Scott, re: bow ties -
You can't wear a bow tie with anything other than a tuxedo if you're under forty-five or not a famous novelist or not a total geek. Got that, professor?
Still, you need to know how to tie a bow for formal events, like your wedding.
The best way to master the tying of a bow tie: have someone who knows teach you and then practice incessantly.
This you should do weeks before the day you actually need to tie it.
On that day, keep a clip-on in reserve, should your bow-tying skills fail, which they probably will.
Clip-on regular ties are perfectly acceptable for gentlemen, but only for those still in the first grade.