How to Choose Cufflinks for Grooms, Groomsmen and Fathers
Cufflinks for Australian Men: A Style and Buying Guide
Why cufflinks still earn their place
Cufflinks do a lot of quiet work for something that weighs almost nothing. Fasten a French cuff without them and it flaps open; fasten it with a well-chosen pair and the whole sleeve suddenly reads as deliberate. For an Australian groom standing at the front of a ceremony, or a best man giving a speech, that small detail is one of the few things a camera lens will actually get close enough to notice.
They also solve a real dressing problem before they do anything decorative. A French or double cuff shirt has no buttonholes at the wrist that close on their own — it needs a link, a knot, or a chain to hold the fold together. So the first job of a cufflink is mechanical, and the styling comes second. That is worth remembering when a groomsman insists he “doesn’t really wear jewellery” — cufflinks aren’t jewellery in the way a bracelet is; they’re closer to a belt buckle, functional first.
Because they’re compact and easy to box, cufflinks have become one of the default gifts for a wedding party, alongside pocket watches, hip flasks and leather wallets. They travel well, they photograph well laid out on a table before the ceremony, and unlike a card or a bottle of scotch, they keep being useful long after the reception ends.
To see the range available locally, start on the Groom & Co homepage, then browse the cufflinks range and the blog for style comparisons. The about us page is worth a look too if you want context on how the range is put together before settling on a pair.
For a broader read on how accessories shape a formal outfit, GQ’s accessories coverage and Esquire’s style desk are both useful starting points.
Matching cufflinks to shirt, suit and occasion
Start with the shirt, not the cufflinks. If the groomsmen are wearing standard button shirts with no French cuff, cufflinks aren’t an option at all, so it’s worth confirming the shirt order before anyone buys a gift. Once the cuff style is confirmed, the occasion sets the tone: a beach wedding in Byron Bay calls for something lighter and less formal than a black-tie reception in a Melbourne hotel ballroom.
If you’re buying for a groomsman rather than yourself, resist the urge to buy what you’d want. A tradie who owns one suit for weddings and funerals will get more use from a plain, hard-wearing pair than from something with a bold pattern he’ll feel self-conscious wearing again. A groomsman who already collects watches and pens will probably appreciate a design with more character.
Metal choice changes the formality reading more than most people expect. Brushed stainless steel reads casual-smart and shrugs off scratches, which suits a groomsman who’ll wear the cufflinks again at work functions. Polished silver or rhodium finishes look sharper under evening light, which is why they turn up so often at weddings. Gold-tone metal warms the whole look and pairs naturally with tan or brown leather accessories.
It also helps to think about how the pair will be used after the wedding day itself. Some men will only ever wear cufflinks twice in their life — their own wedding and a friend’s — so a memorable design earns its place. Others wear French cuffs to the office every week, in which case understated and durable beats novelty every time.
To compare finishes side by side, the accessories range groups styles by metal and price, and the blog has more detail on matching accessories to specific wedding themes. The homepage is the quickest way to see what’s currently in stock.
For further reading on pairing accessories with formalwear, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar both cover how tone and finish should follow the rest of the outfit.
Styles worth knowing before you shop
Plain, rounded metal cufflinks are the default for good reason — they disappear into a formal outfit rather than competing with the tie or the lapel. If you’re buying six identical pairs for a wedding party and don’t know each man’s personal taste well enough to individualise the gift, this is the safest lane.
Engraved cufflinks are the natural upgrade for a groom or a best man specifically, since they can carry a date, a set of initials, or a short private joke that means nothing to anyone else in the room. That personal touch is usually reserved for the one or two people closest to the event, rather than the whole line-up of groomsmen.
Novelty and shaped cufflinks — sporting motifs, hobby references, a nod to a groom’s job — work well as a single memorable gift but rarely as a set. Handing six groomsmen the same football-shaped cufflinks can read as a gimmick rather than a gift; saving that style for the one friend who’ll actually appreciate the joke lands better.
Colour-and-tone pairing deserves a mention too. Silver and gunmetal read cooler and more contemporary; gold and rose-gold tones read warmer and more traditional, and suit a wedding leaning toward vintage or rustic styling. Either way, matching the cufflink tone to any other metal in the outfit — belt buckle, watch, tie clip — keeps the whole look coherent instead of scattered.
Cufflinks sit in the same gifting category as pocket watches: both are small, both are steeped in a bit of ceremony, and both outlast almost anything else you could put in a groomsman’s gift box. If you’re building out a full gift set, the two pair naturally.
The cufflinks range and blog are the easiest way to browse by style, and the about us page gives a sense of how the range is curated.
For more on how accessories signal formality without overstatement, GQ and Martha Stewart Weddings are both good references.
