The shoes for your bridesmaids should complement the color and style of the bridesmaid dress design. Keep in mind that shoes for the bridesmaids' gowns need to be appropriate for either formal or informal wedding attire.
Matching Bridesmaid Shoes
Matching bridesmaid shoes fitting everyone's style may be hard to find. However, if you are a shoe diva or if your ladies are wearing tea-length dresses, getting the perfect shoe may be a high priority. Before you pick out the hottest Jimmy Choo's, you should keep a few things in mind when asking your bridal party to wear shoes of your choice:
- Does any person have medical issues (such as bunions or hammer toes) that could make wearing certain shoes uncomfortable?
- How much can my party afford to pay for shoes?
- Can everyone try on the shoes before ordering them?
- Is there anyone with a hard-to-find size, such as a 5 or 11?
- Will these shoes be wearable after the wedding?
The bridal party expects to pay for their own attire. However, if you are requesting hot-pink matching dyed heels with rhinestones, you may want to consider buying the shoes as a gift to the bridesmaids.
If you choose high heels, check that the height is not so high everyone cannot walk comfortably and stand for the ceremony and through photographs.
Because finding a shoe that fits everyone's feet and feels comfortable can be a challenge if you have more than two or three people in your party, you may want to pick out several options from the same store and have the shoes dyed to match. For example, tell people the shoes must be dyed pistachio, and be open toed with a strap. Let the girls know where to order their shoes, so that the dye color is the same. One company's pistachio may be another's seafoam green.
Shoe Guidelines
Most brides do not request matching bridesmaid shoes. Instead, they give out guidelines for buying shoes so that the color and style is similar. Guidelines to give your maids include:
- Closed or open toed shoes
- Color (black, white, navy, silver, gold, cream)
- Heel height (no request at all, no stilettos, etc)
- Embellishments (rhinestones okay, extra straps okay, etc)
To make sure your party follows the guidelines, you can offer to go shoe shopping with them. Or, you can ask they email or show you a picture of the shoes they would like to buy.
Most bridesmaids prefer this option versus matching shoes, because they can pick out shoes they might wear again in a price range they can afford. Additionally, they can pick out shoes that are comfortable and fit their feet well.
Shoe Shopping
Where to buy bridesmaid shoes varies. If you would like them to have matching or semi-matching shoes, you should ask about shoes at the bridal dress shop. Purchasing your dresses there may garner you a discount on shoes.
David's Bridal has a wide selection of shoes that can be dyed to match. Payless Shoes also offers bridal shoes in a variety of sizes and can be sent in to be dyed as well. Online retailers often have specials on high-end shoes for the bridal party.
If you do not want matching shoes, you can let your party choose where to purchase their shoes. Regular shoe stores like Famous Footwear, DSW Shoes, department stores, and online shops offer women's dress shoes in all kinds of fabrics, heels, and colors.
To stay comfortable during the photos and ceremony, you may want to find inserts for shoes. Get your maids flip-flops or slippers to wear during dancing, because even the most comfortable heels will hurt several hours into the reception.
