Are/were your wedding shoes sensibly priced? Can you get more wear out of them? Tempted to spend m

[gwendolyn]

Now, "sensibly priced" will mean different things to different people, so instead of naming an amount or price range, instead I will ask if you felt like your wedding shoes were a splurge or a more economical purchase? Also, are you able to wear your shoes again after the wedding, or are they pretty wedding-specific shoes?

Here's my situation. I was all set, completely and totally, on having very practical wedding shoes. I ordered a pair (well, 2, technically, since they turned out to be BOGO) of Guess sparkly flip-flops, which I fully intend to wear for my fun-filled reception in the US at the end of May next year. However, since the actual wedding we'll be having is at the start of April in the UK, it won't exactly be flip-flop weather, so I have been planning on getting a second pair of shoes that will keep my toes warmer than the flip-flops would.

The dilemma? Before I found my dress, I found a pair of flats that were to-die-for gorgeous, but completely impractical in that there's no way I could see myself wearing them except with my wedding dress. But, they are beautiful, so I still think of them. And they go with my dress perfectly, like they were made for my dress. But, they are £170! My two pairs of Guess flippy-floppies were US$30 (so, £20?). But really, am not sure I could bring myself to pay that money for these shoes, especially since I don't think I would be able to re-wear them (maybe? maaaaybe? but probably not).

So, how do you feel about your wedding shoes? Were they an "aw, what the hell?" kind of purchase, or did you keep your head (and your dinero)?

ETA: Whoops, forgot to put a "just show me the results" poll option. Sorry! Maybe just use "other" instead? Whoops.

 

[ladypirate]

I haven''t bought my shoes yet, but I just wanted to say "Get the awesome shoes you really want! You can totally wear them again!!!"

Sorry, no stopping you from me. I love the shoes you like!

 

[emeraldlover1]

I spent a ton on my shoes but I plan on getting many wears out of them.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 8/29/2009 3:30:36 PM
Author: ladypirate
I haven''t bought my shoes yet, but I just wanted to say ''Get the awesome shoes you really want! You can totally wear them again!!!''


Sorry, no stopping you from me. I love the shoes you like!

Hahah, LP, I love you! You remember my dream shoes?! That''s so fantastic!

Am just a little afraid that the ball is going to keep rolling like this... was going to try to be sensible about my wedding dress purchase, but my dress is about twice what I was (ambitiously) hoping to pay...and now these shoes are like three or four times what I wasn''t originally thinking of paying for shoes...where will it end?!

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 8/29/2009 3:48:58 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
I spent a ton on my shoes but I plan on getting many wears out of them.

Yeah, but if you''re going to get heaps of use out of them, then that''s probably somewhere in the middle since you will use them a lot! Whereas with my shoes, not really sure when I would be able to re-wear them...

 

[gwendolyn]

For reference, here are the dream shoes (available in dusty rose or ivory--show here in rose so the detail is more apparent): the Dainty Bess by Diane Hassall, handmade with a pearl button.

But, £170 =

 

[gwendolyn]

And, also for reference, my dress!

 

[ilovesparkles]

Hey Gwen, this is a dilemma because I remember those shoes and they are GORGEOUS! Ask yourself this, if you spend the money on your shoes, can you cut the same amount on something else? Say flowers, makeup, favors, etc. It becomes a budgeting game. I spent X here which I now have to subtract from somewhere else.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 8/29/2009 4:04:56 PM
Author: ilovesparkles
Hey Gwen, this is a dilemma because I remember those shoes and they are GORGEOUS! Ask yourself this, if you spend the money on your shoes, can you cut the same amount on something else? Say flowers, makeup, favors, etc. It becomes a budgeting game. I spent X here which I now have to subtract from somewhere else.

See, that''s tricky, because we don''t really have any money set aside for that stuff because we''re not getting professional flowers, make-up or favours--the money we have is going towards the big stuff: immigration paperwork, dress, honeymoon, reception (ceremony itself is just city hall type deal).

That being said, J''s mom has offered to pay for the entire UK reception if we let her host it (she loves throwing parties but makes tons of drama about it, so it wasn''t our first choice), BUT that will save us a few hundred pounds since we won''t be paying to do what we were going to do....so I could justify them that way...

 

[House Cat]

I can totally see wearing those shoes again with a pair of jeans.

If they are going to break the bank, then the perspective to keep is, they are only shoes.

I''m no help, huh?

 

[gwendolyn]

Found a pair in ivory in my size for £100...hmmm...

Looks like they''re being discontinued as well...

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 8/29/2009 5:08:20 PM
Author: House Cat
I can totally see wearing those shoes again with a pair of jeans.

