You spent a lot of money (or maybe not!) on your wedding dress. In most cases it’s long, and unless you’re really kicking up your heels on the dance floor, who’s going to see your shoes!? Right? You might not think anyone will see them, but what about all those really cool pictures you’ve seen of the rings on the heels of those awesome wedding shoes? Or the pictures of the groomsmen holding the bride sideways…there’s usually a pair of fancy shoes peeking out from under the hem of that dress! If you do the garter toss, when you’re sitting down, your groom is going to raise at least PART of the skirt of your dress up, and there’s going to be some kind of shoe that needs to be seen! And if your dress has a slit in the front or on the side, well, there has to be a fancy sparkly shoe making an appearance at the bottom!

It’s part of the tradition! Right?

Now you know you’re never going to wear that wedding dress again, right? But there’s a really good chance you can find other occasions to wear a great pair of sparkly shoes. Shoot, make the opportunity! And even if you don’t like shoes, there’s just something about finding a perfect pair of shoes to go with your fabulous wedding dress! After all, you’re the bride. You’re entitled! And even though I’m not really a shoe person (I know–horrors!) I absolutely adore all those gorgeous fancy shoes designed to be worn with a wedding gown! And they’re in all colors and designs! Your wedding day shoes don’t have to be white, as you’ll see below.

How do you walk in them, though? I’m one for comfort as well as style. And on your wedding day, the last thing you need is for your feet to be hurting. After all, you not only have to walk down the aisle, and stand still for some 20-30 minutes, then walk/run back up the aisle, stand for zillions of pictures, be introduced at your reception, dance at your reception…your feet are going through a huge workout! If you get to the point you can’t walk in those gorgeous shoes any more, what do you do? Besides hope that someone has a spare comfortable, but elegant, pair around to let you wear!

You can’t forget all those cute little gimmicks you see on Pinterest, either. You know, the ones where you put decals on the bottoms of the shoes, or write cute notes on them, or have the bridesmaids sign their names, or you write a note to the groom… What a fabulous photo op! The heck with comfort! Just be sure to have your photographer take pictures BEFORE the ceremony, because afterwards, those shoes are bound to not look near as good…at least not without some photo editing!

And as we mentioned before, there are those pictures with the rings on the heels of the bride’s shoes, or of her shoes in really beautiful positions and poses. Who can resist? Why, it’s worth the cost of the shoes alone for those pictures! Right?? So what if your feet are screaming by the time the dancing starts?

A word of advice, or maybe six words. Make sure your shoes are comfortable. Break them in before you wear them on your wedding day. Buy them well in advance and practice walking (on carpet!) in them. Dance in them. Stand in them. Wear them while you’re seated. And if you just can’t get them to be comfortable, well you have two choices. Either exchange them, or if you really, really want them for your pictures, buy another COMFORTABLE pair to change into when your feet start screaming. You can always decorate them with a bit of bling as well. Be creative. Involve your bridesmaids, even. After all, aren’t two pairs of shoes better than one!? And your flower girl can always wear a pair of leftover shoes!

Or if you’re having a beach wedding, there are all kinds of decorative wedding flip flops. You can either buy them already decorated, or buy your own and be creative! You can even have a party with your bridesmaids, and all of you decorate your flip flops to coordinate with your dresses! Some brides even opt for the non-shoe flip flops, which are basically just jewelry for your feet with no soles. You’ll collect a lot of sand on your feet and between your toes, but your feet will look elegant!

Or you can even go a little crazy with something like these! Or not…. You do know…it’s your wedding, and just about anything goes when we’re talking shoes!

And don’t forget your guests….many of them may end up with sore feet halfway towards the end of the night and what better way to combine comfort with wedding favors and offer up a bucket of dancing shoes for the ladies?

How about the bridesmaids wearing all different colors of shoes with their dresses? Or the bride wearing another color? And what about the trend for wearing cowboy boots with your wedding gown? And having your bridesmaids do the same? (Personally…I love cowboy boots…but for a wedding, I’m not too sure. But it’s your wedding!)

And there are other options besides the boots…..

So we have all these fantastic shoes for the bride and her bridesmaids. All these photo ops! How fun!

Wait. We forgot something. Or should we say…someone! What about the guys? Don’t they get to have a little fun with this, too?

Unfortunately they don’t have too many choices. They can wear the standard rental shoes that go with their tuxes, as most of them do. If it’s casual, I mean really casual, they can wear some funky sneakers. Or they can go with cowboy boots if that’s what the ladies decide!

And there’s always flip flops or bare feet if you’re on the beach. But really, who looks at the guys’ shoes?

But….there’s also a trend that we like that gives the guys their time to have fun, too! How about the socks!? At least they can have a little fun with them! And those picture of the guys raising their pant legs and showing off their colorful socks are almost as fun as the ones with the ladies and their shoes!

How about these socks especially made for the groom with these funny little sayings on them? No one sees them, but at least the wedding party knows they’re there. And again, pictures before the ceremony are always good for a laugh later on! And sometimes there are even sayings that can be put on HIS shoes!

In fact, special socks for the guys can even solve a bit of a dilemma that you may be having. So what happens when the groom wants something special to wear with his tux, or suit, or whatever he’s going to be attired in, and the bride says forget it!

Like the groom wanting a camouflage vest for his guys. And it just doesn’t go with a beach themed wedding. Well, here’s the perfect solution, and let me say right now, we had to search for this one!

Problem solved. The socks win it! And we know just the wedding where you’ll find them…..

Photo Sources: 1st Row: eddyk.com; via Pinterest – 2nd Row: everythingsparklywhite via tumbler; obsessedwithshoes.com; bumpinghanger.com; blog.theknot.com – 3rd Row: iloveswmag.com; obaz.com; sistarshoes.com; via Jaliah Henderson.com; Rachael Foster Photography via BorrowedandBleu.com 4th Row: wedingdaypin.com; theknot.com; vinyl decals via Etsy; lovewedbliss.com; amandahedgepethphotography.com; via tumblr – 5th Row: onewed.com; onewed.com; bespokebride.com; apositivelybeautifulblog via tumblr – 6th Row: inspirationlane via tumblr – 7th Row: source unknown; lovewedbliss.com; loveitsomuch.com; abouther.net; Etsy Priceless Princess Bows – 8th Row: lilacchiffon via tumblr; marthastewartweddings.com – 9th Row: EstateWeddingsandEvents.com – 10th Row:weddingthingz.com; Stephanie Hogue Photography via StyleMePretty; budgetdreamweddings.com; personal files – 11th Row: Melissa Biador Photography via Lovely.ly; Caitlin Thomas Photography via Wedding Chicks; Benfield Photography – 12th Row: AshleyGillett.com – 13th Row: Destinationweddingmag.com- 14th Row: source unknown; PrettyChicky mainstreetav.com; ahurstphotography.com – 15th Row: arabiaweddings.com; stylemepretty; stylemeprettyforgrooms – 16th Row: ColoradoVisions.com