Will anyone see my shoes?

[Carrots]

My dress has yet to be altered. I would like it to be floor length, but not dragging. Should I shell out another grand for Manolos or Louboutins? Will anyone even see my shoes as I walk down the aisle? It''s a small ceremony. So, we''ve forgone the garter toss. Can I take advantage situation and add height(like 5-inchers), since I ''m only a little over 4''11"? Help!

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 12/19/2008 6:09:51 AM
Author:Carrots
My dress has yet to be altered. I would like it to be floor length, but not dragging. Should I shell out another grand for Manolos or Louboutins? Will anyone even see my shoes as I walk down the aisle? It''s a small ceremony. So, we''ve forgone the garter toss. Can I take advantage situation and add height(like 5-inchers), since I ''m only a little over 4''11''? Help!

Are you someone who would normally invest in high end shoes? Are you confident such high heels will be comfortable for the duration of your wedding? What happens if you get the high high heels and end up in major pain so you take them off. Then your dress would drag and you''d probably destroy the hem. I just mention this because I''m not sure what your intentions with your dress are for after the wedding but if you intend on selling it or passing it down you''d probably like a hem in tact.

I personally wouldn''t spend that much on wedding shoes because its so unlikely that people will see them. Though, YOU will know whats on your feet and it seems that most photographers take macro shots of shoes and accessories anyway so they will be commemorated. If you can afford them without totally putting yourself out in terms of the budget and you''ve considered the things I mentioned above about comfort level then go for it!

 

[AllieLuv83]

Being 4''11 even with 5 inch heels you will most likely need a hem job unless you ordered a petite size. That being said I LOVE expensive shoes, I would never buy them myself but I do covet them. I bough a pair of EXPENSIVE (by my standard) shoes, they were originally $200 lol I personally would worry about the hem as well unless you plan on buying some platform flip flops to change into in case your feet start to hurt!

 

[katamari]

I think Clairitek has some great points. You could always have your dress altered to ensure that it would show your shoes if that was important to you. Also, though, you might want to think about your guests. For instance, I have a friend who rules against buying Choos because she knew that maybe only three or four people at the wedding who did see them and appreciate them.

My take is that if you are someone who *loves* shoes and rocks stilettos on a regular basis, buying an expensive shoes for the wedding is totally worth it because it may be the only wedding item that could get plenty more use that just on the wedding day. But, if you are unlikely to get your money''s worth, it is a waste.

 

[marchswallowbird]

I am counting on no one really being able to see my shoes. I am not comfortable in high heels and know they would kill my feet. Plus I really cannot rationalize spending a lot on shoes when we have the whole wedding to pay for (and the rings). My shoes are pretty ugly, but I absolutely need them to be comfortable, as I will be walking from the ceremony to the reception, including into meadows and along dirt paths (in Yosemite). I will keep them white so they aren't noticeable.

 

[Yimmers]

Let me be your enabler...yes!

Especially if you get them in something other than white, so you can totally wear them again later!

I wear heels a lot...so I guess I''m used to the arch. I will say that designers, like Manolo Blahnik, are mindful of the balance of the shoe against a woman''s shoe size. Thus, the Seadaraby, is only 3" on a 6 1/2 shoe, while on a size 8, is 3.5" high. We didn''t notice this until my friend and I had the same shoes side by side.

Unfortunately, these don''t come in wedding colors, but the Cole Haan nike air line make wonderfully comfortable heels. If they had a shoe that was wedding dress appropriate, I would definitely consider shelling out the money for them. You''d have no problem wearing them all day long!

 

[Idealistic]

I''m 4''11 and no one saw my shoes during the ceremony. I think the only time people saw my shoes was during the garter toss.

 

[bee*]

Date: 12/20/2008 1:05:51 AM
Author: Yimmers

I wear heels a lot...so I guess I''m used to the arch. I will say that designers, like Manolo Blahnik, are mindful of the balance of the shoe against a woman''s shoe size. Thus, the Seadaraby, is only 3'' on a 6 1/2 shoe, while on a size 8, is 3.5'' high. We didn''t notice this until my friend and I had the same shoes side by side.

He''s made them in three heel heights for all sizes so you can pick which one best fits you and which will be the most comfortable. I have these ones for my wedding and they''re so comfy!

 

[oobiecoo]

People definitely noticed my shoes during the ceremony. I have pictures of us walking out with one foot in front of the other and my green shoes peeking out! I''m 4''11" and wore 4-5 inch heels but left them off for most of the reception because they got uncomfortable. You don''t have to spend $1000 to get nice shoes but I''d definitely take advantage and get really high heels to give you more height in photos.

