Finding perfect wedding shoes can feel like a big task. It’s as important as any other detail of your bridal outfit! What style of shoes should you choose? Do the colours have to match? High-heels or flats? Ivory or eggshell white?
Many discussions and debates happen between fellow brides in wedding chat rooms, chit-chats with bridesmaids or friends, and also with family. When you’re feeling lost in the decision, it can be helpful to ask for another opinion (whether it’s about the shoes or any other wedding detail).
Ultimately, no one can tell you what kind of shoes you should choose – the final decision is all yours! However, in this article we will go through some of the options for your wedding shoes, to give you an overview of all the different possibilities. If the options we give are not enough for you and you want to see more – check out our Pinterest board with over 180 different pictures of shoes!
One of the most common wedding shoes – pumps!
Referring to shoes as “pumps” dates back to the 1500s, when men and servants wore shoes without heels known as “pompes.” From there, the pompes evolved from the plain, flat shoes worn by men to embellished, heeled shoes worn by women.
Pumps are the high heels everyone thinks of. Shoes that make every girl taller. Elegant, sophisticated, and a perfect option for your wedding. They come in lots of different colours, and can be found in most shoe stores!
When taking these shoes into consideration, you have to think your “heel skills” through. If you have never walked in pumps before and you want to wear them on your wedding day, make sure you have some practice beforehand! After getting a pair, make sure you wear them in – maybe on a date with your partner, or walk around in them indoors. All this experience is worth it, to make sure your special day goes smoothly without any broken heels or other incidents.
Fancy and safe – thick heeled shoes
If you want to wear heels without any previous experience, heels that are flat and thicker are easier to walk in (rather than choosing a pointy heel).
They look just as elegant as the previous type of shoes, however, most women find that it’s easier to stay balanced in this type of heel. Also, if you’ll be spending any part of your special day outside – especially on grass – then it helps to think about your shoes beforehand.
Pointy heels are more likely to get stuck in the grass! Usually, the grass is soft and it’s easy to sink into it. When your feet are in high-heels, you still need some pressure for your heel to touch the ground. Without any experience beforehand, you might get stuck in the grass easily, if you don’t put your all weight into your toes. Heels with a flatter base are therefore better than pointy heels, if you want to avoid that kind of situation.
Flat shoes – most common second pair of wedding shoes
Easy to walk in, and manageable on different types of ground. Whether it’s a path with lots of rocks lying around, grass or wooden floor, you’ll be able to cope with all of them.
There are many options for flat shoes that you can find in different types of stores. You can get them cheaply from regular stores, or opt for more expensive brand-name shoes. Online shops sell flats for all sorts of different occasions. You can buy all types of shoes online, but with flats, the risk of them being uncomfortable is lower. When buying high-heels, it would be best to try them on at the store to see if they really fit your feet. With flats you may not need to do this, although you still want the best experience when wearing your wedding shoes.
Although it’s one of the easiest options to walk in, many women have a second pair of flats lying under the table or in the room next to the reception hall. Having not one, but a few pairs of wedding shoes is definitely a good option. If you are more comfortable in flats than heels, but you still want to have heels on for your photos, then do it! Just have a comfortable option for afterwards.
Ankle strap – tasteful detail
Graceful details for your shoes. The heel can be either flat, thick, or pointy, but adding an ankle strap definitely gives them a charming effect.
Ankle straps help your shoes to stay on your feet. That’s why it’s more difficult to take them off under the table if / when you want to give your feet some rest. It’s also important to remember that even if ankle strap shoes look cute in an image, you should still try them on first. Sometimes the ankle strap can make your legs look shorter than they actually are.
If you are worried about this issue, there are many different ways on how to DIY your regular high-heels to make them look more delicate without the strap.
Sneakers – are they still relevant?
Sometimes you might see pictures on the internet with crazy wedding theme ideas, exciting dresses or any other fun outfits, and then you spot an image where both newlyweds are wearing sports shoes. It looks cool, you like to think outside of the box, but you’re not sure if people still do it… yes they do!
Sneakers are as relevant today as they were a few years ago. There are many different brands and types of sneakers to choose from. Others like to upgrade their sneakers even more to make them more wedding themed. No law states what kind of shoes you should or shouldn’t wear when it comes to your special day.
You can even have a fun wedding theme or other activities which includes comfortable footwear – sneakers.
DIY shoes – brides share
Brides nowadays seem to be more and more creative. Crafty brides-to-be add jewellery on shoes, paint their sneakers, and even decoupage their heels. If you have a theme for your wedding, you can DIY your shoes so they match. People are going through all of this effort to create the best results on their wedding day.
If you want to see more of the “Do It Yourself” options for shoes, it would be wise to join this DIY Facebook group, where brides share their knowledge with other women. There you can find many good ideas for saving some money for your budget, as well as lots of inspiration for your special day.
These shoes in the picture are from one of the brides, who have shared them with the whole community in this group.
These were the main categories of shoes brides usually wear during their wedding. However, if you have some different experience with shoes – other types of DIY’s or some themed shoes – feel free to share them in comments or in the Facebook group Bride2Bride talk.
Also, to help you with your wedding planning, we have created five wedding timeline templates for you to customize and use! Check out our latest blog post.