guys have it so easy.

So my expectation for suiting up our guys was that it would be quick and easy.  Turns out that dressing the guys was simple and yet not.  There are really only so many options for guys in weddings if you want a more formal look.  Tuxes or Suits?  Cumberbunds or Vests?  Black, gray, or brown?  Ties or bowties?  What color vest/cumberbund/tie/bowtie?  Yup.  That's pretty much it.  Sounds simple right?

One fine Saturday the mister and I walked into Men's Wearhouse and sat down with a consultant.  Unlike dress shopping, we were in and out in less than an hour and could check this completely off our to-do list.  So. Jealous.  After deciding on the type of formalwear the guys would be donning, the color swatches came out.  And this is where things got a little difficult.

You see, the girls are in eggplant.  I love the color, I think it's gorgeous.  But to my lovely fiance, it's purple (read: girly).  I tried showing him photos like this one:

Source

Just to show him that it could be much, much worse.  But we were still at a no go on the purple for the guys.  Looking back if I had pushed him on it, I'm sure he would have given in.  But I just didn't feel that strongly about the guys wearing purple.  But we still had to figure out what they were going to wear, if not matching the bridesmaids. 

After playing with color swatches, looking at photos and debating over it for awhile, we came up with a pretty good compromise.  The guys will wear champagne, a nice neutral color, and the boutonneires will match the bridesmaids flowers.  So, we still tie things together but my guy gets to go through his entire wedding day without being harrassed by his friends.  Well, at least not for the color they'd all been forced to wear.  

Anyone else not having girls and guys matching?  How did you tie everything together?