GQ’s 57 Rules for Wedding Style and Etiquette

11. Cap your number of groomsmen at five. This ain’t a census of your nearest and dearest. Fewer people means fewer logistics and a better experience for everyone involved. (If you want to involve more of your friends, give them a short poem to read.)

12. If there are more than 80 people at your wedding, you need a seating chart. Without one, you’re subjecting your guests to a high-school-cafeteria flashback. And believe it or not, it’s fun putting tables together and figuring out which of your unacquainted loved ones are most likely to hit it off.

13. Your goal should be to look like yourself, but 15 to 20 percent better. A few months in advance of your big day, start protein- and fibermaxxing to build a touch of lean muscle, lock into a regular workout routine, drink your water, and get adequate sleep. (And don’t worry about getting too swole to fit in your suit. It’ll take a lot more for that.)

14. Don’t get upset if people can’t make your bachelor party. If they’re coming to your wedding, that’s a win. They care about you. They want to see you experience joy. If they’re not coming to your bachelor party, it’s probably because they can’t afford to, or simply don’t want to spend a ton of money getting catastrophically hungover. Don’t take it personally!

15. But if you are part of the bachelor party, show up for your groom buddy. Ask him what he actually wants to do, and approach planning the day with your most tactical skills.

16. Better yet: no bachelor parties after 34. (Until the second weddings start—then we’ll be ready for bachelor parties again.)

If the only person you know at the wedding is your date:

17. Take the initiative of introducing yourself whenever you get corralled into a group conversation.

18. Conveniently, weddings come with a built-in conversation starter: So how do you know the bride and groom?

19. Come overprepared: Learn enough about the couple to be able to drop in and out of conversations with their loved ones.

20. Don’t wear something over-the-top. You will go down in infamy as the guy nobody knew who decided to wear something insane.

21. A black tuxedo, a breezy linen suit, and a classic wool two-piece: Those three ensembles—and a healthy rotation of shirts, ties, and accoutrements to keep ’em from feeling stale—are all you really need as a guest to survive the gauntlet of a wedding season.

22. Let us underscore: Don’t rent a tux. Buy one. These things can pay for themselves by the second or third or fourth black-tie wedding. And once you own a tux, the black-tie invites magically seem to proliferate.

23. You should wear a pair of beautiful shoes to the altar. If you already have the perfect pair, get them polished up before the big day. And if you’re buying them new, make sure to break them in with a few laps around the block the week before.