Choosing a Walima Dress for Men, From the Groom to the Guests
A walima is the wedding reception traditionally hosted by the groom's side after the nikah. The right walima dress for men depends on your role in the wedding, and on where and when the reception is held. Grooms often go for a three piece suit, a tuxedo or a prince coat. Guests usually wear a formal suit, or a shalwar kameez with a waistcoat.
The walima (also written valima) leaves more room for choice than the barat, so this guide is organized by role. Start with the groom's section if it's your wedding, or skip ahead to the parts for brothers, friends, guests and boys.
How a Walima Outfit Differs From the Barat Look
Barat outfits often feature sherwanis, turbans or kullas, with rich colors and detailed embroidery. For the walima, many grooms change to a lighter look.
The sherwani is already in the barat photos, and the walima itself varies more. It can be a lunch or an evening reception, and brides' outfits differ from family to family, so the groom can dress for the setting.
Walima Dress for Groom
If you're the dulha, most of your options fall into three groups. The first thing to settle is how different you want to look from your barat photos.
Three Piece Suit, Tuxedo or Pant Coat
A three piece suit is the walima suit for men that most grooms reach for. It's also the one piece from the wedding you'll probably wear again, at an Eid dinner or someone else's shaadi. In a hall at night, navy, charcoal and midnight blue sit well under the lights.
A tuxedo is more formal still and suits a reception with a Western feel, particularly if the bride is in a gown. Many shops in Pakistan sell suits under the name pant coat or coat pant.
Oxford or Derby shoes work well with a formal suit. If you'd rather go a little softer, plain leather loafers are fine, and some grooms pair a well finished khussa with a more traditional cut. Go for a white or pale shirt, then pull one color from the bride's outfit into your pocket square.
Prince Coat or Sherwani
Think of a prince coat as a structured Eastern coat that goes over a kurta, with a shalwar or slim trousers underneath. Grooms who don't want a suit, and don't want to look like they wore the barat sherwani twice, often land here. In our view, it's the easiest way to get a unique walima look that still feels traditional. In ivory or silver gray it looks festive, but lighter than the barat.
Some grooms do come back in a sherwani. If that's you, pick one that won't be confused with the first in the album. A paler shade helps, and so does lighter embroidery. People sometimes use the word achkan here too. It's a long coat with plenty in common with the sherwani, and our guide to formal dress for men in Pakistan lays out how it compares with the prince coat and sherwani.
Shalwar Kameez With a Waistcoat
For a small walima or a lunch, a walima dress for groom in shalwar kameez is often the right call, and some grooms just prefer Eastern clothes. Get the kameez plain and crisp in white or off white, then spend your budget on the waistcoat. Jamawar, raw silk and velvet all look formal enough for a reception. Khussa or plain leather loafers finish it.
Matching Your Outfit to the Bride's Walima Dress
Picking walima dress colors doesn't mean matching the bride. A lot of grooms pick a color that sits well next to hers and then repeat one small detail from her outfit, often in a pocket square, a tie or the waistcoat. Some couples match on purpose. For everyone else, these pairings work.
| Bride's walima dress | Groom's outfit | Accent that connects you |
|---|---|---|
| Ice blue or powder blue | Navy or charcoal three piece suit | Silver tie or an ice blue pocket square |
| Silver or gray | Black tuxedo, or a charcoal or navy suit | White pocket square and silver cufflinks |
| Gold, champagne or beige | Navy suit, or an ivory prince coat if it looks clearly different from her outfit | Gold toned pocket square or buttons |
| Blush pink or peach | Light gray suit or off white prince coat | Pale pink pocket square |
| Mint or sage green | Off white prince coat or charcoal suit | Mint pocket square |
| Deep red, maroon or emerald | Black suit or black prince coat | A neutral accent, such as white or silver |
If her outfit is heavily embellished, go simpler with yours. You'll find more pairing ideas in our post on color combinations for men.
What the Groom's Brother, Family and Close Friends Wear
A walima dress for the groom's brother, or for his close friends, should look connected to the groom without pulling focus from him, since they end up in plenty of the wedding photos. When he's in a three piece suit, a two piece in a lighter or darker shade works beside him. If he's gone for a prince coat, try a kurta with a waistcoat in a related color.
Matching waistcoats for the brothers and cousins are popular with a lot of families, and they look good in group shots. Just don't use the groom's exact shade. Fathers and uncles usually keep it classic in a dark suit, or a plain shalwar kameez with a black or navy waistcoat.
Walima Outfit for Men Attending as Guests
So what should a male guest wear to a walima? At an evening reception, a dark suit and a light shirt rarely look out of place. If the family is more traditional, a pressed shalwar kameez or a kurta with a waistcoat fits in just as well.
If the card doesn't mention a dress code, leave the heavily embroidered pieces at home, since they can compete with the groom. It's also worth asking what color he's wearing so you can pick something else. And fit matters more than price here. A plain suit that fits will look better than an expensive one that doesn't.
Walima Dressing for Boys and Teenagers
Little boys don't need a smaller version of the groom's outfit. For younger boys, a kurta pajama or shalwar kameez with a small waistcoat is about as easy as walima dressing gets. It looks smart, and they can still run around the hall in it all evening.
Teenagers may prefer a slim blazer with trousers or a two piece suit, and either is fine for a walima. Whatever they choose, buy the size that fits today rather than one to grow into, because long sleeves covering the hands show up badly in photos. For father and son outfits, a matching waistcoat color is enough, and nobody needs to put a ten year old in a full prince coat.
Casual and Daytime Walimas
Not every walima happens in a hall. Some families keep it to a lunch at home or in the garden, where a full suit can look like you've come to the wrong event. A pressed cotton or wash and wear shalwar kameez under a light waistcoat works better. If the lunch has more of a Western feel, a blazer with a plain shirt and dress trousers does the job.
Daylight is kinder to lighter shades, so this is when white, beige, sky blue and pale green come out. Swap laced shoes for loafers or Peshawari chappals.
A lightweight kurta is a practical alternative to a suit at a lunch walima. JEEM's Tea Green kurta is cambric cotton with geometric embroidery on the front and sleeves, so it looks dressed up while staying cool in the afternoon. It sits alongside our other men's kurtas.
Fabrics for Winter and Summer Walimas
In winter, prince coats, sherwanis and waistcoats in velvet, raw silk or jamawar keep you warm and look right for the season, while suits are best in wool or a wool blend. Throw a shawl on for the drive to the venue.
Summer is different. Cotton, linen and lighter suiting are much easier to wear, especially at a daytime walima. Linen does crease quickly, which matters less at a short lunch than over a long day.
What a Walima Outfit Costs in Pakistan
The price of a walima dress for men in Pakistan depends on the brand, the fabric, how much embroidery there is, and if the piece is ready made or tailored. A ready made suit and a hand embroidered prince coat aren't really comparable, so their prices sit in very different ranges.
Ready made suits from high street brands such as Royal Tag usually cost in the tens of thousands of rupees. Hand embroidered designer pieces, like Ismail Farid's prince coats or Amir Adnan's sherwanis, can run well into the lakhs. They're other labels, named here only as examples, and sales can bring their prices down. At the lighter end, our own cotton kurtas cost under ten thousand rupees and suit a daytime walima better than an evening one.
Ordering from the UK, UAE, US or Canada? Order early. Delivery, customs and alterations all take time, and the walima is usually the last function on the list.
Quick Summary
The best walima dress for men is the one that suits your role. In short, grooms tend to wear a three piece suit, a tuxedo or a prince coat to the walima, and a groom who goes with a sherwani keeps it lighter than the barat one. Work from the bride's color and borrow one detail from it. His brothers and friends should sit well beside him, not compete with him. For guests, a dark suit or a shalwar kameez with a waistcoat covers most walimas, and young boys are easiest in a kurta with a small waistcoat. For a daytime walima, go lighter in both color and fabric. Need something for the mehndi as well? Our mehndi dress guide for men covers that function.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you wear a three piece suit to a walima?
Yes. Grooms wear them and so do guests. Stick to navy, charcoal or black in the evening, and try light gray or beige if it's a lunch.
What color does the groom usually wear on the walima?
It varies, but navy, charcoal, black and ivory come up most often. The venue and time of day play a part, and the bride's outfit usually settles it.
Can a guest wear a sherwani to a walima?
Yes, if the dress code allows it. Keep the embroidery light, though. You want a traditional look, not one that pulls attention away from the groom.
Can men wear black to a walima?
Yes. A black suit, tuxedo or prince coat looks sharp in the evening. If the walima is a daytime lunch, you'll probably be more comfortable in something lighter.
What if the walima invitation has a color theme?
Go with it, but there's no need to wear the color from head to toe. Picking it up in a waistcoat, tie or pocket square is usually enough.