 

[jstarfireb]

Even if the shoes aren''t seen during the ceremony, they may be during the first dance. I have a picture of my FSIL where she''s doing a twirly thing during the dance, and she has this little green shoe peeking out from under her dress. It''s really cool and especially fun with colored shoes! Does this justify spending several hundred on a designer shoe? Not for me, but it''s up to you how much you spend. You could find a really cute, fun shoe for <$100 if you want.

If you tell us your color, budget, and style preferences, we could help you find a great shoe (especially if Freke sees this thread)!

 

[elrohwen]

I''m not really sure how much your shoes will be seen, but I think it''s super fun to wear a colored shoes for the moments that people actually will see your shoes. I agree with jstarfireb that you can definitely find cute fun shoes for not much money. I think the only reason you should get designer shoes is if you love them and think you''d wear them again. If you''re not a big high heel wearer and you''d just be getting them for the ceremony to never wear again, I''d go with a cheaper option.

This especially applies to wearing the super high heels. If you''re comfortable rocking out 4"+ heels, go for it! I wear heels to work a lot, typically 2-3", and I still find 4"+ heels extremely hard to walk in and very uncomfortable. So make sure you''re ok with that kind of height before you buy it or you''ll just be wearing flip flops for your whole reception. It would be a shame to buy expensive amazing shoes and only wear them for 30 minutes.

 

[Pandora II]

No-one saw my shoes at all...

They were the cheapest thing I bought - £4 on ebay!

I took another 2 pairs with me in case I got sore feet and wanted to swap later on.

That said, I am NOT a shoe person at all - I think I have about 8 pairs total and all from the same shop. I have very high arches and wide feet and the only people that make shoes that fit me are Clarks. If you are a shoe person, you are more likely to want to spend $$$ on a pair (I''d spend it on a new pet rock myself

).

 

[violet02]

No one saw my shoes until the photographer put the monitor up during the reception and showed a slideshow which included a before ceremony photo of my shoes.

I wound up wearing them about an hour then switched to high heel flip flops for the rest of the wedding. Oh except during the father/daughter dance, then I wore my Manolo's for that. I actually just posted about this recently. I am not even sure I'm going to re-wear mine.

If you have plenty of money and love shoes then sure buy them but honestly no one cared until they saw the photo of the shoe with the label then they were like oh you have manolo's neat. But otherwise no one even knew I had flip flops on.

ETA: Also if I had a do-over I'd wear a brightly colored shoe vs the silver ones I wore. They'd at least been more noticeable.

 

[Bliss]

I don't think anyone will see your shoes. Whether to go all out for them depends.

It's kind of like a little secret -- like fancy lingerie! No one but FH will know... but it kind of makes you feel extra special. And you can definitely wear them again. I have friends who wear their sparkly shoes out and say, "These are my wedding shoes!" The added benefit is, they will always fit! My Persian friend's mom passed hers down to her daughter. They were dynamite!

Definitely add height! And if you want platforms, go for it! Comfy and like a mini step ladder. Love it!

 

[FrekeChild]

I''m going to make it a point to show people my wedding shoes. But that''s me...

 

[emeraldlover1]

Ditto Freke. Me too! That is what I plan to do. And yes...I spent a pretty penny on my wedding shoes. I''m contemplating wearing them to the rehersal dinner as well but I don''t want them to be less special for the wedding if I do that.

 

[Elmorton]

I had a tea-length dress, so yupp - my shoes showed. Even then, I spent about $80 I think - I wanted beauty AND comfort.

I had an outdoor ceremony, and my shoes were RUINED by the end of the night - from sidewalks to grass to a dance floor, I had grass stains, dirt stains, stains from my toes (apparently I kicked off my shoes and went barefoot for a few moments - I don''t remember this, but I can''t imagine how my feet would have gotten that dirty), to dancing to much that the rubber part on the heel twisted around - these were well-made shoes, and I treated them badly as a bride. So my vote is that 1 grand on a pair of shoes is not worth it.

But, one of the ways I budgeted as a bride was by percentage. I asked myself, "in the grand scheme of things, does this matter? AND in the grand scheme of things, how does this cost compare to big-ticket must-haves?" - if you''re wearing a dress that was 5k, and your flower budget is 10k then I dunno, does another k on shoes matter? But if you''re wearing a dress that cost 1k and the dinner is 3k, then yeah, 1k on shoes seems a little astronomical.

Bottom line though - it''s your day. If this is something you want and something that is going to make your day perfect, then by all means...