Questions to answer before buying
How often will they actually get worn? A groomsman who wears a suit only for weddings and funerals doesn’t need a huge collection — one solid pair will do the job for the next decade. Someone in a suit-and-tie job every day gets more value from two or three interchangeable pairs.
Will they go on or off easily under time pressure? Wedding mornings run on a tight schedule, and a cufflink with a fiddly toggle or a stiff bullet-back closure is the last thing anyone wants to wrestle with while the photographer is waiting. A simple, secure fastening matters more on the day than the design does.
Who is this actually for? A gift for the groom himself can afford to be more personal and more expensive than a matching set for the wider groomsman line-up. Budgeting per person, rather than buying one style for everyone regardless of relationship, usually produces a better outcome and keeps costs sensible.
How will they be stored afterwards? A hard case or a lined box does more than protect the metal from scratches — it’s often what gets kept and reused for years after the cufflinks themselves have been retired to a drawer, which matters if this is meant to be a keepsake rather than a one-day prop.
Browse the accessories range for boxed sets suited to everyday wear, and check the blog for guidance on matching gifts to different roles in the wedding party. The homepage gives the fastest overview of what’s currently available.
On gifting etiquette specifically, Brides and The Knot both cover how to budget and personalise gifts across a wedding party.
Getting the presentation right
The box does almost as much work as the cufflinks themselves. Handed over loose in a plastic bag, even a well-made pair feels like an afterthought; presented in a lined case with a short handwritten note, the same cufflinks feel like a genuine gift. For a wedding party, this is usually the cheapest upgrade available and the one most people skip.
A short note explaining why that particular design was chosen — a shared joke, a reference to how long you’ve been mates, a nod to the date — turns a generic accessory into something specific to that friendship. It doesn’t need to be long; two sentences are usually enough to make the gift memorable years later.
Coordinating tone across the wedding party is worth some thought too. If the groomsmen are all wearing similar suits and the same tie colour, matching cufflinks reinforce that unity in photos. If the groom wants to be visually distinct from his groomsmen, giving him a different finish or an engraved version sets him apart without clashing.
Because cufflinks don’t go out of fashion the way a printed tie or a novelty sock might, they hold up as a long-term keepsake better than most groomsman gifts. That’s a genuine advantage if the goal is something the recipient will still own — and still recognise — a decade from now.
The blog and the cufflinks range both cover presentation-ready sets, and the about us page has more on how boxes and packaging are handled.
For more on presentation and styling, GQ and Vogue both touch on how packaging changes the perceived value of a small accessory.
Advice worth borrowing from stylists
Formalwear stylists tend to repeat the same three rules: match the cufflink to the cuff’s formality, keep the scale proportionate to the wrist, and choose construction quality over a flashy motif. For a wedding party specifically, that usually means erring toward restraint for the groomsmen and saving personality for the groom.
Formality should scale with the event. A black-tie reception rewards a clean, reflective metal finish; a relaxed daytime or outdoor ceremony gives more room for texture, colour, or a subtle pattern. Matching the cufflink’s formality to the dress code avoids the awkward gap between an overdressed accessory and a casual shirt.
Buying for the long term tends to beat buying for the day. A well-constructed pair in a classic finish will still look right at a five-year reunion or a christening, long after the wedding photos have been printed and framed. That durability is part of why classic silver and gunmetal designs keep outselling trend-driven ones.
If cufflinks are part of a larger gift — paired with a pocket watch, a flask, or a leather accessory — the whole set should read as one considered gift rather than several unrelated items bundled together. Consistency in metal tone and packaging ties a multi-item gift together.
The blog and the accessories range both go deeper on building matched gift sets, and the about us page has background on the brand’s approach to sourcing.
For further reading, Martha Stewart Weddings and Harper’s Bazaar both cover how a well-chosen accessory can lift the perceived quality of formalwear.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cufflinks suit most Australian weddings?
A plain, rounded pair in silver or gunmetal covers the widest range of Australian wedding settings, from formal city receptions to relaxed outdoor ceremonies. Reserve engraved or novelty designs for the groom or best man rather than the full groomsman line-up.
Do all shirts work with cufflinks?
No — cufflinks only work with French or double-cuff shirts that have no buttonhole at the wrist. Standard button-cuff shirts can’t take cufflinks at all, so it’s worth checking the shirt order before buying a set for a wedding party.
What should I check before buying cufflinks as a gift?
Confirm the recipient wears French cuffs, check how easily the fastening opens and closes, and choose a lined box for presentation. Comfort and a secure closure matter more on a wedding morning than an elaborate design.
Are affordable cufflinks worth buying for a wedding?
Yes — a simple, well-made pair in a classic finish can look just as sharp as an expensive set, especially once it’s boxed properly. Presentation and construction quality matter more than price point for a wedding-day gift.
