Getting your wedding shoes is one of the most exciting parts of wedding prep, let’s be honest. Whether you’re opting for a cool bridal jumpsuit or a classic lace wedding dress, your footwear will complete your look. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up 17 wedding shoe tips to make sure you pick the right pair!
17 Life-Changing Wedding Shoe Tips
Invest in a Decent Pair of Wedding Shoes
One of the most important wedding shoe tips is to make sure you’re investing in the best quality pair you can afford. There are lots of bridal shoe brands that specialise in making keepsake wedding shoes that can be worn all day long – brands like Charlotte Mills, Emmy London, Freya Rose, Rachel Simpson and more are all worth checking out.
If you’re on a stricter budget, Rainbow Club and Paradox London create wedding shoes with a lower price range.
Stick to the Height You’re Comfortable With
If you don’t ever wear towering heels, now is not the time to try. Wedding shoes come in a range of different heights so you’ll easily find a pair you’re comfortable with. Make sure you opt for a pair that are easy and comfortable to walk in – your wedding day involves a lot of walking around!
Read more: The most regal bridal tiaras
Break Them In
It’s tempting to want to save them for best, but we wouldn’t be delivering honest wedding shoe tips if we didn’t stress the importance of breaking in your wedding shoes. Wear them as much as you can before your wedding, around the house in your pyjamas if you have to!
Get a Back-Up Pair
You might love your wedding shoes more than anything else in the world – but it still pays to have a back up pair. Treat yourself to some bridal-style trainers or comfy flats to stash away at your reception. As the dancing takes off, you’ll need them.
Think About the Time of Year
Got your heart set on a delicate pair of strappy heels, but have a December wedding date? Be practical! Think about what kind of weather you’re likely to encounter on your wedding day to make sure you pick the right style of shoe.
Read more: Which wedding dress suits your star sign?
Plan Your Photo Opportunities
If you’ve invested in your dream bridal shoes, one of our key wedding shoe tips is to make sure you let your photographer know that you want them included in your photos. That way you’ll get some fabulous images of you in your fabulous shoes!
Try Them on With Your Dress
Make sure you try your shoes on with your wedding dress – take them to your fittings with you so you can see how the dress will fall and if any fabric needs taking up. If you don’t know what shoes you’re going to wear when you go dress shopping, take a pair of a similar heel height to what you want to buy.
Invest in Accessories
It’s important to buy the right accessories to make your wedding shoes as comfortable as possible. Heel grips, gel cushions, insoles etc. will all help shoes fit properly, stay on your feet and not hurt. They’re worth it.
Read more: Stunning silver bridesmaid shoes
Buy a Size Up
If you’re stuck in half-size shoe limbo, always go for a size up. Your feet will swell throughout the day and you can add removeable insoles for a more comfortable fit, whereas if you go for a smaller size it’s only going to hurt more as the day goes on…
The Socks and Hairdryer Trick
If you’ve already got your dream wedding shoes and they’re a bit snug, this easy hack will help them fit better. Put on the thickest socks you own, and put on your shoes, before heating your feet with a hairdryer. This will help your shoes to expand slightly to give your feet a bit more room!
Choose Your Wedding Dress First
You may have had your heart set on those blue Manolos ever since you saw Carrie and Big finally say ‘I do’ in the Sex & the City movie, however, don’t commit to buying your wedding shoes until you’ve found your dress.
So many brides go for a dress that they never expected to fall for – which means your fantasy shoes just might not match!
Read more: The complete A-Z of wedding dress designers
Don’t Just Go for White
Don’t be tricked into thinking you only have to have white wedding shoes. You can go for any colour! And if you do opt for the traditional white wedding shoe, brands like Rainbow Club offer a service where they’ll dye your shoes for you – so they can be more wearable after the big day or will exactly match your bridesmaid dresses.
Think About the Venue
Consider your wedding venue when you’re picking your wedding shoes – some historic wedding venues don’t allow for stiletto heels to be worn, for example. Make sure your shoes are compatible with your wedding setting.
Customise Your Wedding Shoes
Why not? Make your wedding shoes as cool as possible by customising them, whether that’s dyeing them a specific colour, ordering personalised painted shoes or buying stickers to put on the soles of your shoes.
Read more: The best wedding hair accessories
Have a Pedicure
You are probably going to kick your wedding shoes off at some point during the evening, so make sure you treat your feet to a pedicure so they look their best for any barefoot dancing.
Use Body Tape
If your feet slip in your shoes, here’s a genius wedding shoe hack straight from the runway! Place body tape in a cross shape inside your shoe, so the shortest bit runs across where the ball of your foot would be, and the longest bit runs along the length of your foot. Then, when you put your foot in, the shoe will stay in place!
Tape Your Toes Together
Another magic hack is to tape together your third and fourth toes (with body safe tape!). It looks weird for sure, but helps to relieve pressure on the ball of your foot which allows you to party for longer!
Ready to shoe shop now you’ve read all of our wedding shoe tips? Make sure you check our edit of the best blue wedding shoes to inspire you!