If they are going to break the bank, then the perspective to keep is, they are only shoes.

I''m no help, huh?

Hehehe, yeah, they might look cute with jeans!

But yeah, they are only shoes...glorious shoes, but shoes nonetheless.

 

[lulu66]

well, i love them. after seeing your dress, guess flip flops (no matter how sparkly) would pale in comparison. plus, your getting married, then having a reception. you''ll wear them 2x''s, right? divide the cost by two, does that make them more affordable

? i remember seeing these in a thread a long time ago...you''ve been wanting them for a while...i say go for it! maybe you could set aside a few $ from your "real life" budget to pay for them? for example, if you buy lunch a lot, pack lunch & put that money towards them? just an idea. but gwen, i think those shoes are made for you!!

 

[lulu66]

Date: 8/29/2009 7:57:48 PM
Author: gwendolyn
Found a pair in ivory in my size for £100...hmmm...


Looks like they''re being discontinued as well...

ummm, that''s practically 1/2 off!

i''m a total shoe enabler! go for it!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Get the shoes! Get the shoes!!

This is your wedding day(s) you deserve them!!! And heck, throw them on with a cozy sweater and pair of jeans...they''ll be cute/cute!!

 

[Deelight]

Date: 8/29/2009 5:08:20 PM
Author: House Cat
I can totally see wearing those shoes again with a pair of jeans.

If they are going to break the bank, then the perspective to keep is, they are only shoes.

I''m no help, huh?

ditto, those would looks so cute with a pair of jeans or the right dress afterwards you can definitly rewear them

£100 that is like on sale , *enables* DO IT, I usually am very realistic and sensible with everything but the dress and shoes and I plan to just get whatever I want .

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 8/29/2009 7:57:48 PM
Author: gwendolyn
Found a pair in ivory in my size for £100...hmmm...


Looks like they''re being discontinued as well...

Get them! You can wear those with anything--cute knee length skirt, jeans, underoos around the house...

 

[DMBFiredancer]

Mine were $20 reef flip flops in white that I wear now. But I am not a "shoe person" so it wasnt a big deal to me.
The only things I know about shoes are from you guys, Sex and the City and my work friends! hahahahaha!
(My favorite designer is Converse if that tells you anything)

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 8/29/2009 8:51:24 PM
Author: DMBFiredancer
Mine were $20 reef flip flops in white that I wear now. But I am not a ''shoe person'' so it wasnt a big deal to me.

The only things I know about shoes are from you guys, Sex and the City and my work friends! hahahahaha!

(My favorite designer is Converse if that tells you anything)

DMB, I think we''re kindred spirits. I wore Old Navy flip flops to my senior prom. When I suggested wearing converse to my wedding, though, my mother vetoed the idea.

 

[D&T]

Gwen- those shoes you posted, are gorgeous!!!

my shoes were wedge flip flops (about $20), white of course ( I needed the height as well, otherwise I would have gone for more pratical height for everyday wear), but I had to add a yellow sunflower to them -do it yourself. since I loved yellow!

so if you love them go for it!

 

[vc10um]

I personally plan on spending more on my shoes than my dress. The way I see it, I''ll wear my dress once (maybe twice, if we have a second reception where we live now, as we have a lot of friends here, but we don''t expect them to travel half way across the country for the wedding)...but I plan on getting FUN, FABULOUS shoes for my wedding (a color, quite possibly my something blue) that I plan on wearing every year on my anniversary! So I hereby give you my blessing to be a bit extravagant!

 

[urseberry]

I''m going to be contrary and say no, you shouldn''t get them. They are beautiful, but higher than your budget. You''ll only be able to wear them once, and no one will see them under your long dress anyway. I see a lot of brides-to-be justifying various expenses because they are part of the wedding, and before you know it, the wedding is thousands of dollars over budget. That money could have been better spent gaining compound interest in a retirement account or going towards a house.

The shoes are beautiful. Good luck with your decision!

 

[jstarfireb]

I answered "old shoes" because my main wedding shoes were my old prom shoes. Silver strappy sandals work for many occasions! But I also bought a pair of Crocs wedges for the reception for $15 or so. And the day before the wedding, I found a fabulous pair that I wore when I changed into the dress I left the reception in.

ETA: All are rewearable. I wouldn't dream of buying a pair of shoes I couldn't wear again, but that's just me.

 

[honey22]

https://www.pricescope.com/forum/bride-world-wide-grooms-grooves/honey-s-custom-made-wedding-shoes-with-pics-t124080.html

Here is the linky to my new shoes. They were a splurge, but also economical. They are custom so they fit like a dream, and can be dyed black after the wedding so I can get heaps of use of out them!!! I love them!

