Wedding gowns tend to be the centrepiece outfit but at Polka Dot Wedding, we think suits also deserve the spotlight! Suits shouldn’t be an afterthought, and they never are at InStitchu. Today, Mary (she/her) is joined by Robin McGowan (he/him) who is one of the co-founders of InStitchu.
Robin started InStitchu with James Wakefield in 2012. At that time, they were looking to build their wardrobe of suits for their corporate jobs. It was rather difficult to find a good-fitting suit that was within their budget. From that experience, InStitchu was born to fulfil the need to provide affordable custom-tailored suits.
Having dressed thousands of clients for their big day, Robin talks about how to showcase your own unique style in your wedding attire. For males, he suggests, “Pocket squares, adding a touch of colour through that. Obviously, cufflinks, bow ties, shoes, socks, little touches here and there.”
He also had tips for females and female-identifying couples walking down the aisle. Robin shares, “My wife, in a very unique way, wore a white blazer with her wedding dress. So that was in a way, an accessory to her dress could be something simple like that.
It could be customising the blazer, for instance, we’ve done some blazer dresses. Or you know, changing the shape of the trouser and doing like a pant and blazer combo with a heel. Something simple like that. And then jazzing it up with jewellery or a nice clutch or something, I think is great. Flowers or lapel pins, things like that always work well and are a nice touch as well.”
In this chat we discuss:
- Finding your own personal style
- How to personalise your wedding attire
- Suiting up for hot and cold climates
- Memorable custom outfits by InStitchu clients
- Alternative suiting options
- Institchu’s Perfect Fit Guarantee
- Planning a cohesive dress code for wedding parties and guests
- Tips for a comfortable wedding day
Links Mentioned:
Win Your Wedding Suits Valued at $3000 With InStitchu
Vendor? Join Polka Dot Wedding
Find InStitchu:
On Polka Dot Wedding: InStitchu
On Instagram: @InStitchu
Find Dorothy & the Polka Dot Wedding team:
On Instagram: @polkadotwedding
On the website: polkadotwedding.com
This podcast was produced by Polka Dot Wedding
The Polka Dot Wedding team is honoured to conduct our work on the land of the BoonWurrung, WoiWorung, Eora and Kuring-gai people. We honour the traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders custodians of the land and pay our respects to Elders past & present.
Episode Transcript
00:02
Dorothy:
Hello and welcome. You’re listening to The Feel Good Wedding Podcast by Polka Dot Wedding. My name is Dorothy otherwise known as Ms Polka Dot, and I’m the founder and editor. We believe in seeking out content that is inclusive and diverse so that everyone can see themselves in the stories that we tell.
We’ve done this for 15 years news through the written word, and now we want to have those chats in voice through a podcast. I can’t wait for you to see what we have installed.
The Polka Dot Wedding team is honoured to conduct our work on the land of the BoonWurrung, WoiWorung, Eora and Kuring-gai people. We honour the traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander custodians of the land and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Hello and welcome. I am so thrilled to be joined today by our specialty blog editor once again, Mary otherwise known as Ms Rose. Today, we’re chatting with one of our wonderful Polka Dot members. And I’m really thrilled to hear what this chat is all about. Mary, who are you chatting to?
01:06
Mary:
Hi there, Ms Polka. I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Robin McGowan, who is one of the co-founders of InStitchu, like you said, is one of our directory members. He was fantastic. Look, InStitchu specializes in men’s and women’s made-to-measure custom-tailored suits and shirts and accessories, a really bespoke experience. And Robin was really candid with me today. And it was really fun to chat to him.
We basically went into the process of finding a custom suit for your wedding, what that process looks like. And really we also focused on how to personalize your wedding suit. Like I think we agreed that everybody’s really different. And weddings look so different these days from each other and just really about how the process of personalizing your suit can really be a fun experience and something that—it should be embraced. So I really think that this is going to be—well I felt it was an exciting and informative episode for our podcast. I’m really excited to share it with you.
