Wedding Tie blues

My bonus daughter's wedding was the weekend before last. One of the family elders has strong and vocal opinions about the kind of man who would be married in a pre-tied bow tie, so in an effort to shield the groom to be from a lifetime's abuse I quietly suggested that he tie his bow. I didn't say why, I just told the groom it would look sharp. 'Nuf said.

At the rehearsal dinner the groom presented his groomsmen with tokens of his thanks. Mrs. T talked him down from giving the boy's axes so instead he presented each with a black silk tie your own self bow tie along with orders to wear it to the wedding. Bear in mind these are modern young men who for the most part couldn't, for money, tie a long tie unaided.

The morning of the wedding the girls went one way, the boys another. Mrs. T naturally had to be in both places at once and with me in tow, after first visiting the girls, stopped in on the boys. The boys were clueless on how to tie their ties, so they, on the fly, created a system. First each sat and watched for as many times as it took a how-to Youtube video, then practiced tying around his thigh.

Once comfortable and reassured that bow tie tying was just like shoe tying each groomsman graduated to practicing with a tie around his neck. With much grunting, struggle, brotherly cooperation and blue language miraculously the ties transformed from lifeless pieces of silk to beautiful neckwear. Watching a group of non tie wearers become trained bow tiers in less than an hour was an experience I'll not soon forget. It was verily one of the great experiences of my life, and the family elder afterwards heaped high praise on the groom for being the kind of man who ties his own wedding tie.

The wedding was beautiful too, much more later.

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