If the shoe fits...

 Like I mentioned before, one of the reasons I'm holding off from trying on my dress is that I don't have any of the accessories that transform you from a girl in a white dress into a bride.  This realization kind of hit me like a ton of bricks - I figured once I got the dress squared away, 99% of the work in creating a bridal look was done.  I guess I was sort of resting on my laurels for the past few months, patting myself on the back for finding a dress so early in the planning process.  However, now I really need to kick it into gear and start planning what I want to look like on my wedding day.  Sure, I have the dress, but what about a veil?  Some jewelry?  Makeup?  Hair?  Nails?  Shoes?  Obviously I am not 99% of the way done with creating my look, as I had previously assumed.  Buzz kill.


With that being said, I've spent some time over the past few days thinking about and looking into shoe options.  Before sharing my ideas and inspiration with you, I think it's important that you get some necessary back-story:  I'm about 5'6" and Mr. Snow Cone is about 5'9".  I'm not a huge fan of being taller than him (I guess I'm a traditionalist at heart), so I very rarely wear heels... usually just on specific occasions or if I'm trying to look extra-polished or dressy.  Both Mr. Snow Cone and I like the look of heels, but only from the knee down, so to speak.  Check out a quick glimpse at our engagement pictures where we managed to sneak in heels without throwing off the whole height thing:

Photo by Christina Garber

(I wore flats for the rest of the pics)

Because I'm not a high-heel type of gal, when I do wear them, it's usually not a pretty sight.  My feet are usually crying out in agony, with my little piggies all squished to high heaven and the arches of my feet feel like I'm walking on nails.  I'm getting better, bit by bit, but they still are like attractive little death traps for your feet.  So, to recap, I don't like my height in heels, I don't like the way my feel feel in heels, and I don't have a lot of experience with heels.  Obviously they would be the best bet for my mega-marathon of a wedding day, right?  Despite my reservations, there's something undeniably bridal about high heels, not to mention how adorable some of the options out there are.  I decided to buck up, fight my high-heel anxiety, and look into some shoes with modest heel height to counteract the height and discomfort issues.  Here's my front-runner:

Shoes available at OnlineShoes.com / Shoes by Nina (Culver)

I like the low but still identifiable heel, the satiny wrap effect (which should complement my dress nicely), the fact that these shoes come in many colors so I could go traditional or modern in my hue selection, the peep-toe to take advantage of the August warmth, and the extremely manageable price of about $60, give or take.  I had unofficially decided that these would definitely work "well enough" to be my wedding shoes, and I wasn't terribly interested in looking elsewhere, unless these heels turned out to be so uncomfortable they give my feet PTSD or something.  I was all set to try these on in-store and be done with it, until I actually decided to bring up the topic to Mr. Snow Cone.

Simply put, He isn't interested in having a bride who's taller than him (or even close to being mistaken as taller) on his wedding day.  He doesn't want to have to worry about craning upward in every picture to snag every extra fraction of an inch he can get.  He doesn't want my feet to hurt at all over the course of the day, given that we'll be on our feet for probably upwards of 12 hours when all is said and done.  And, he said kindly but bluntly, he likely won't see my feet for more than about 30 seconds here and there, so he's not terribly invested in what my shoe actually looks like.  His vote?  Flats.  

Photo by Luster Studios

Without a doubt, I agree with him on pretty much all fronts.  I want to be comfortable and I don't want to have to find a way to gracefully try to slouch in pictures to make the height differential be noticeable (OK, all this height talk I know sounds weird, but both Mr. Snow Cone and I agree on what we want our pictures to look like, so we're just going to roll with it.  Judge away, if you please.)  But I'm not really sure if flats seem "bridal" enough to me.  

Did you decide on flats for your wedding?  Have any suggestions as to where to look for ideas?