02:11
I’m really excited to listen to this one. Enjoy!
02:13
Let’s dive in.
02:14
Dorothy:
Before we dive on into today’s episode, we want to take a special moment to give a big shout out to today’s guests because they are giving one lucky winner the chance to win all of the wedding suits for their wedding party. It’s a pretty epic giveaway and we’re really thankful to InStitchu for partnering with us on this one. Find all the details over on polka.wedding.com/podcast and head to today’s show notes.
02:38
Mary:
Hi, it’s Ms Rose here or Mary from Polka Dot Wedding. Today I have the pleasure of chatting with one of the co-founders of InStitchu, Robin McGowan. I believe that’s the correct pronunciation there for your surname Robin.
02:51
Robin:
That was very good.
02:55
InStitchu specializes in men’s and women’s made to measure custom tailored suits, shirts and accessories. Robin, welcome to our podcast. And thank you for talking with me today. I’m so excited to get to know you and learn a little bit more about InStitchu and how to personalize wedding suiting. All righty. Let’s dive right in. Robin, tell us about InStitchu. Like what is special about the way that InStitchu helps your clients find the perfect outfit and yeah, just a bit of your backstory.
03:21
Robin:
Yeah, no worries. You said at the start, you know, we’re a suiting brand, but essentially InStitchu is Australia’s leading provider of made-to-measure and custom-tailored garments to men and women. And I guess when people think about us, they think about the endless possibilities when it comes to designing something. So we allow our clients and customers to effectively design anything they want for their big day. Everything from what fabric to what pockets they want, buttons, button stitching, lining. So we make it a really kind of fun and affordable way for customers to get access to made to measure
And it was actually started about 10 years ago by myself and my business partner, James. And we were two kind of young guys starting off in the corporate world who realised that, you know, you need to kind of build your wardrobe when you’re starting at work and we couldn’t really find an affordable way to get a nice fitting suit. And so we said about building InStitchu for the sole purpose of giving—at the time, just our male shoppers access to affordable made to measure. So we wanted to give them as many fabrics as we could and make it a full customised process.
And then from there, really saw an opportunity with the wedding market and just how popular it was in Australia and then made that a core focus of the business. So yeah, in a nutshell, we’re a custom tailored suit provider, but also allow our clients to design you know, shirt, casual wear, really any accessories that they need for weddings or for kind of everyday life. That’s perfect. I love that. I think suiting is really you know, it’s taken off. It has just—how you can create your own personal style with suiting for, you’re saying any day, whether it’s your wedding day, whether it’s any kind of event or even just for work. I think what you wear is such a nod to who you are. And I love that suiting has this space now to really take off and really reflect that.
Mary:
How does one work out their personal style? If someone comes to you guys in store, if they’re unsure? How do you help them understand and decide what their own style is?
Robin:
Yeah, it’s something that, you know, can take a bit of time. And usually, you might need a bit of inspiration. And the way our business model works is we have our personal style consultants who are there to kind of assist you and to help guide you. And we definitely have, you know, clients who know exactly what they’re looking for, or they’ve got a certain fabric or colour that they’re wanting, and we’ll guide them on our fabric range and say, maybe this could work or this could work. Or we have clients who are like, “I’ve got no idea, I just kind of, I need some assistance”. And that’s where our star consultants really shine, you know, providing inspiration or ideas and it might be, you know, showing them photos of things that catch their eye, asking them what they’ve got in their wardrobe, or what do they like to wear most often. But then showing them you know, what are our most popular fabrics and looks and going from there.
Because when you’re talking about, you know, literally thousands of fabric options and stars, it can be a bit overwhelming. But really, it’s about working with the client to understand what they like, and then going from there. And we’re never too pushy or anything, you know, we’re open to being told exactly what the client wants, but we’ll always be there to provide assistance. And it can be from a fabric point of view, it could even be from, you know, fit point of view, how do you like your suit to fit? Or how do you want your jacket to look? It’s really up to them.