 

[princessplease]

I''m very cheap when it comes to shoes. I typically buy shoes on clearance/sale, and will only buy a pair that are pricey (over $50) if I absolutely LOVE them. Most of my shoes cost under $30, with the exception of my gym shoes.

That being said, I bought $169 wedding shoes, and that was HARD. I felt like how can I justify this purchase?? I took a little bit of money from each pay check, put it in my savings account, and bought my shoes. The shoes were ''calling'' me. I knew they''d look incredible with my dress, and I figured since it was for the wedding, I''d buy them. They look amazing with my dress, and I have no regrets with the amount of money I spent.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 8/29/2009 9:36:57 PM
Author: urseberry
I''m going to be contrary and say no, you shouldn''t get them. They are beautiful, but higher than your budget. You''ll only be able to wear them once, and no one will see them under your long dress anyway. I see a lot of brides-to-be justifying various expenses because they are part of the wedding, and before you know it, the wedding is thousands of dollars over budget. That money could have been better spent gaining compound interest in a retirement account or going towards a house.


The shoes are beautiful. Good luck with your decision!

Yeah, that''s a legit concern, but we are having a very low key pair of weddings, so there hasn''t been much to splurge on, really. We''re doing a registry office ceremony, which is akin to city hall, and then having our reception at J''s parents'' house, with homecooked food, cake, decorations, etc. And our US reception (we''re marrying in the UK) is a banquet, not a wedding, which means it''s only going to cost us a few thousand dollars for everything for 100+ people. So most everything we''re doing is on the cheap. Besides my dress.

That being said, I''m not really a shoe person, so being in love with a pair of shoes (especially since I''ve loved them for a year) is a rather alien experience for me. Most of the time, if I''m wearing shoes, they''re either comfy flip-flops or sneakers/tennis shoes/trainers. I''d get definite use of them if they were a pair of cute black shoes really, but don''t want to wear black with my dress, and these shoes would not be able to be dyed. I could potentially see myself wearing them with jeans and a cute top afterward, although there is also the possibility that I might be afraid of messing them up and not wear them! Dunno. I don''t have that problem with my dress--don''t want to take it off! Just want to wear it around the flat.

Thank you all for your comments! Rather amusingly to me, the responses here mirror those of the comments on my Facebook status--everyone but one was an enabler!

And J''s response to all this? "...hmmm." Which translates to "not sure about this..." Not that I blame him--I''m not sure either!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 8/29/2009 7:57:48 PM
Author: gwendolyn
Found a pair in ivory in my size for £100...hmmm...

Looks like they're being discontinued as well...

GET THEM! Seriously, I think that is totally reasonable for wedding shoes! And honestly I do think you could wear those again with a cute dress or a dressier top and jeans. I spent about $150ish on high heels I will never wear again...but they were on crazy sale (I think they were at least half off original price) and were perfect with my dress so I had to get them.

ETA It sounds like you're not the type to get carried away with spending so I would just get the shoes and then be sensible from here on out! The dress was extremely important to me so it didn't make sense to skimp when it came to accessories for it. I think your dress is gorgeous and the shoes would be perfect with it.

 

[meresal]

I put "Splurge-tastic", however, there is a stipulation.

My MIL bought them for me as my birthday present before the wedding. Personally, I never would have spent $900 of our own money on one pair of Ivory shoes. However, I would have probably spent anywhere up to $400.

My vote is "Go for it!!"

They really add to your "I feel Incredible" persona on the day of the wedding!!

 

[cocolaw]

Date: 8/29/2009 5:08:20 PM
Author: House Cat
I can totally see wearing those shoes again with a pair of jeans.

If they are going to break the bank, then the perspective to keep is, they are only shoes.

I''m no help, huh?

i was just thinking that! i could def see these with a pair of jeans! i would splurge! i splurged--i can count on one hand the number of shoes that i have owned that cost over $200....these included. my wedding shoes were under 300. they are hot pink and i will DEF wear them again. they look awesome with a long sleeved short black dress i have! im sure i will find many more uses too.

i would go for it! you only get married once!

 

[gwendolyn]

Ok, so I am a bit of a goober and got some cost things mixed up (with us having MORE money than I had thought!!!), and now it''s 100% fine for me to get the shoes.

And not only that, but J thinks it''s good for me to get the dream dress and shoes--he says it''s encouraging my inner girly girl, something in which I don''t usually indulge, and he likes it. He also just plain likes seeing me this excited. How sweet is that?

So, assuming they don''t all run out before I place my order, they are mine!!