 

[Nocturnius]

First, if you''ve got the money, then why not? I would never drop anything more than $100 on a pair of shoes, but that''s me. I found a pair I liked for my wedding that was $130 and nearly choked, then found a nice pair for $50. I can think of at least a hundred other things, both in everyday life and for a wedding, that I would spend a grand on WAY before I would spend it on shoes. But shoes are far more important to some people than they are to me.

(I''m also just assuming here that you have a habit for pricey shoes, because I can''t say I''ve ever seen someone who is used to buying $30 shoes even considering a pair with a $1k price tag.)

As for your question of whether people will notice them, if you have fashion-conscious people at the wedding, yes, they may notice your shoes. Otherwise, no, probably not. No one noticed mine, and there was only one photograph of them by themselves. I wouldn''t notice them if I went to a wedding, either. I must say that the last thing I''d look at would be the bride''s shoes unless I stepped on them or she threw them at someone.

Bottom line...

You should be comfortable, feel beautiful and be happy at your wedding. If those shoes will complete you that day and just make you feel fabulous, and if you aren''t sacrificing something else to afford them, then I say go for it.

 

[emeraldlover1]

I think if you pick white or silver shoes most people wouldn''t notice but I picked dark purple embellished 5 1/2 inch heals. So...I think people will see my shoes when I''m dancing and when I carry my dress so I don''t trip on it. I''m pretty confident if you want people to see your shoes they will. To me it is worth it but I made sure to pick a pair that I will wear again, no doubt.

In my everyday life I tend to pick pretty plain outfits so that I can dress them up with my really nice shoes. I believe that they are the perfect detail. Everyone is different though.

 

[marchswallowbird]

Date: 12/21/2008 7:58:24 AM
Author: Nocturnius
I must say that the last thing I''d look at would be the bride''s shoes unless I stepped on them or she threw them at someone.

LOL!!!

 

[Junkenpo]

i''m late coming to this thread, but i wanted to chime in because I am also on the short side (5''0") and had a small ceremony. I wore 6in hooker heels I got off of ebay bc I didn''t want to alter the hem so i could resell to a larger audience (besides the fact that the dress is still stored in my room & my hubby knows better than to say anything!) and people generally noticed i was A LOT taller than normal, so I could gleefully raise the hem and show them what i was tottering around on. lemme see if i can rustle up a pic.... i know they''re not manolos, choos, or loubies, but i still had fun with them. If your budget can cover them & they contribute that wedding "glow" then i say indulge yourself!

 

[musey]

Only you can answer all your own questions, but I will tell you what I did...

My husband is only 4.5" taller than me, and I like to give him as much of an advantage as I can

I am great in heels but chose flats for mainly that reason. I just flipped through all our ceremony pics and the one below is the only one in which you see my shoes at all. So the color and shape of the toe is the most important, and whatever else should be decided by your priorities (wanting or not wanting to add height, whether you want them for use in the future, etc.), IMO.

Also, we had a surprise cold snap here in LA the day of our wedding, and I wore THICK pastel pink socks under my shoes. No one noticed until I said "hey, wanna see something funny?" and showed them!

 

[mommy2iz]

people will see your shoes if you want them to!!! i''m a die-hard shoe girl; LOVE a gorgeous pair of heels. it''s a great way to gain some height, and show your personality. makes a really cute wedding photo,too. however, if you''re not a shoe girl, it wouldn''t make sense to flaunt something that isn''t you. i say do what feels right to you!

 

[newsboysgrl777]

Okay, so I''m TOTALLY all about comfort, but I wanted them to be cute, too!! However, the PRIORITY was to get flats. Why? My FI is actually around a half inch shorter than me (and it drives me NUTS!!) so I wanted to TRY to be shorter than him on our special day. SO, I figured if he wore nice dress shoes with a bit of a heel (as they normally have) and I wear flats, we might make it so that i''m a half inch SHORTER than him!! LOL

Anyway, I also really, really wanted sandals (actually, I wanted flip flops I know, weird, but I LOVE them), because I WANT people to see my feet at some point and the AWESOME pedicure I plan on having, but I really found NOTHING to my liking AT ALL!! I mean SERIOUSLY!! So, I bought a pair of regular slipper type shoes that were cute, but not my ideal and wore them to my first fitting. They were nice and went with the dress. I thought that was the end of the story, but THEN I was shopping at NY&Co last summer and stumbled across these and I was SOLD! i then wore them to one of my fittings and they were PERFECT! The price tag?? $13.95 (plus shipping because none of the stores in my area had my size in stock, so I had to order online). I''m so excited!!

YAAAY!!


So don''t despair!! You CAN find your dream shoe (whatever that might be), just be persistent!

Here are a few pics of them!!

Profile:

Overview:

CLOSE-UP. Just so you can see the sparkle/shimmer: