The groom may ultimately decide to buy a tuxedo for his wedding. It makes sense if the groom is going to wear his tuxedo a couple of times a year. Should he shell out for an off-the-rack version or get something custom designed?

Once a guy has figured out that he'll be attending a couple of black tie events per year, it makes sense to buy a tuxedo. According to Michael Mantegna, GroomGroove.com's formal wedding attire expert and owner of Michael Andrews Bespoke, the two biggest reasons to choose custom-made over off-the-rack are fit and quality. "Unless you happen to be that one person in a thousand who matches the pattern used to mass produce an off-the-rack suit, you'll never be able to achieve the fit of a tailor-made garment."

And while a ready-made tux or suit might appear to be well made, there is no true guarantee of the craftsmanship. According to Mantegna, the vast majority of off-the-rack suits and tuxedos employ a "fused" canvas that is glued to the inside of the jacket to give it shape instead of using a traditional "floating" canvas that is sewn in by hand.

"Most consumers don't realize that mass production has replaced the work of a tailor with something akin to Elmer's glue. It's a travesty."   Fine tailoring is clearly a passion for Mantegna, who, in person, is quick to grab your jacket to demonstrate the sure signs of good craftsmanship. With a fused jacket, you may not notice the difference at first, but once you've had it dry-cleaned a few times, the glue can begin to break-down and the jacket will start to sag. "If you take proper care of a hand-made jacket with a traditional canvas, you should be able to pass the suit down to your children."

A custom tuxedo will start at around $1,200, whereas an off-the-rack name-brand tuxedo begins at around $350 and quickly escalates. For a quality off-the-rack tuxedo, you're likely to want to start at the $850 range. All of the major designers have tuxedos, including Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger.

Read more about wedding attire from GroomGroove.com:

• How to get the groomsmen outfitted in tuxedos, painlessly
• An intro to formal wear for the groom:
  • Tuxedo Jacket
  • Pants
  • Shirts
  • Ties
  • Cufflinks
  • Shoes (and socks)
  • What the hell is a cummerbund and do you need one?
  • Boutonnieres (aka the only flowers a groom needs to think about)
• Morning coats
• Wearing a suit instead of a tuxedo
• Whether to buy or rent a tux
• If you're buying a tux, whether to get it custom-made or off the rack tuxedo
• Beach wedding attire (you lucky bastard!)

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