But yeah, the star consultants really do an amazing job of working with the client. And a lot of our clients, you know, develop a kind of a relationship with a stylist where they can rely on them for style advice on anything. So yeah, what I’m going to wear to my friend’s wedding as a guest or, you know, I’ve got an overseas event to attend, what do you reckon I should wear to that? Could you give me some suggestions? And then it kind of grows from there, you start with one look, and then you become a bit more comfortable and daring.
You might start with the basic kind of navy wool suit, which you know, is an Australian favourite. And then once you’ve got that first look, and you’re happy, you’re like, well, what else have you got? And that might be going for something a bit more, a bit more out there. But yeah, I mean, that’s our business model is based on providing service and giving style advice when needed.
07:45
Mary:
I love what you said about the relationship side of the service, because I think any sort of suiting, but I think especially wedding day suiting is really special and really personal. And I think if you can build rapport with the person, or people who are helping you choose these items for that, I think that can just, you know, make you very comfortable.
Wedding planning and organizing all of that should be really fun and should be a memorable experience. So I think that, you know, it’s a nod to how terrific all the stylists who are helping your customers get comfortable and open up to them and get them to talk about themselves and figure out what that style is. And I think it’s really, I guess you’d agree that I think it’s really important that you feel really comfortable in, in what you’re wearing on your wedding day.
I don’t think people should really dive too, too far away from their own personal style. Because you still want to be really comfortable on your day. I think you just want to feel a bit fancier. But definitely still be comfortable and happy with what you’re wearing.
How do you even—when it comes to personal style—how do you even begin to think about incorporating that into your wedding day attire? Where does where does that even start?
08:54
Robin:
Yeah, I mean, obviously, I think destination and theme and things like that of the actual wedding. It might just be deciding on what colour palette you want to start with or what you think would work well with your skin tone, or whatever it is. It might just be something that’s caught your eye.
A lot of our clients will come in with a photo that they’ve seen someone wearing, maybe celebrity or something and say, I think something like this would work and then we’ll just start from there and say, well, these fabrics might work for that. Or you know, beach wedding versus a country wedding. What do you think about these colour palettes? And then what are the bridesmaids or the wedding party guests kind of wearing? A bit of that but I think you’re right, like whatever you’re comfortable in and maybe going outside of that isn’t such a bad thing. You know, trying something else.
We’ve got samples you know, obviously samples in our showrooms that people can try on to see what they think and then you might find something that’s a little out there that you’re like you know – what I think I can pull this off. I actually don’t see a problem with having a few options as well. We’ve done clients’ events who have changed two or three times. I think it’s a great idea, why not? You know, might just be a jacket change, or just something simple like that.
But we always say the personality as well or your style can be brought in with little changes as well. Doesn’t have to be as bold as just a crazy fabric. Like with a tuxedo, for instance, this standard dinner jacket or black tuxedo, it might just be changing things like putting the monogram of the wedding date. Or, you know, yours and your partner’s name on the inside, or just maybe changing the pockets slightly, or a button type that you like. It could just be little things, you know, which make it kind of unique and unique to you and the day. So it doesn’t have to be something crazy and out there all the time. It can just be a little touch, that when you look back, you’re like, oh, that was cool. I remember doing that, you know, that was special.
10:51
Mary:
Really special. That’s almost sort of could even be almost a secretive thing, just for you to have and you and your partner to have to remember. And when you put it on, you can open up and you’ll see you know, a special pin or a button or embroidery or something that for you guys, it’s just for you to have. I think that’s amazing. I love that, that touch, that element. So that’s a personal touch to the say a suit jacket. In terms of accessories, what are some personal touches you can throw on with accessories to kind of make it a bit more you?
11:21
Robin:
Yeah, I mean, if I’m talking about the male side of things, pocket squares adding a touch of colour through that. Obviously, you know cufflinks bow ties, shoes, socks, little touches here and there. I know my wife in a very unique way, wore a white blazer with her wedding dress. Not just because she’s my wife but I liked the look and she looked amazing. But yeah, so that was in a way an accessory to her dress. Yeah, could be, could be something simple like that.
