A Shopping Guide to Bridal Shoes

An important part in any woman’s life is the time when she would walk down the aisle to exchange vows with the love of her life. But what if this dreamy moment turns into a disaster when the bride slips, trips, or feels every inch of pain and discomfort as she treads down the aisle?

This is something that you would never want to happen in your own wedding. That is why you vow to yourself that you would find the perfect pair of bridal shoes that will help you turn that dream moment into a reality. Now, if you have no idea how to find the right pair, here is some vital information that would surely be of good use to you.

Comfort = Happy Feet

Sometimes, brides fall in love with a beautiful pair of shoes that they ignore the fact that they do not feel comfortable wearing them. They make the mistake of thinking that it would not matter. Come the day of the wedding and they realize they have made a huge mistake when blisters start showing up or when the bride could hardly walk halfway during the event. For this reason, it is of utmost importance to ensure that a pair of shoes is comfortable. A bride should feel comfortable wearing and walking with her pair of choice.

The Fit Factor

The fit of the shoes is one factor that affects the degree of comfort. Since the feet are at their largest during the end of the day, it would be better to do your shoe shopping at this time. It is also essential that you do not simply fit the pair but you try walking on it as well.

To Heel or Not to Heel

Another factor that contributes to comfort is the heel. Some “vertically challenged” brides would prioritize height and opt for killer high heels just to look good even when they are not used to it. But the smart thing to do would be to choose a heel height that you are comfortable wearing since you will be doing a lot of standing, dancing and walking all throughout the day.

If you really are not a fan of high heels, flat shoes like satin ballet slippers can also be a nice pair of bridal shoes. Moreover, choose a heel height that would complement the length of the dress and not make the gown drag the ground while you are dancing or walking.

All in the Style & Color

Many brides choose bridal shoes depending on the style and color. There are various styles a bride can choose from such as pumps, sandals, strappy, stilettos, silhouettes, sling backs, ballet flats, open toes, close toes, pointed, rounded, squared and so many more. Apart from this, there are also various embellishments available, which include jewels, bow, beading, lace, color trims, and embroidery, all of which can make the pair more stunning.

As for the color, most bridal shoes come in bronze, silver, gold, white, off white, pewter metallic shades, cream, light gray and light brown. Choose style and color that would enhance the wedding gown (without drawing attention away from the bride) and would complement the overall theme and style of the affair.

Fantastic Fabric

The two most common choices for wedding shoes are silk and satin. If you are non-traditional or if the wedding is not a typical wedding gown, you may choose other kinds of fabric. However, it would be best that the fabric of the wedding gown and shoe match closely to achieve a harmonious feel.

Designer Bridal Shoes: Chic & Trendy

When it comes to bridal shoes, some of the most popular choices are Vera Wang, Kenneth Cole, Jimmy Choose, Gina Shoes, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman, Delman, and Manola Blahnik. Choose a pair of designer shoes that would best fit your style, taste, comfort degree, and budget.

Bridal shoes should be of good quality and stylish design but remember that comfort is still the most important factor. After all, she will be wearing this pair all throughout the day. She will dance on it, walk on it, and even jump while wearing it (if she is that happy). She would walk on carpeted floors, on slick ones, and probably on rough terrain (if the wedding were outdoors).  Therefore, it is a must to find a pair that is beautiful, elegant and most of all, comfortable.

Humorous Wedding Accessories that Make your Guests Laugh Out Loud

Weddings can surely bring tears to people’s eyes. It is one moving and inspiring event that makes us want to cry. When we see the bride walking down the aisle, we cannot help but reach for our handkerchief and dab the tears welling up in the corner of our eyes. When the father of the bride and the bride dance together or when the mother of the groom makes a speech, any spectator can easily be touched.

But weddings are not all about weeping. Many modern couples want to incite laughter as well. This can be achieved with the use of humorous wedding accessories that can make your guests laugh out loud. Here are some examples of this kind of wedding accessory.

