The Bow Tie Your Tailor Gives You: Why Your Suit Deserves Better

You spend thousands on a suit.

You get measured.

You get fitted.

You get altered.

You discuss fabrics, buttons, lapels, stitching, lining and apparently the exact position your sleeve should sit when you hold a glass of champagne.

Everything is designed specifically for you.

Then the tailor hands you a bow tie.

"We'll throw this in."

Excuse me?

You've just spent hours making sure every millimetre of your suit fits perfectly and then you're putting that around my neck?

That's like buying a Ferrari and being given bicycle tyres.

And yet, this happens all the time.

A groom will spend serious money getting a beautifully tailored wedding suit and then finish the outfit with the most standard, forgettable bow tie imaginable because it came with the suit.

I'm here to tell you:

Your wedding deserves better.

You Know the Bow Tie I'm Talking About

It's usually black.

It's usually shiny.

It's usually a perfectly respectable bow tie.

And that's the problem.

It looks fine.

It does the job.

It won't offend anyone.

But then you see it in your wedding photos and realise you've spent all that money creating a suit that looks incredible...

...and your bow tie looks like it was selected by a computer.

You know the one.

The stock-standard wedding bow tie.

The one that seems to come free with every suit hire in Australia.

Why Does the Bow Tie Matter So Much?

Because it's sitting directly underneath your face.

Your wedding photographer is going to photograph it.

A lot.

You'll see it in:

• Ceremony photos
• Family photos
• Groomsmen photos
• Reception photos
• Candid photos
• Group photos
• Photos you didn't even know were being taken

Your bow tie isn't disappearing into the background.

It's part of your face-to-waist frame in practically every formal photo.

So why treat it like an afterthought?

A different bow tie shape, colour, texture or finish can completely change the look of your suit.

And that's especially important on your wedding day.

You're not dressing for an ordinary Saturday night.

You're dressing for one of the most photographed days of your life.

The "Free Bow Tie" Test

Here's my rule.

Ask yourself:

"Would I actually buy this bow tie if the tailor wasn't giving it to me?"

If the answer is no...

Why are you wearing it?

Free is a price.

It isn't a style.

If you genuinely love the bow tie, fantastic.

Wear it.

But don't wear something simply because it was included in the price of your suit.

You've put too much thought into everything else.

Give the bow tie the same treatment.

You've Just Tailored the Entire Suit...

Think about what you've just done.

You've potentially spent hours choosing:

• The fabric
• The colour
• The fit
• The lapel
• The buttons
• The shirt
• The trousers
• The jacket
• The shoes

Maybe you've had alterations done afterwards to get everything sitting perfectly.

Then comes the bow tie.

"Yeah, whatever's included."

No.

This is where the outfit can either come together...

...or completely fall flat.

Your bow tie should be part of the outfit decision.

Not the leftover decision.

The Wrong Bow Tie Can Make an Expensive Suit Look Ordinary

This is the part people underestimate.

You don't necessarily need an expensive bow tie.

You need the right bow tie.

The wrong one can make a beautiful wedding suit look generic.

It might be:

• The wrong shape
• The wrong colour
• Too shiny
• Too small
• Too large
• Too plain
• Too busy
• The wrong texture
• Completely disconnected from the suit

And sometimes it's simply...

boring.

There's nothing technically wrong with it.

It just doesn't add anything.

And when you're getting married, "doesn't add anything" isn't exactly the goal.

So What Bow Tie Should a Groom Wear?

There isn't one universal answer.

And that's exactly why you shouldn't just accept whatever happens to come with the suit.

Think about three things:

Colour. Shape. Personality.

Colour

Black is classic.

Navy is versatile.

Burgundy can add warmth.

Green can make a statement.

Blue can work beautifully with navy or grey.

And patterns can introduce personality without changing the entire outfit.

The important thing is that the colour works with your suit, shirt and overall wedding styling.

Shape

This is where you can make a surprisingly big difference.

A traditional or classic bow tie gives you a refined, understated look.

A butterfly bow tie has a broader shape and creates more presence.

You could also consider vintage-inspired shapes, diamond point styles or other statement designs.

The groom doesn't have to wear the exact same shape as every groomsman.

Personality

This is the bit I care about most.