11:53
Mary:
No, I love that. That’s fantastic. And in terms of—so that’s for men styling. Like do you have women coming through for the their suiting you know? What other accessories do you think that they could throw in to kind of make it a bit more personal for them?
12:07
Robin:
Yeah, again, it could be customising the blazer for instance, we’ve done some like blazer dresses. Or you know, changing the shape of the of the trouser and doing like a pant and blazer combo with a heel. Something simple like that. And then, you know, jazzing it up with jewellery or a nice clutch or something I think is great. You know, flowers or lapel pins, things like that always work well and are a nice touch as well.
12:31
Mary:
Absolutely. I love all of that. And you did touch on location and season, you know, just before like, how much does location and season dictate suiting and attire? I know that’s in terms of fabrics and that sort of thing but like, do you find quite a shift in season and location will actually have quite an impact on what someone chooses for their suiting?
12:54
Robin:
Sometimes, yes. They might not often think about but yeah, definitely you know, try and tell people if they’re going somewhere hot to maybe you could do something simple like doing less lining on the on the jacket, so like do a half lighting so it breathes a bit more. Or a softer, breathable fabric like cotton linen blend or a wool-silk linen blend or something like that, versus taking a full black tie tuxedo to like, you know, let’s say the south of France in summer can sometimes be challenging, but we’ll just—
13:27
Mary:
Yeah, slightly.
13:29
Robin:
When you think of lugging a tuxedo but also being dressed and all that can be sometimes we’ll say, well, why don’t you just go for a, like still a black fabric that maybe like, you know, like a linen blend or something and we can do some stuff to the construction. Like make it unconstructed. No canvas, super soft, lightweight things like that. And then we’ve done things like maybe an overcoat to go with the wedding suit on the day that they can wear if it’s a cooler climate, or just adding like a waistcoat, or something like that is always a nice look. But yeah, definitely. It definitely plays a part. I think people should pay attention and always check the weather. It’s part of the planning process, as you know, like, check the weather for that time of year. And yeah, you might need to change your plans or just add something in whether it’s going to be hot or cold.
14:13
Mary:
And that’s the nice thing again, about personalising your look, because if you’re having a wedding somewhere quite hot, or by the beach or something like that, you know, you can remove your jacket and have you know, a fabulous shirt underneath. You know, I think that’s part of the personalising process, isn’t it? Being able to see a terrific belt or something like that, that makes it that bit more special. And just a bit more you as well. There’s nothing wrong with the classic suiting look of your blacks and whites or navies and whites and that sort of thing. But I think, you know, there are so many layers now to how to make suiting.
14:51
Robin:
There’s no set dress code. We’ve definitely seen that. It’s changed a lot over the years. You can kind of get away with anything really as long as it looks good, which is great because it gives people endless opportunities and possibilities. And I think it makes for great, you know, photos and, and making it super memorable.
14:55
Mary:
It’s creative. It lets you be a bit creative, doesn’t it? Well for people getting, you know, choosing their own suits, but also for you guys, it lets you have a bit of fun and kind of push the bar a bit, which I think it should be pushed up.
15:21
Robin:
We love it when you know, a client goes for something bold and out there. And then we get it back and they try it on and you can just see their eyes light up. And then to see the photos later and knowing that they’ve created that themselves. It’s a really great experience. And that really makes us feel good like and to see them you know how proud they are to wear it. But also you just see some really cool stuff that people have come up with themselves, which look amazing.
15:45
Mary:
Decide by then, what’s one of your favourite looks that someone’s you know, put together, or they’ve had to help put together but it’s just they’ve nailed it.
15:52
Robin:
Yeah, so a really bold kind of—it was in the style of a double-breasted dinner jacket. But they did it super bright orange with no pairing it with you know, normal black pant, but it just looked really, really, it looked really good. And yeah, at first we’re, okay, wow, this is gonna be out there. But it suited the client perfectly and just amazing in the photos.