Funny Fashion Apparel

1. T-shirts – Make a statement with t-shirts with printed funny texts. These shirts are ideal to use during the engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, or bachelor’s (or bachelorette’s) party. To have this kind of shirts, you can buy wedding transfer iron on sheets that are available in many online wedding apparel stores.

• “The Bride is Mine” t-shirt
• “I Survived my Stag” t-shirt
• “I Stand Up For Brides” t-shirt
• “It’s all about Me” t-shirt

2. Flipflops – The pair of black and white “Just Married” sandals is the perfect footwear for the couple getting married at the beach or those who have tropical or Hawaiian themed wedding. The nice thing about this pair of flip flops is that it leaves the words “Just Married” imprinted on the sand when you walk on it.

3. Hats – Couples can be playful with the choice of hats they use for the wedding day or any party or gathering relevant to this occasion. The Brushed Cotton Twill Crusher Hat, Wedding Party Denim Crusher Hats, Bride & Groom Cowboy Hats, and the “Bride” Angora Down Brim Hat are just few of the many funny options that the couple can use as head wear.

Comical Wedding Décor and Favors

Aside from personal accessories, decorative accessories and wedding favors that are funny in nature are also available to spur some laughter among the guests attending the wedding.

1. Table napkin – There are stylized personalized napkins available in various online wedding stores. You can have your initials printed on them or have a funny quote like “We are tying the knot (around our necks!)” or “Here comes the bridezilla, all dressed in white!” Of course, when choosing comical quips to put on the napkin, check with your partner if he or she is up to it, as you would not want to offend anyone with the text prints on the table napkin.

2. Cake toppers – In lieu of the tradition wedding cake topper, funny cake toppers are making their way to the hearts of many couples. Some of the funniest cake toppers we have seen include:

• “Princess Bride Kissing Frog Prince” cake topper
• “Cell Phone Fanatic Bride and Groom” cake topper
• “Golf Fanatic Groom Mix and Match” cake topper
• “Still Shopping Message Mix and Match” cake topper
• “Western Lasso Interchangeable” cake topper
• “Love Pinch Bridal Couple” cake topper

3. Wedding favors – Give away a memento that will not only serve as a souvenir for your wedding but also something that can elicit laughter from your guests.

• Novelty Popcorn Carton (with prints like “He popped the question” or “Topped with love”)
• “Sole mates” mini shoe polisher
• “We clicked” mouse pad
• “Love is cool” heart shaped mint candies

These humorous wedding accessories can surely turn your wedding day into a fun event that people will surely remember for a lifetime.

Source: Nina Lampe is a blogger for MyBeachFavors.com and she loves all things weddings, blogging, article writing, talking with brides and helping them prepare their wedding.

Wedding Day Jewelry For The Bride And Groom

Wedding day jewelry is now for the bride and groom. Wearing attractive wedding day jewelry makes both of you feel more attractive and looks elegant in all your photos and videos.

Your wedding rings are essential wedding day jewelry. During the wedding ceremony, both of you exchange rings when you vow to share your lives together. The exchange of rings is a dramatic, emotional moment. Beautiful wedding rings presented on a luxurious ring pillow add to this wonderful experience.

Wedding rings may include a variety of precious or semi-precious stones but diamonds and cubic zirconia are the most popular choices. Men are opting for wedding rings with diamonds more recently because they can wear them with business suits or when they go out to dinner with their new wife. Durable, handsome choices for men who work with their hands are titanium wedding bands. Other metals used to create wedding rings include gold, gold-plated, platinum and sterling silver.

Brides may choose wedding rings to match the groom or their engagement ring. Wedding rings should suit the size and style of the bride herself. Some brides want a huge, glittering diamond while others prefer a dainty ring with smaller stones. Either way, the wedding ring should be the bride’s preference because she will wear it everywhere.