Do you want classic?

Go classic.

Want something more distinctive?

Choose something with texture, pattern or a different shape.

Want people to actually notice your bow tie?

There are options for that too.

Your wedding outfit should look like you, not like the default character from a suit hire website.

Does the Groom and Groomsmen Bow Tie Have to Match?

No.

They can match.

They can coordinate.

Or they can be deliberately different.

One of my favourite approaches is:

Same colour. Different style.

For example:

Groomsmen: Classic black bow ties

Groom: Black butterfly bow tie

Everyone still looks like part of the same wedding party.

But the groom gets a little something different.

It's subtle.

It looks intentional.

And it gives the groom his own identity without making him look like he wandered in from a different wedding.

If you want to explore this idea further, we've written about it here:

Groom vs Groomsmen Bow Ties: Should They Match?

What About the Bridesmaids?

This is another place where people can get stuck trying to make everything match perfectly.

The bridesmaids are wearing burgundy.

So the groomsmen must wear burgundy bow ties.

The flowers are green.

So there must be green somewhere.

The pocket squares need to match the bow ties.

The socks probably need to match the flowers too.

And before you know it, you've created a human colour palette.

You don't need to match everything.

Coordinate. Don't copy and paste.

A black bow tie can look fantastic alongside almost any bridesmaid colour.

A burgundy bow tie can complement a wide range of wedding palettes.

And a patterned bow tie can bring several colours together without having to exactly match one of them.

The Wedding Photo Test

Here's the test I'd use before buying your wedding bow tie.

Forget the shop mirror.

Forget the packaging.

Forget whether the salesperson says it looks good.

Imagine your wedding photos.

Picture yourself standing next to your partner.

Picture the groomsmen around you.

Picture the ceremony.

Picture the group shots.

Now look at your bow tie.

Does it add something?

Does it suit the wedding?

Does it look like you?

Or does it look like someone grabbed it from a drawer because it happened to be free?

Because that bow tie is going to be in those photos for decades.

Choose accordingly.

The Stock-Standard Tailor Bow Tie

Let's be fair.

I'm not saying every bow tie supplied by every tailor or suit shop is terrible.

There are plenty of great tailors and plenty of perfectly good bow ties.

I'm talking about the idea of simply accepting whatever standard bow tie happens to come with your suit without thinking about whether it's actually right for you.

If your tailor has spent all that time creating a suit specifically for your body...

Why wouldn't you spend five minutes choosing a bow tie specifically for your wedding?

That's the part that doesn't make sense to me.

My Hot Take

I think weddings have become far too obsessed with everything matching.

Same suit.

Same shirt.

Same bow tie.

Same pocket square.

Same shoes.

Same everything.

And yes, it can look great.

But it doesn't have to.

I actually think there's something much more interesting about a wedding party that clearly belongs together without looking like twelve copies of the same bloke.

Let the groomsmen wear classic.

Let the groom go butterfly.

Keep the colour consistent.

Change the texture.

Add some detail.

Do something that actually feels like you.

Because you're going to look back at these photos for the rest of your life.

Don't let your bow tie be the most forgettable thing in them.

That's exactly why I wanted Untied to have a wide variety of bow ties.

Classic.

Butterfly.

Vintage.

Studded.

Crystal.

Different shapes.

Different textures.

Different levels of "look at me".

Because not every groom wants the same thing.

And honestly, that's the whole point.

Classic if you want it. Different if you dare.

So, Should You Wear the Bow Tie Your Tailor Gives You?

If you love it?

Absolutely.

If it works perfectly with your suit and your wedding?

Wear it.

But if you're only wearing it because the tailor said:

"We'll throw this in."

I'd probably have a look around first.

Your wedding deserves a bow tie that was chosen on purpose.

Not one that was chosen because it was free.

Find a Wedding Bow Tie That's Actually Yours

At Untied Tie Club, we don't think your wedding bow tie should be an afterthought.

Whether you're looking for a classic bow tie for the groomsmen, a bold butterfly bow tie for the groom, something vintage, something textured or something that definitely wasn't selected by a committee, we've got plenty of options.

Because your suit might be tailored.

Your wedding might be traditional.

But your bow tie doesn't have to be.

Dare to Be.