Yeah, so things like that always work. But I always say as a tip, you know, a good fit to me always trumps a bold fabric. So with us, as we are made to measure, we’ll you know, take all the client’s measurements, body measurements, and also garment measurements. And you know, if you’ve got a good fitting garment, you can really wear anything and it really it really does show on the day when it fits you well.
16:42
Mary:
Yeah, absolutely. That’s so it. Being a wedding blog, we read so many stories about how, you know, people fell in love with their gowns. Like how do you assist a partner who is you know, unsure or new to wearing suits? Or are even caught up in like family opinions or discussions about what they should be wearing? Like to make a choice about an outfit that they’re happy with? How do you help them choose a style of an outfit that they would love to wear on their wedding day when there might be other external—I don’t know—voices happening? How do you sort of put them at ease and get them sort of on the path to being really happy with what they choose?
17:19
Robin:
So it’s always a tricky one when there’s, yeah, when there’s a lot of, I guess cooks in the kitchen or people with opinions, but we’ve just got to remind them that again, like we said before, making them feel comfortable, what speaks to them. And yes, you may need approval from certain people at the end of the day. But you can tell when someone really wants something or they really like something so just guiding them in saying, you know, we think this would—that looks good. This will complement what you’re going for or this will look good. I think that’s all we can do.
We can guide them as much as possible and step in and offer style advice when needed. But you know, weddings, there’s a lot of decisions to be made. We always say that the gown is probably the first thing that they think about and the venue and the suiting is probably the last thing on the list.
18:06
Mary:
Which I think it’s a bit of a shame really, isn’t it? I have to say I have read a couple of stories—of wedding stories over the last sort of couple of years where whether it’s a groom, or might say bride, so whoever’s wearing a suit, they’ve had this really set idea about what they wanted to wear and that really set the tone for not so much maybe what their partner was wearing, but how the wedding kind of style took shape and I really loved that because I thought you just know what you want to wear.
You just know what you feel good in. You’ve had this in your mind so I like that sort of—it doesn’t always have to be about the gown. That’s very traditional that it generally has been but I like this, again, shift to being a bit more like hey, no, suits are awesome. What am I going to wear? This is something I’ve thought about for you know could be years, could be sudden, and all they’ve seen it and gone, that’s what I want. And I think that’s really exciting. I’m really here for this. Look, if someone came in like I’m going role play this— say I came in to store and I said I hate wearing suits. What can I wear? What can I do? Like where do we go from there?
19:15
Robin:
Well, again, do you want to wear a suit for your wedding? Yes or no? Then okay, if you do, we can show you exactly what is possible. You know, we had one group of clients who were getting married in the Caribbean and they were not really keen on the full suit thing. So we did them a tailored shorts and jacket combo which is awesome, in this super light linen, like beige linen. And yeah shorts on the day probably not done normally but it was a beach wedding in the Caribbean and with the shirt and jacket and the shorts just looked really cool. So it was about okay you’re not that comfortable with wearing a suit, how about a jacket and and shorts and then sure enough, they all liked it.
But yeah, if you’re not comfortable, we can we can make you feel comfortable. And people who are uncomfortable in them probably haven’t had one that they love. Because when you do get that perfect fit and look, you’ll feel a million dollars, and you’ll always want to wear it. And as soon as you put it on, you’re just, you know you look good. And it gives you the confidence to want to wear it. So yeah. And we see that when clients come in and they try something on and see themselves in the mirror, you know, it’s like their perception changes. But really, yeah, if they want to go for something out there, you know, maybe it’s like, we’re doing some drawstring suit trousers at the moment. So they’re a bit more relaxed there or, you know, different style shirt, a bit more casual, or a bit more playful with, again, with the pattern or the fabric—can be as simple as that, really.
20:33
Mary:
That’s it. Look, I know, you mentioned a bit earlier on about, you know, wedding party, but how do we extend sort of this flexibility with our wedding party and still have them look cohesive? Do you have any tips for working with our wedding parties to sort of show off their own style, but still kind of look like they’re part of the day, part of the wedding party? What are some ideas that you would, you know, get people on kind of creating that cohesive look?
