The Best Gifts for the Best Man and Groomsmen
Five gifts the best man and groomsmen will actually use — hip flasks, silk ties, cufflinks and leather — plus how to split the budget.
The quick answer
Buying for the best man and the groomsmen is really two jobs in one. The best man gets a proper present — something with some weight to it, ideally personal — while the group needs something consistent, sensible when multiplied by four or five, and good enough that nobody feels like an afterthought.
The good news is that the classic answers are classic for a reason. A leather hip flask, a silk tie, a pair of cufflinks, a card case, a wash bag: every one of them sidesteps the two traps that ruin wedding-party gifts, which are sizing and novelty. Nothing here needs a measurement taken, and nothing will be in a charity bag by the following spring.
If you only read one line: a leather hip flask is the best all-round gift for the best man, and a leather card case is the safest choice for the group.
The five gifts compared
| Gift | Best for | Visible on the day | Used afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspinal of London Hip Flask | The best man, or a group who all drink spirits | No — but it does the rounds while everyone gets ready | High, if he drinks whisky or brandy |
| Drake's Silk Tie | The best man, especially if he still needs a tie for the wedding | Yes — in every photograph | High; a good silk tie outlives the occasion |
| Tateossian Cufflinks | The wedding-day finish, particularly with a dinner suit | Yes — cufflinks turn up in all the detail shots | Medium; depends how often he wears a double cuff |
| Ettinger Card Case | A keepsake he'll carry every day | No, though it's in his pocket all day | Very high |
| Bennett Winch Wash Bag | The groomsman who is always travelling | No | High, for weekends away and the honeymoon |
Read the table as a guide to the job, not a ranking. A tie wins on the day and still works ten years later; a hip flask is the more ceremonial gift but only lands with someone who drinks; a wash bag is the least romantic and the most used.
The five best gifts for the best man and groomsmen
These five cover the realistic spread: something ceremonial, something to wear, something for the photographs, something for the pocket and something for the suitcase.
Best overall
Aspinal of London Hip Flask
A flask earns its keep twice over: once on the morning of the wedding, passed round while the speeches are still being rehearsed, and then for years afterwards in a coat pocket at the races or on a cold walk. Aspinal of London's leather-covered versions look like a proper present rather than a novelty — a clean, classic shape, neat stitching and a choice of dark leathers that won't date. Take it in black or navy and it will sit happily with whatever coat he owns. It's the strongest best-man gift here because it manages to be ceremonial and genuinely useful at the same time.
Why it works
- Feels like a real present rather than a token
- Works equally well for one best man or five groomsmen
- Personalisation is often available on Aspinal leather goods — confirm before ordering
- Still useful long after the wedding photos are filed away
Worth knowing
- Pointless if he doesn't drink spirits
- Needs filling before the big day, not on it
- The market is crowded and quality varies enormously — buy from a maker you trust
Best for the best man
Drake's Silk Tie
Drake's is a London label with a serious reputation for ties, and a tie makes an unusually good present because the best man can wear it on the day itself. That solves two problems at once: he has the tie you wanted him in, and he has a gift that isn't a token. Choose something he'd buy himself — a plain navy or burgundy, or a quiet stripe — rather than the loudest thing on the rail. If the budget won't stretch to a tie each for the whole group, give the best man this and the groomsmen something else; nobody will mind.
Why it works
- Worn on the day, so it appears in every photograph
- No sizing to get wrong
- Easy to tie into the wedding palette
- A good silk tie lasts for years of weddings and work
Worth knowing
- A taste-led purchase — keep it plain for anyone you don't know well
- Less of a keepsake than a piece of leather
- Buying five ties gets expensive fast
Best for the wedding day
Tateossian Cufflinks
Cufflinks are the one gift on this list that turns up in the photographs. London-based Tateossian designs a broad range, from plain brushed metal to pieces with a bit of movement in them, so you can match the gift to the man rather than to your own taste. If the wedding calls for a double-cuff shirt, a pair of cufflinks is the most useful thing you can hand over — and if the party is in dinner suits, they are close to essential. For the group, buy the same pair for everyone and hand them out before the morning.
Why it works
- Finishes a double-cuff shirt properly
- Shows up in the detail shots without shouting
- A wide range means you can keep it classic or go bolder
- Compact, easy to wrap and easy to carry on the day
Worth knowing
- Only useful if he wears double cuffs
- Small enough to be lost within a month
- Some novelty designs date very quickly
Best keepsake
Ettinger Leather Card Case
Ettinger is a British leather house that has been making small leather goods for a long time, and its card cases are the sort of thing a man keeps for a decade. That's exactly what makes it a good groomsman present: no size to get wrong, no wedding required for it to be useful, and it will still be in his pocket long after the photographs have gone in a drawer. Black or conker tan will suit almost anyone. If you know he carries a full wallet rather than a card case, the same reasoning applies to a billfold.