Grooms may decide to wear other sparkling wedding day jewelry to offset their suit or tuxedo. An eye-catching tie clip and bold cuff links bring a touch of class to the groom’s outfit. Add a gold watch or a pocket watch for a completely dapper groom.

The bride is the center of attention so her jewelry should match her gown, shoes, hairstyle and personal style. You will feel most comfortable wearing wedding day jewelry that reflects your personal preferences. You shop carefully for your dress, shoes, purse and accessories. Jewelry is the ultimate accessory to polish off your look and create a feeling of glamor all around you.

Bridal jewelry often features pearls and diamonds to match the traditional white, ivory or cream-colored dress. Modern brides are adding color to their wedding gown and wedding day jewelry with bold accents including red ruby, blue sapphire and black onyx. Simulated stones are an excellent way to add luxury to your wedding day without breaking your budget. You may even decide to exchange wedding day jewelry as your keepsake gifts to each other.

The bride’s wedding day jewelry may also be a dowry from her family, depending on her culture and background. Families pass down certain wedding day jewelry from generation to generations including elegant necklaces, bracelets, earrings, toe rings and nose rings. A tiara is a luxurious finishing touch to the bride’s  jewelry collection. From dramatic to simple, a tiara shows off that you are a classy bride.

Wedding day jewelry is not just for the bride and groom. Your wedding party will appreciate jewelry as a gift. The groom can give his attendants cuff links, tie clips or watches. A bride can choose a variety of different jewelry pieces to thank her maid of honor and bridesmaids.

When blended families are brought together, often special ceremonies are performed within the wedding ceremony to celebrate the union. Children like to feel reassured they are part of a new family unit after the wedding. A family pin represents a new branch to the family tree that will grow in love.

The wedding officiate formally addresses the children as his presents them with this special jewelry. The leaves of the family pin represent the father, mother and children. All the people are necessary for the family tree to grow and flourish, making it a sign of love and hope for everyone.

The perfect wedding day jewelry makes the occasion magnificently memorable.

For The Smaller Items On Your Wedding Day

Satin clutches are the perfect choice for you and your wedding attendants to carry down the aisle or to the wedding reception. They are usually available in a wide range of colors to match all of your bridesmaids’ dresses and will look elegant rather than distracting.

Choose sating clutches with snap openings to make them easier to access. This is particularly useful if you are planning to wear gloves because a zipper pull may be difficult to hold onto or tear at your gloves.

Simple evening bags are another great choice for your bridal purses. These elegant bags of simple design will keep all your little items close at hand, such as lipstick, compact, brush, glasses, or even your cell phone. These are particularly nice for the mother of the bride to carry because of their sophisticated look and feel.

Small handled bags are also appropriate for you and your wedding party because they are easy to carry. Stick with smaller sized bags that are made of fabric and not of distracting colors. You might even want to choose some vintage style handbags that will add to the romantic feel of the day or night.

Drawstring bags make great bridal purses because they are small, hold many small items securely inside, and can even be attached to your dress with the looped drawstrings if you choose. These also double as money collection bags during the bride’s dance where male guests place money in the bag in exchange for a spin on the dance floor.

All of these bridal purses are ideal for your wedding no matter what style of wedding you are going to have. They also make the perfect bridesmaid and mother-in-law gifts because they will not only come in handy on the wedding day, they will also be a useful item for a fun evening out or other formal affairs.

Flip Flops and Sandals for the “Just Married”

Start with matching basic apparel such as khaki shorts or pants, jean jackets, boat shoes and strapped sandals. Complete your gender-neutral outfits with crew socks and aviator sunglasses for complete comfort.

Your honeymoon apparel will compliment the destination. Some couples prefer a beach honeymoon where they can kick back in the Caribbean or Hawaii. Other couples want a winter wedding so they can snuggle up at a ski lodge afterwards. Country couples may enjoy a ranch honeymoon so they can go horseback riding and listen to their favorite music.