21:00
Robin:
Yeah, so I think sometimes themes can be set a bit vague. Or, you know, dress codes on the invite. So I think maybe being specific or giving some ideas can be helpful to guests and people who aren’t in the wedding party. I’ve been to, you know, we’ve done a few events where or have been to a few as well, where guests are like “what does that dress code actually mean? I’m a bit unsure”, so that sometimes that can, yeah, that can help a lot. Or maybe just including some pictures of what you’re hoping for on the day, I think can be helpful.
21:32
Mary:
That’s why Pinterest is so good. We get really interested in that sort of thing.
21:35
Robin:
A lot of it starts there, you know, building your board, and then deciding on what you’re after. But like I mentioned before, you know, weddings now aren’t just one day, they’re three days. So there’s three parties, and there’s three dress codes and—
21:50
Mary:
Why not?
21:50
Robin:
Yeah. So there can sometimes be three outfits or more for both of—for whoever. So that’s, that’s also something that you should let guests know, is there a dress code for the recovery or the pre-dinner and things like that?
22:06
Mary:
Awesome. No, that makes a lot of sense. And really good. I think guests sort of come into it a lot as well. And making them feel comfortable. And you know, what to expect on the day, and how they can be sort of be best prepared for the day is perfect as well. What do you think? What do you think is the most important thing that we should keep in mind if we’re looking for a suit for a wedding, the most important thing going in, you’re about to start—that might sound a bit vague, but, for someone to know.
22:33
Robin:
Well, I think I said it before, we really do believe that, you know, a good fit kind of trumps an out there look or something. So we always, you know, we’re a made to measure brand based on, you know, giving people the flexibility to get something that fits them. So we don’t use standard sizing. Everything is made to your measurements and every piece is. And so for us, it’s really about the fit of the suit, you know, you want to be comfortable. You don’t want to be too tight, especially with dancing and moving around and shaking hands and greeting guests and all of that fun stuff for your big day. But yeah, for us that’s probably the main—the biggest thing we want to make sure that our guests have is a good fitting suit.
23:15
Mary:
Yeah, absolutely. And I guess to anyone who’s coming into one of your stores to get a suit made to measure, did they need to come prepared in any way? Or can they just show up?
23:27
Robin:
Yeah, no definitely. So we’ve got 14 showrooms across Australia now. And we’ve actually got two more launching next month.
23:38
Mary:
Very exciting!
23:39
Robin:
Yeah, it’s really great. And we’ve got the flexibility, especially for wedding parties who might have people scattered around the country, it does make it a lot easier to get—they can go to any store and get measured and we’ll coordinate the whole thing. They also get a dedicated wedding stylist for the whole process.
23:56
Mary:
That’s fantastic.
23:57
Robin:
A lot of people might might know how hard it is to organise things or get everyone to come in at a certain time. But the stylist will take care of that, make sure that people are in by a certain date and will help coordinate the whole thing from start to finish. You know, 90% of our star consultants are full-time employees. So we don’t really kind of employ casual workers. So these are people that work with the brand for a long time. And so you’re not going to get passed around different stylists, you’ll have one working with you all the time, which can be really helpful especially for a lot of people who have a lot going on. And—
24:30
Mary:
Wedding planning.
24:31
Robin:
Yeah, it’s endless. You don’t want to have to be, you know, doing too much. So that’s where they can rely on us and our staff to help them with that. That part of the of the wedding.
24:40
Robin:
That is wonderful, because, you know, not everybody but a lot of couples, hire planners, just in general for the whole wedding planning sort of process. It feels like that’s kind of another service that you guys provide, which is we know how much you guys have got to plan. Here’s our own planner, and you’ll build rapport with them, you’ll build this relationship. They’ll know you. They’ll know your wedding party. And they’ve got this. They’re going to plan it and make sure everything’s done on time. That is such a weight off, rather than, you know, jumping in and calendars and reaching out to your best friend blah, blah, blah and blah, blah and try to coordinate dates and figure that out. That’s a big sigh of relief I think for so many people.
