Wedding Shoes | A Guide To Choosing The Perfect Pair

PLANNING + ADVICE

How to Choose Your Wedding Shoes


Your wedding shoes play an important part in your wedding day. From the style, the comfort to the practicality. For this reason, I thought I’d share a few hints and tips I’ve picked up over the years of photographing weddings to help you choose that perfect pair of shoes for your wedding day.

Choose the right shoes for your budget

If your budget allows and Jimmy Choo’s are the dream, then go for it. However, as we know weddings are expensive and the reality is a pair of expensive shoes underneath that gorgeous wedding dress won’t be seen for most of the day.

Whether it is a pair of designer heels or a pair from the high street the most important is how they look with your dress. It’s not about the name.

I recently heard of a story that a Bride couldn’t afford a professional photographer due to the fact that she’d spent too much money on a pair of shoes for her wedding. Don’t make this mistake when choosing your wedding shoes. Your wedding images will last a lifetime, your shoes will most likely be put in a cupboard likely to never be worn again.

Choose Wedding Shoes that are comfortable

This might seem obvious, but I can tell you one of the most common complaints I hear at weddings is how sore a person’s feet are, or how uncomfortable their shoes are. If I had a penny…. well I’d be a rich man. You will be on your feet most of the day, and whilst you may well have fallen in love with a stunning pair of high heels, there is pain hidden in that beauty. If you don’t normally wear heels on a day to day basis bear this in mind, when choosing your bridal shoes, and consider how long you will be on your feet. Realistically, the only time you will really stop and sit down on your big day is to eat. And here’s a related bonus tip – Make sure you wear your shoes in for a few weeks before to make sure they’ve moulded to your feet. Do not wear your shoes for the first time on your wedding day – you will regret it.

TAKE YOUR DRESS OR SAMPLE FABRIC WHEN BUYING SHOES

There are many many shades of white, and of course colours.  Take a sample of your wedding dress fabric or the colour you are looking for with you if you want a matching shade.  Certain retailers offer a colour matching and dying service.

ENSURE YOU HAVE YOUR WEDDING SHOES PRIOR TO FINAL FITTING

You should ensure you have your wedding shoes prior to your final dress fitting to ensure the length is correct when adjustments are made and avoid any disapointment.

Think about your wedding day and your venues when choosing your shoes

This might seem a little strange, however many historical wedding venues ban stilettos to protect their wooden floors.  It’s always worth checking your wedding venue “house rules”. There would be nothing worse than a killer pair of heels and not being able to wear them.  Likewise, if you have planned an outdoor wedding or photographs outside bear in mind heels sink in the grass, and get ruined pretty quickly.  This brings me to my next tip…

HAVE more than one pair of wedding shoes

Who doesn’t love an excuse to buy more than one pair of shoes… well now you have one.  I can hear a few people grumbling at this, but it really can be beneficial to have more than one pair of shoes for your big day.  In fact, I’d go as far as to suggest 3 pairs.  If you want those killer heels for your photographs and ceremony, then buy some more comfortable ones for when you’re partying away.  Lastly, being if in the UK you may want to invest in some wellies, so you can walk through any puddles and not spoil your shoes, as there is a good chance of rain at some point.

Wedding Shoes | Making a Statement

They say that you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes that they wear. Having photographed my fair share of wedding shoes, and met many a bride and groom, I have to agree that this is true.  Your bridal shoes offer you a chance to really reflect your personality and to do something fun, unique and different.  You can have them dyed to match your bridal party, colour theme or favourite colour.  You can go for a bold striking pattern or statement decoration.  It really is a chance to have some fun.

GOT A TIP ABOUT WEDDING SHOES YOU WANT TO SHARE?

If you’ve got a tip about choosing wedding shoes, feel free to add it to the comments below.  Hope you enjoyed the post.

Last Updated on 27 March 2023