Wedding Ties Explained
So you’ve sorted your suits, picked your shoes and even worked out exactly how to wear the top hat so you’re ready to walk down the aisle and wait for your fiancé. But wait! There’s a massive part of your outfit missing – namely, what are you putting around your neck? Let’s skip straight past the noose gags and go straight into looking at the leading contenders for your Big Day neck warmer with our friends from Swagger & Swoon who know more about wedding ties than is strictly healthy.
For wedding ties you have three main options:
- cravats
- plain wedding ties
- bow ties
CRAVATS
Chances are your fiancé is pushing for the cravat option more than you are, but there’s more to these dandyish garments than first appears.
Swagger & Swoon say: Cravats are more popular for formal weddings. Perhaps because they are not worn every day, so they make a change from regular ties. Cravats are usually more expensive though, which is worth bearing in mind if you are on a tight budget. Most cravats used for formal occasions, such as weddings, are worn with wing collar shirts, though normal shirts can also be used so don’t be concerned if you can’t find one.
Did you know: Cravats may look like fancy-pants ties but they’re actually military in origin. The word cravat originated from 1600s France where it was used as a corruption of the word Croat. This is because the cravat was the neck cover of choice for the Croatian mercenaries who enlisted into the French army to serve Louis XIII. The stylish French knew a smart new look when they saw one and ditched the ruffs (which for all their finery were actually employed as bibs) for the new fashion. The upshot is that they still look like fancy-pants ties.
How to tie one: There are two main ways of securing a cravat, either with a pin so it looks like the picture above, or done as a scruncy looking tie. Here’s how to do both.
PLAIN WEDDING TIES
The plain wedding tie doesn’t differ much from the tie you might wear to the office every day, although there’s less chance that it’ll have Homer Simpson saying, “D’oh!” on it. Hopefully. 
Swagger & Swoon say: If your wedding’s colour scheme is a “traditional” colour, for example scarlet red or ivory, you are more likely to find matching ties or cravats, as these colours are widely available.
The more specialised the colour you pick, the more flexible you will need to be in your choice of ties, as it’s unlikely your exact colour will be made by tie manufacturers. For example, there are numerous shades of green but only the two or three most popular shades are made as men’s ties, so you may find you need to get the closest match, or have them made for you (a pricey option, especially for ties that will only be worn once).
Did you know: The phrase tie the knot has nothing to do with wedding ties and is far more likely to refer to the tradition of handfasting where guests would tie ribbons and rope around the bride and groom’s hands to symbolise their union.
Did you know II: The full Windsor was named after Edward VII who liked a fat tie and had his tailors use thicker fabric to create this look. The plebs emulated his style by creating the Full Windsor.
Did you know III: Mathematically, there are 85 ways to tie a tie, although most blokes use four main ones (see below)
How to tie Windsor:
How to tie half-Windsor:
How to tie four-in-hand:
How to tie a Pratt:
BOW TIE
The bow tie epitomises all that is fraught about male grooming. On Frank Sinatra and James Bond, the bow tie represents elegant and debonair socialising, on one lad from our school called Philip it represented being stored in the lockers every lunchtime for about six years. 
Swagger & Swoon say: Bow ties can also be obtained in a wide range of colours and styles. As with cravats, bow ties come either pre-tied or self-tie, though the range of pre-tied bow ties is far greater than self-tie. You may struggle to find your exact colours if you opt for the latter.
Many bow ties have matching cummerbunds, and often come in box sets which are ideal as they are perfectly matching items. Apart from the standard plain colours, bow ties and cummerbunds are also available in various patterns and tartans, though these are usually more expensive. There is also usually a considerable difference in price between silk and polyester (which often has a silky or satin smooth finish anyway), so opt for polyester if you want to save a few pounds!
Did you know: Famous bow-tie wearers include Karl Marx, Groucho Marx, Pee Wee Herman, Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Louis Farrakhan. A diverse bunch.
How to tie one:
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