Best Man and Groomsman troubles

Another member asked a similar question regarding bridesmaid dresses and my thoughts are the same here. You asked them to be your groomsmen/best man, not the other way around, so should they have to pay for that at their own expense? £225 is also not an insubstantial amount for them to pay when I imagine they have probably already spent money on things like your stag do? Also, did you tell them in advance that they would have to buy the suits so they could save little by little or just told them now?

If they agreed to pay at the beginning and were aware of the price it is a little naughty they are now saying they cant afford it when they have bought other things. that said, it has beem a while and you dont know peoples personal circimstances so is not for you to judge that, despite the frustration. We have paid for our bridal party suits and dresses but agreed that we would then sell them on afterwards, one wants to keep the suit so he has agreed to pay for it. is always an emotive sublect, as I agree that if you have asked them to be part of the day and have a specific outfit you want them to wear, you should pay. I think you should agree you wil pay but you will sell them on yourself afterwards. Or can you hire the suit from somewhere? This will be cheaper

Traditionally, you should be paying for the suits... I know weddings are expensive but I'm afraid these are part of that expense. You could look for cheaper alternatives or hire suits for them, but this is something you should be footing the bill for by standard etiquette rules.

If you really don't want to pay for them, then I think the only option is to tell them they can wear whatever suit they want. Maybe buy them all a matching tie or something?

Unless you told them they were responsible for the cost (and approximately what it would be) when you asked them to be in the wedding party, then they do have a point. They have the right to spend their own money on what they want, and £225 is a lot of money to spend on something they will not wear again.

In the UK, if the bride & groom are specifying what the bridal party wear, then they are expected to pay for it. If they are just issuing general guidelines regarding colour (e.g. navy suit & white shirt) then it is more usual for the bridal party to pay for their own outfit, since they can choose their own budget and style.

You could look into hiring suits or else ask them to wear their own in a particular colour range and look into getting matching ties or waistcoats.

But if you did tell them at the start that they would be paying for their own and it would be around £200 then yes, they are being rude to change their minds now.