We are pleased to have something for the boys on our blog, courtesy of the great blokes at Staggered, which if you haven’t heard of  it is the UK’s leading mens’  wedding website. If there’s something that you need to get sorted for your impending nuptials and need to squeeze it in to the busy football, gym, work, fiancee, schedule get some great advice from the guys in the know, starting with Ties…

Ties. Actually, let’s narrow things down a bit: wedding ties . Actually, I’m in a digressive mood so let’s start not with ties but with handfasting. Did you know that in different cultures (notably European and pagan cultures) the idea of marriage was represented not just with tiny Shepherds Pie canapés and exorbitantly expensive dresses but by tying the hands of the bride and groom together. Cool, huh?

Often each of the guests was asked to secure a cord around the couples’ joined hands to symbolise not just their togetherness, but the guests’ complicity in joining them together. I think that’s lovely, and just think, if you’re really angry with how much you’ve had to pay for your hotel you could tie your cord really tight, constrict the blood flow in their hands and laugh as their hands dropped off. That’ll teach them to not block book the local Travelodge. Anyway, if you’re interested, here’s a handfasting ceremony  you might like to try out when you’ve got five minutes spare.

Ok, I’m done digressing. Wedding ties and specifically how to tie them is one of the things that as a groom you’ll probably not think of until the morning of the wedding. At which point knowing how to tie a cravat, or execute the perfect Four In Hand will make you the coolest Mother Hubbard in the room. So here presented via the wonder of YouTube is exactly that. By the way, if you’re stuck for ideas about wedding ties then you really need to go and see Swagger & Swoon, amazing service and a very high quality product for a bloody reasonable price.

How To Tie A Cravat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lgO0I3Wcao&feature=player_embedded

How To Tie A Windsor Knot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQQr09Ja1zY&feature=player_embedded

How To Tie A Bow Tie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjI-58KrBmM&feature=player_embedded

One final piece of digressive trivia for you – did you know that mathematically speaking there are 85 ways to tie a tie? The mind boggles.

Posted on Monday, June 14th, 2010 in Wedding shows.

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