For beach honeymoons, wear matching flip-flops so you leave footprints reading “Just Married” in the sand. Cover your skin and eyes from the sun with brushed cotton twill crusher hats that show off you are a “Bride” and “Groom”.

You can indulge yourself and show off your fine sense of style to the groom with a matching sarong, beach hat and bag for the beach. During a winter honeymoon, keep your head warm on the slopes with an angora hat that states you’re a bride. Bring thick bathrobes monogrammed “Mr.” and “Mrs.” to wear after your bath or a dip in the heated indoor pool. A ranch honeymoon isn’t the same without matching “Bride” and “Groom” cowboy hats to wear horseback riding and square dancing.

At the bridal shower, you can create your own personalized honeymoon apparel with a t-shirt and permanent, felt-tip marker. Create a t-shirt with a fun iron-on that reads “Bride” or “It’s All About Me” and have the bridal shower guests sign them. After the shower, you can read all the comments and wear the shirt during your honeymoon.

Regardless of where you honeymoon, you can wear t-shirts or denim hats to announce you are the bride and groom. Plush towels reading “Mr.” and “Mrs.” show off your newlywed status at the pool, beach, Jacuzzi and sauna.

Choose comfortable honeymoon apparel that shows off you’re married to everyone so you feel even more romantic during this once-in-a-lifetime getaway.

Bridal veils … the finishing touch to a bridal ensemble

Bridal veils can be worn on top of the head towards your face or either behind the head over a bun or under a bun. A veil can be adorned with Swarovski crystals, pearls, beading or lace.

The veils come in different shades like white, diamond white or ivory, sparkle white, sparkle ivory, sparkle diamond white, glimmer, silver, pink, beige and gold. A white veil goes well with the traditional wedding gown. Diamond white which is also called Silk White or Candlelight veils goes well with natural silk gowns. Ivory also called cream would go beautifully with an ivory bridal gown.

The edging or trimming could have a simple raw edge or sleek piping for a contemporary look. It can also boast of elegant beading, classic satin edging, romantic ribbon accents or lace details. So, it should accentuate and be proportional to the dress and not take away from its details.

Veils take on a shape of their own from oval to square with different types and length of veils. The ideal veil should be cut just above or below any focal point on your dress. A standard cut is where the corners are cut off, so the edges of a standard cut start up by your face.

An Angel cut is so that the sides start higher on the side of the veil, “cascading” down. A circular cut is just a big circle. It will become a 2 tier veil when it is folded in half. It is gathered at the fold and sewn to a comb. Drop cut, is just like a circular cut, but without any gather and is attached to the hair with a hat pin or a small comb. An Oval cut is usually a one tier veil with the comb sewn at one end of the veil with or without gather and this is the shape of a mantilla veil. A Bubble cut is where the tip of the veil (behind the comb “is puffier”) which makes the bottom of the veil comes in towards the body a little more.

A blusher comes in lengths that land below the lips. They are often square, while short or elbow length veils are typically oval. It is usually combined with other lengths of veil and can be used for formal and semi-formal weddings. It shouldn’t be longer than 34 inches for they will get entangled with your flowers and will be difficult to lift it during the wedding ceremony.

A birdcage veil lands below the eyes in a tighter look, perfect for the bride who desires to keep the veil on all night. The Bandeau style is a very elegant French tulle veil. Made of French netting, sit close to the face, it will attach at the sides of the head with two different pressure clips or combs. You can play around with this little veil by having the rose on either ear, set at an angle.

Elbow length usually ranges from 25″ to 36″, with 25″being the most common length, will compliment shorter gowns which will be perfect to show off any detailing at the waist of the gown. It compliments best a dress with a full skirt with the veil falling just below a low back but above the start of the skirt. Fingertip length, as the name implies, falls right at the fingertips of the bride and can be worn for formal and semi-formal weddings. This type typically ranges from 36″ to 50″, depending on your height, build, etc. the length will vary. It is normally worn with any gown longer than knee length.

