Heel to Toe

It was out with the glamorous heels and in with the cowboy boots, as I divulged in my last post. I already owned a pair of cowboy boots, which made my wedding day shoe decision rather effortless. I am by no means a girl who wears cowboy boots for the functionality of them, I fully admit to wearing them purely as an accessory. I am, however, a big time country music lover, and there was a time in my life where I could be found every Friday night at the Country bar two-stepping my heart out. At that time my mom gifted me with a pair of nice, for-real cowboy boots. If you have ever owned a pair of cowboy boots, you will know that right off the rack, they aren't the most comfortable shoe known to woman. A pair of cowboy boots is best after being used, you know like roping cattle and feeding the horses. Since I don't do that real stuff, and my two-stepping has slowed down since I met Mr. H, I haven't fully broken in my boots. I have worn them a hand full of times, but they still look brand-spankin' new:

When I went for my dress fitting last Friday, I took my boots with me knowing that I would be wearing them for the ceremony...and if I turned into a two-shoe bride, I would find something with a heel size similar to my boots, for the reception. It was great fun to put on Penelope (that is her new name, thanks to Cinny, who's altering my dress), all pinned up where she will be fitting me properly and add my boots to the ensemble. Here's a peek of my boots-n-dress, before I talk about my fitting process in another post:

After the fitting and then stocking up on goods to start wedding projects, I headed to Ross to kill some time while Mr. Honey headed from Durango (remember, crafting and altering is taking place across the state line in New Mexico), we had a hot date at Olive Garden. I browsed the clothes and the home goods and then the shoes; and unexpectedly came across and instantly purchased these:

I know, even after, I just confessed that my cheap shoe buying habits were changing- oops. They are still boots, but not quite as 'western' as my original boot. These feel more fun and lighthearted, and they are tad more comfortable. The heel is just about the exact same height, score! The next thing I compared is the toe:

The left is Original, the right is New

Yes, the toe. With my original boots, the toe is a bit longer than I'm used to. I have tripped a time or two while scootin' around in these. To do a fair comparison, I will be wearing my new (albeit not authentic) boots out the next time I go dancing. I don't know how I will decide...right now I'm leaning towards the new ones, mainly because they feel like more of my kind of style. But, goodness, I love the realness of my originals. Oh, the decisions of being a bride. 

Were you set on a wedding shoe and then surprised when you found something new and/or different?

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

I used to have a spending problem; a spending-money-on-shoes-I-never-wear problem. I used to wear heels nearly every day and I loved buying heels. But I was a cheap shoe buyer. Like Ross and Target, cheap. I always wanted to drop a couple Benjamin's on a pair of shoes, but I just never could whip out the credit card for a pair. As a result, my closet was filled with cheap heels. A couple years back BM Hogan had a shoe intervention of sorts; she made me realize that the majority of my shoes had never.been.worn. Since then, I have slowly gotten rid of shoes and I'm down to a shoe rack with twelve pairs; okay this doesn't include my flip flops, tennis shoes and boots, but I did reduce my collection to about a quarter of it's original glory. My shoe habits have since changed pretty drastically.

Four out of the five days at work, I wear my stand by super small wedge and if it's not that wedge, it's a pair of kitten heels...and on the weekend? I'm either in flip flops or Ugg's, depending on the season. Now, when I wear a normal heel, it kills my feet. Like aching in five minutes, get these damn things off me now! It makes me beyond sad that the muscles that used to allow me to rock heels everyday, are gone. Why am I telling you all of this? Obviously it relates to my wedding day shoes and the fact that I will not be wearing these, or anything remotely similar:

Image via Weddingism

Le Sigh. They are so stunning and so wedding-y, but too much heel for me..oh, yes, and we are getting married in January in Colorado. Snow and heels isn't the most ideal combination. I had to begin thinking about other options that would work for our winter wedding. Ugg's were the first obvious choice, I loved seeing Mrs. Champagne sport the Ugg's for her snowy photo shoot. I even told my bridesmaid's early on in planning that I wanted us to all wear Ugg's, but this was all premature. (Although seeing Miss Sunhat's post on sparkly Ugg's made me want them again...what's with my indecisiveness?!) Sometime after we settled on our rustic venue, mismatched dresses and a final color palette, I came across this picture:

Image via Style Me Pretty/Photo by Watson Studios



I know, I know...I have already referenced this picture, but it is like this picture was meant for my inspiration file; it's perfect for the look I'm going after. That's right, the Honey 'maids and I will be showcasing cowboy boots for our wedding! They strike the perfect balance of warm and stylish. They fit so perfectly with our venue and majority of the girls already own a pair of cowboy boots. For the couple that don't, I'm searching high and low for just the right pair for them. As for me, I will share my story about boots next.

In case you need convincing that girls in dresses and cowboy boots is just pure awesome sauce, here you go:

Image via Once Wed/Photo by Steven Myers Photography

Image via Style Me Pretty/Photo by Jose Villa Photo 

The Sand Dollar Wedding!

Image via Weddingbee/Photo by Scott V

Did your wedding season have an influence on your wedding shoes? Who else had/has a cheap shoe obsession? Let's talk shoes (and boots), hive!