Why it works
- No sizing — safe across a mixed group
- Used daily, so the wedding association keeps going
- Understated enough for men who hate being fussed over
- Embossing is usually offered, which makes it personal
Worth knowing
- Less ceremonial than a flask or a pair of cufflinks
- He may already have a wallet he is attached to
- Colour is the only decision, so don't overthink it
Best for the travelling groomsman
Bennett Winch Wash Bag
The groomsman who is always on a train will get more out of a proper wash bag than out of another pair of cufflinks. Bennett Winch makes its wash bags from the sort of heavyweight canvas and leather it uses for its weekenders, so it reads as part of a set rather than an afterthought in a Christmas-stocking way. It's a particularly sensible pick for a group, because there is no size and no taste risk: everyone packs a toothbrush. Give it filled with a decent shampoo and a razor and it stops being a practical present and starts being a good one.
Why it works
- Genuinely useful for weekends away and the honeymoon
- Hard-wearing materials rather than thin nylon
- One version suits every groomsman
- Easy to fill with a few small extras to lift it
Worth knowing
- The least romantic gift on the list
- Only makes sense if he actually travels
- Less of a keepsake than something worn or carried daily
Best man versus groomsmen: how to split it
Treat the two groups differently, but not visibly. The usual arrangement is one shared gift for the groomsmen and a second, better one for the best man — he has, after all, done the organising, the speech and the chasing.
Practical ways to do it:
- Give each groomsman a card case, and the best man a card case plus a hip flask.
- Give the group wash bags and the best man a tie to wear on the day.
- If money is tight, put it into one good present for the best man and keep the groomsmen gifts small and useful rather than large and forgettable.
What you shouldn't do is hand everything out in front of everyone when one gift is plainly worth twice the others. Do the group gifts the night before, and give the best man his separately.
What to look for when you choose
Five things separate a gift that gets used from one that gets quietly re-gifted:
- No sizing. Rings, gloves, belts and clothing all need a measurement you probably don't have. Accessories solve this.
- Life after the wedding. A flask, card case or wash bag keeps working on ordinary days; an engraved champagne flute does not.
- Something he can hold. Weight and material do a lot of the work — leather, silk and brushed metal all feel like a present.
- Personalisation that arrives on time. Initials turn a good gift into a memorable one, but only if you've allowed the lead time.
- Consistency. Five groomsmen opening five wildly different gifts creates a ranking nobody asked for. Buy the same thing, or the same thing in different colours.
- Wedding-day relevance
- 4.0/5
A tie and cufflinks earn their place in the photographs; a flask does its best work in the morning.
- Use after the wedding
- 4.5/5
Leather goods and a wash bag score highest here — they get used in ordinary weeks, not just big occasions.
- Safe without a size
- 5.0/5
Everything on this list is one-size. That's deliberate: it removes the single biggest reason groomsmen gifts get returned.
- Personalisation potential
- 4.0/5
Fl asks and card cases usually take initials; silk and cufflinks rarely do.
- Ease of buying for a group
- 4.5/5
Buying five of the same item is quicker, cheaper and fairer than assembling five different presents.
Ordering, engraving and the deadline
Two practical points before you place an order. First, personalisation: engraved initials on a flask or embossed initials on a card case turn a decent gift into a memorable one, but it also usually means the item can't be returned, so check every spelling before you press send. Second, timing: get the order in at least a month before the wedding, and allow longer if several pieces are being personalised or if you're ordering close to a busy period.
The verdict
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should I order groomsmen gifts?
A month is a comfortable minimum; allow six to eight weeks if anything is being engraved or embossed, and check the delivery date rather than the dispatch date.
Is it acceptable to give the best man a bigger gift?
Yes — he has taken on the organising and the speech, and most people expect the best man's present to be the better one. Just keep the difference discreet rather than handing both over at the table.
What is the safest gift if I don't know his taste?
A black or tan leather card case, or a navy tie. Both are chosen for a man with strong opinions rather than a man with none, and neither can be the wrong size.
Do groomsmen gifts have to match?
No, but they should be equivalent in value. The same item in different colours, or two different leather pieces at a similar level, works better than five unrelated presents at five different prices.
Can I give a hip flask to someone who doesn't drink?
Not really — a flask for a non-drinker is a present for the giver. Swap it for a card case, cufflinks or a wash bag and you'll have something he actually uses.
Should I give a gift to the father of the bride or groom?
It's a nice touch but not obligatory. If you do, keep it in the same family as the groomsmen gifts — a pair of cufflinks or a card case — so it doesn't look like a separate ceremony.
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