Minneapolis groom Jacob Hanson was certain of two things on his wedding day: that he was marrying the love of his life, Kelsey, and that he looked dashing in his navy bow tie. (See Jacob and Kelsey's wedding here.)
“I was drawn to the fact that I didn’t know how to tie a bow tie and wanted to learn,” he says. “And, of course, I was drawn to the way the bow tie looked.”
Jacob is one of many grooms who’ve decided to ditch the traditional necktie and opt for a bold, colorful bow tie on their wedding days.
“Fun, quirky bow ties are definitely a popular wedding trend,” says Katherine McMillan, co-owner of Pierrepont Hicks, a Minneapolis-based company that designs custom neckwear for men. “I think a bow tie says something about you right away—a man wearing a bow tie is a little more dapper, adventuresome and quirky.”
Katherine and her husband Mac have outfitted more than 20 wedding parties with bow ties since founding Pierrepont Hicks in 2009. Grooms can choose from an assortment of ties in solid colors, plaids and even stripes.
When picking out a bow tie, McMillan says, it’s important to consider the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses, the groomsmen’s suits and the wedding flowers. The guys’ neckwear should coincide with the color scheme of the wedding, providing unexpected flair.
McMillan also recommends choosing a bow tie with a reversible pattern. “In some wedding parties, the groom would wear the bow with one pattern on the front, and the groomsmen would wear the reverse side,” she says. It adds a dash of surprise while still matching the wedding attire.
For groom Jacob, his experience was only fitting: “The first time I successfully tied the knot was on the day I got married.”