25:23
Robin:
Yeah, we’ve got a group at the moment or a client who’s got, he’s got a groomsman in London, a groomsman in New York, and he’s got one in Canberra, one in New South Wales, and we’re taking care of the whole thing. So getting all of their measurements sorted for them, through, you know, partners in our showrooms, and it makes it a lot easier, because otherwise, it just be a nightmare for him for getting all the, for getting everything organised. So that’s what we’re willing to do to help our clients with, to get them organised.
25:50
Mary:
That’s really special. That’s really considerate. And just ducking back on what you’re saying about the fit. You know, it’s so true that, you know, if you haven’t worn a suit that actually probably fits you before, either made to you or just at least really fits your shape. You sort of don’t really know what it can do to your shape, your confidence, how comfortable it’ll actually feel like. Putting on something that fits you properly is such an aha moment when you feel it or see yourself. So I think you’re right, having something that fits you so well, in the fit of it, being so specifically for you is a whole a whole other field. And, look, do you have any last tips, anything that’s there at the front of your brain going, that’s something I wish people knew. Or, you know, they should definitely go in thinking about this.
Robin:
Oh, I’ll give you three, how about that?
Mary:
Oh, brilliant! So generous.
26:50
Robin:
This comes from personal experience, and also, you know, being part of other weddings. And it might be a bit biased towards being a groom, but maybe not. So my first one is: don’t be afraid to maybe buy two shirts, just in case. We have had incidents.
27:10
Mary:
Very good.
27:10
Robin:
They’ve stained them or you know, they’ve had a bird fly overhead. Just before, no joke and trying to get the stain out. So having a second shirt can be always a good idea for you know, for not much cost, saving a lot of stress on the day. If you’re buying a new pair of shoes, maybe wear them in for a few days beforehand. And that can be for anyone. But if you’ve taken a brand new pair of shoes out of the box, and you’re wearing them all day, you know late into the night, it can really hurt your feet. So I would say wearing them can be a good idea.
27:43
Mary:
A good tip.
27:44
Robin:
And bow ties, a lot of our clients will opt for the self-tie bow tie, but not practice or know how to do it until you know an hour before and then they’re on YouTube or they’re trying to figure out how to do it. So maybe either practice a few times or go for the pre-tied option. I think that’d be my three top tips.
28:04
Mary:
That’s fantastic. The bow tie is definitely a good one. My husband wore a bow tie for our wedding. And I think he did practice beforehand. He did and he did get YouTube out and he had a bit of a go. I think he’d worn one or two previously, but he was like “I need to nail this wedding day bowtie, it has to be good”. So I think that’s one that, but I have seen grooms busily you know, frantically YouTubing how do I do this? How do I do this? Someone do this for me. Does anyone know?
28:31
Robin:
It’s usually maybe the father of the bride or someone with a bit more experience has to step in. Let’s see. When you do get it and it looks good, people respect it. Yeah.
28:43
Mary:
It’s wonderful. Robin, look, that’s all my questions today. That was fantastic. Thank you so much for talking with me today. There’s so much in what you said, which is gonna be so helpful to so many people. And I’ve really had a lovely time chatting with you. So thank you.
28:58
Robin:
Likewise. It’s been a pleasure. Thank you.
29:01
Mary:
Thanks, Robin. Have a great day.
29:02
Bye.
29:05
Dorothy:
It has been an utter delight to have you as part of our podcast today. Thank you so much for listening. If you’d like to enter today’s competition or find the show notes including a full written transcript of today’s episode, you can find that over on polkadotwedding.com/podcast. We would love your reviews your feedback, your likes, your follows, your comments, so make sure you communicate with us any way that is best for you. We can’t wait to show you the next episode. It’ll be dropping in another two weeks and we’ll chat to you soon.
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