Whilst tying a bowtie is not difficult, however it can feel difficult at 7am on your wedding day when you’ve never tied one before.
Getting your bowtie right matters more than you might think. It’s the one part of your wedding suit that sits right at eye level, directly beneath your face. People notice your bowtie in photos and they also notice it in person.
There’s a visible difference between a hand-tied bowtie with a bit of character to it and a perfectly symmetrical clip-on that sits flat and lifeless. One looks like you made an effort, whilst the other looks like you didn’t have time.
Choosing the Right Bowtie
Before learning how to tie a bowtie, let’s run through the different types of bowties. Pre-tied bowties are fixed in shape. They look the same every time you put them on, which sounds like a benefit until you see one in a photo next to a real hand-tied knot.
Clip-ons are similar, they clip directly onto the collar of your shirt without going around your neck at all. They’re handy for little ones, but for a wedding, you’d be better off tying the real thing.
A hand-tied bowtie is a length of fabric that you tie yourself, and following the instructions below it’ll take about five minutes to learn. After that, you’ll tie it in under a minute without thinking.
Learning How To Tie a Bowtie
Our top tip is to learn how to tie a bowtie the week before the wedding and it’ll save you a lot of time and stress on the big day.
Step One
Before we get started you’ll need to make sure your collar is up and that you’re standing in front of a mirror in good lighting.
The bowtie sits around the base of your neck, not low on your chest. Both ends should hang at roughly equal length and if one end is noticeably longer than the other before you’ve started, adjust it before you carry on.
The next step is to cross the right end over the left, then pull it underneath and up through the middle, exactly like the first move when you tie your shoelaces.
Pull it snug against the neck making sure it’s firm, not tight. This base knot sets everything else up. If it’s too loose, the finished bowtie will be sloppy. If it’s too tight, you’ll be tugging at your collar before the first dance.
Step Two
Next you need to take the end now hanging at the front, which will be on your left side, and fold it horizontally to create the bow shape. This folded piece then becomes the front of the finished knot. Hold it in place between your thumb and forefinger, right in the centre of it.
Let the long end drop down over the middle of that folded piece. It should hang straight down over the centre of the bow you’re holding. This is the part that forms the back of the knot. Now fold the hanging end back on itself to create the second bow shape.
Step Three
Push the section you just folded through the loop sitting behind the front bow. This is the fiddly bit as it’s tight and the gap is small. Use both index fingers with one pushing from the front, and one guiding from behind. You’ll be able to ease it through making sure it’s visible on the other side.
Pull both bowed ends gently outward to tighten the knot. Ease it together slowly. Adjust the two sides until they look roughly even. The whole thing takes about two minutes the first time. By the fifth attempt, it’ll feel like second nature.
What Your Bowtie Should Look Like When You’re Done
A real hand-tied bowtie doesn’t have two perfectly symmetrical sides sitting at exactly the same angle. The ends won’t match exactly and there’s a slight softness and irregularity to it.
If it looks very uneven, one of two things has gone wrong. Either the initial lengths were off before you started, or the base knot in step one was too loose. Undo it and start again with both adjusted.
One thing worth noting is that the bow itself shouldn’t be too wide. It should sit roughly in line with the width of your collar. If you’re not sure, stand back from the mirror and look at the whole outfit together rather than just the knot on its own.
A well-tied bowtie doesn’t move. If yours is shifting around by the time you reach the ceremony, the base knot wasn’t tight enough.
The One Thing Most People Skip
Practice tying your bowtie the night before, not the morning of the wedding. Sit down the evening before, bowtie around your collar, and tie it five times in a row. The first attempt will be rough, however the second attempt will be better.
By the fifth attempt, you’ll be a pro and on the wedding morning, you’ll do it calmly in under a minute, and that’s one less thing to think about. This applies whether you’re the groom, best man, father of the bride, or a groomsman. Five minutes the night before. It makes a real difference.
Key Takeaways
A clip-on or pre-tied bowtie will always look like one. If you’re wearing a suit to a wedding, a self-tie bowtie is worth the five minutes it takes to learn. The base knot in step one controls everything.
Make sure your bowtie is firm but not tight. Too loose and the finished knot will sag, too tight and you’ll feel it all day. The finished knot should look slightly imperfect. Uneven ends and a little asymmetry mean it’s hand-tied. That’s the look you want.
If you’re unsure whether your bowtie works with your suit, speak to the team at Groom before the wedding, we’ve got three easy to access stores located in Chester, Liverpool and Warrington. A five-minute conversation in store beats a last-minute panic in the morning of the wedding.