If you want to show off lavish details on the back of your wedding gown then this is the right length. Knee length is usually 45″ long. Waltz length is usually 54″ to 60″ and is also sometimes called a Ballerina or Walking veil, where the bottom should land somewhere between your calves and just above the ankles. The Chapel length ranges from 60″ to 90″ where it must just touches the floor. Cathedral length are exclusively worn for cathedral length gowns and it’s very much back in style.

It is for formal weddings where the veil is dramatic, as it will extend right onto the floor trailing after the bride with at least a few inches past the train. Common lengths are 108″ or 120″ long. The Regal lengths are the longest of all veils. It can be as long as 144″ or longer. When choosing a veil, make sure that the veil ends right at the waistline if you have a sharply defined waistline. Attaching a Velcro or snaps to the tiara makes it easy to remove the veil during reception. Lastly, to put the finishing touch of a bridal veil would be a tiara or any suitable headpiece.

There Is A Perfect Tiara For Every Bride

Are bridal tiaras important to the bride’s overall polished and put together look on her wedding day? Let’s look at it this way… when a woman buys a new suit or dress for work or pleasure, that outfit is not an ensemble without the perfect pair of shoes and a matching handbag – that is just the unwritten law of wardrobe accessorizing.

Bridal attire is certainly no different. You may have found the perfect dream wedding dress but it cannot be complete without a crowning glory to set off your perfect up-do hairstyle on your wedding day.

Bridal tiaras are most certainly a personal choice and selecting a tiara style will be unique to each bride. Some are halo style and sit close to the head, some are crown style and sit high up off the head and others are headband style and sit delicately across the forehead and adorn the face as well as the hair.

A tiara is generally not chosen until after the wedding gown, veil and jewelry are purchased so that the headpiece complements the bride’s dress and jewels, rather than competes with them. Once a dress is purchased, the bride will know whether she wants a tiara with rhinestones, pearls or colored beads.

The bride can also determine whether she wants a headpiece that is plain and possibly a single row of stones, or a fancier tiara that has polished floral embellishments such as French petals or glittering daisy flowers. Any details on the tiara such as pearls and crystals should match any decoration on the veil and both should co-ordinate with your dress.

If you are wearing a veil on your wedding day, and you still want to wear a tiara, it is best to pin the veil at the back of the head behind the tiara. If you are wearing your hair long, a crown style tiara is the best choice as it shows off the headpiece and showcases long, beautiful hair.

If you have chosen to wear your hair in a stylish up-do on your wedding day, a halo style tiara will look amazing, as will a low profile crown style tiara that complements your hairstyle but doesn’t overpower it. For brides that wear the front of the hair back and leave the back long and loose, many bridal tiaras will be appropriate and you are free to choose the tiara that you love best of all. Just remember that whatever tiara you choose, make sure that the details match your veil and coordinate with your wedding gown.

Depending on your preference, many accessories are available in gold or silver wire. Therefore, whether you wear white or yellow gold jewelry, you can purchase a tiara that matches your other jewels. In most cases, a wedding tiara is secured to your head with small plastic or metal hair combs. It is often recommended that you take your crown with you to your hairdresser’s on your wedding day and have it professionally fitted when your hair is being coiffed and styled to nuptial perfection. This will also ensure that the tiara is installed securely, which reduces the chances of it coming loose or falling off during the wedding ceremony or reception.

One of the most beneficial aspects of choosing a bridal tiara instead of baby’s breath, ribbons or lace for your hair embellishment is that it is a true heirloom keepsake that can be cherished for many years and then passed down to children or grandchildren in the future. They are an affordable way to add the perfect finishing touch to your wedding ensemble. No matter the elaborate fashion of your bridal gown, your personal style, or the length of your hair, there is a perfect one for every blushing bride.