Burgher Bride: Elephant Shoes, Shoes

I've been putting off a lot of my accessory decisions (jewelry, bouquet, etc.) until I could find The Shoes. I feel like they will set the tone a bit beyond what the dress may already be saying...

So, how in the world do I pick just one pair when all the wedding blog world is covered in beautiful shoe inspiration? Seriously, before getting engaged, I didn't realize that so many pictures would be taken of my shoes.

First, I noticed an abundance of fun, high-end designer, colorful shoes like the following (all of which I love!):

Randall by Badgley Mischka via zappos

Wainscott Heels via anthropologie

Isabel by Jimmy Choo via Nordstrom

I could go on and on... and on. But, after months of searching for the shoes I saw in wedding blogs and checking out every shoe website I could think of, I realized something - while so many of the shoes I saw were lovely, I couldn't wear them to my wedding.

Why not?

Well, for one thing, I don't usually wear heels. I can wear them, walk in them, survive a whole day in them if necessary. But, I tend to think of them as uncomfortable and mostly suited for short time periods, like a nice dinner and the theater. A full day of walking, standing and dancing in 3" heels? Probably not going to work out well for me or my ankles.

But, even if I abandoned everything over 1.5 or 2 inches, I still had a major issue: our wedding, pictures and reception are all outside. No matter the height, even the tiniest of kitten heels are probably going to sink instantly into the grass and soil. Not only would this make it more difficult to look graceful walking, it would also probably ruin my precious new shoes.

So, no heels? Ok, what about wedges, espadrilles, or chunky heels? No problem

Ericka by Nina via zappos

Silk by Bella-Vita via zappos

Mixed Media Heels via anthropologie

Wedges just don't appeal to me the same way as some of the other options and espadrilles don't seem quite dressy enough for what I'm envisioning (even though I really love those Bella-Vita ones). And, even with chunky heels, my feet are probably still going to be screaming by the end of the night (or, even by the end of the ceremony if I pick the wrong ones).

Then, I went really out of the box... I searched etsy for ballet flats and found these:

Satin Slippers by uku2 via etsy

I LOVE THEM! Unfortunately, I know from past conversations that the FI absolutely hates ballet flats. So, although these are fun and colorful (and, most likely very comfortable), I probably won't go this route. Shame because they can be customized into almost any fabric I could find.

What in the world am I left with? Well (drum roll please)... sandals! They can be can be colorful, sparkly, simple, elegant and definitely comfortable. So, I set upon zappos to find some pretty sandals. These are my current faves: