Mrs. Bell Pepper, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: 28, Resident Physician
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Resident Physician
Engagement Date: May 30, 2006
Wedding Date: June 2007
Venue: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
About Me: I love whimsical details and design, everything that *sparkles*, sipping on hazelnut lattes, pugs, shopping for antiques and second-hand goods, scenic photography, delicate flowers, and checking out new restaurants in the city with my fianc??. We are planning our wedding at a unique city venue for about 75 close family members and friends. I have a lot of DIY ideas and I like to blog about ways to save money on your wedding.
Two Pairs of Shoes Bride
May 4th, 2007 @ 1:58 pm by Mrs. Bell Pepper
I was pretty set on my pair of wedding shoes… until a few days ago.
My first pair of wedding shoes are gorgeous and really comfortable. I absolutely love these shoes and even spent of lot of time crafting them - I decorated the shoes with clear rhinestones, applying them individually with a hotfix gun. The end result was a success, the shoes look really pretty and sparkly:
My Filippa Scotts before adding rhinestones:
My Filippa Scotts after adding hotfix rhinestones:
I had my first fitting last week and while I was walking around with my dress, I didn’t feel confident with the shoes. I don’t know what the problem was, perhaps they felt unstable or maybe the slings felt like they were slipping off my ankles. Whatever the problem could be, I knew I needed to find a 2nd pair in case these shoes fail on me.
Today I was searching online for a shoe without a sling back style, something like a d’Orsay style. Blue Tux Shoes sells a cute pair of d’Orsay style shoes. They look great online but in real life, Blue Tux shoes have poor cushion support and not enough arch for me to feel comfortable. So I kept shoe hunting…
I remembered there was a fabulous shoe store that specializes in bridal shoes and accessories in the Chicagoland area. I called the store and explained my situation - that I needed a pair of shoes with about a 2.5 inch heel without a slingback style. The shoe I found online was perfect, but the heel was too high for my dress. Luckily I spoke to James Ciccotti, who was able to adjust the shoe to my desirable heel height. Here are the second pair of shoes:
I have to admit the shoes are really expensive. I’m usually a bargain freak when it comes to shoes and this pair is waay out of my price range. But I also think it’s healthy to sometimes splurge a little. I saved a great deal of money with all my DIY projects and finding the right vendors for our wedding. So go ahead, splurge a little! It’ll help keep your sanity during the whole wedding planning process. 
What’s your biggest splurge? It could be anything from your wedding gown, jewelry, accessories, or even a vendor for your wedding.
17 Responses to “Two Pairs of Shoes Bride”
I wore a pair of shoes with an ankle strap and was worried about them slipping. I put a strip of double-sided tape on them day-of, and they worked like a charm!
oooh those second shoes are so pretty.
LOVE both pairs!! i love what you did with the first pair, but the second pair are (is??) gorgeous!!! what’s a hotfix gun? and your pepper changed color!!
My biggest splurge is probably hair and makeup. I didn’t expect to pay so much for it.
Your pepper has ripened! Love the golden yellow color!
The ceremony music happened to be a high priority for me (and others–actual conversation: “I was calling to see if you’d be willing to be my bridesmaid. “*squee!* What’s the music going to be?”), so I was willing to throw money at it to get what I wanted. Once I found a group willing to do it and got their price quote (and regained consciousness), I checked with my fiance to see if he thought it was too much. That conversation went “Is it that important to you?” “Yes.” “Go ahead.” So now the half hour of pre-service music plus a postlude is costing more than six hours of DJ’d reception music. But it’s going to be exactly what I want, and barring unforeseen wackiness, it will probably be what people talk about afterward. I certainly hope it is, at this price!
i love the James Ciccotti shoes. very classy.
i think my biggest wedding splurge is going to be my attire, including gown, shoes, jewelry, makeup and hair. that stuff’s expensive!!
those new ones are gorgeous!
Don’t have a splurge, but just wanted to let you know, Foot Petals makes non-slip strips for slingbacks, you can buy them on Zappos or on ebay for like $7 for a set of 3, they really work and the strap won’t slip off your heel.
How resourceful!
For someone who can’t splurge or can’t find exactly what she wants — Could DIY by fastening (hot-glue, velcro, stitch?) parts from costume jewelry (brooches/earrings) or feathers or ribbons onto plain shoes.
Splurged on dress because it showed a lot more than the shoes, ha ha.
i noticed my bell pepper ripened to a sweeter color today, yum! i might consider getting double sided tape to secure the sling backs. i still want to give the shoes a 2nd chance.
in case anyone wants to apply the hotstix rhinestones, you can buy one of the hotstix guns at any craft store. ac moores or michael’s usually has at least one in stock. basically with this tool you apply the rhinestone to the tip and there’s a tiny amount of glue that melts after about 20 seconds. apply it whatever material you desire and it should stay on pretty firmly. buy a few extra rhinestones in case a few fall off.
ha. my shoes were definitely my one big splurge. wanted them before I saw the price, and hadn’t really done much in person shoe shopping, just looked online, but I was out of the country so it wasn’t as if I could just come back later if I didn’t come up with anything else!
My dress was a total splurge, and, frankly, an impulse buy. I called my mother after I bought it (I’m in DC, she’s in Iowa) and fibbed about the price because I knew she’d flip!
the james cicotti shoes are totally fabulous! and i think you’re the only character that can change colors.. maybe you’ll want to be yellow or red or green after you marry. 
My splurge is my wedding in general. I don’t spend money period! More specifically, my dress, photog, videographer, and a couple of little surprises that I am still working on for FI
Don’t feel bad! I purchased at least 5 pairs of shoes (though all but one got returned) before I finally found the Peter Fox shoes that I will be wearing.
And while shopping for wedding shoes, I somehow managed to buy a lot of other, non-wedding, shoes. No one tells you about these hidden costs!
