Weddingbee Blog

Your instructor is only trying to protect his dance floor (that’s why he won’t allow outside shoes.) Ballroom shoes have a soft leather sole, so they won’t rip up the floor.

They are *not at all* necessary for your wedding, however. Wear the same shoes for the dance as for everything else. Sadly, if he really won’t let you wear any other shoes, you won’t be able to practice in heels at the dance studio.

Thing is - I would recommend (if you’ve never really danced in heels before) to get low heels for your wedding. The bride breaking an ankle during her first dance is a wedding nightmare no one wants. Or at least find a way to practice in heels - they are *not* the same to dance in as socks.

Or hey - you and your man could change into socks for the dance! Would make a funny story

Lots of people i know bought dance shoes and wore them as their wedding shoes! they are so comfortable and you can find really pretty ones!

I agree with “notsojenny”

Also I think that spending a fortune for a pair of shoes you’ll only be using for a 5-minute dance is a waste. I suggest practice with your wedding shoes, you will also be more comfortable with your shoes if you use it a few times before the wedding.

I actually purchased dance shoes as my wedding shoes, but it made sense as my husband and I dance tango regularly, so they’re already getting tons of use after the wedding.

If you plan on continuing with social dance and think it may be something you’ll get into, try some dance shoes. If not, don’t worry about it, but DO practice in heels. See if the studio has a connection for low cost or even used shoes.

I’m actually thinking of purchasing ballroom shoes for my wedding shoes. I’m in theatre and, trust me, there are affordable and cute ballroom shoes out there. I don’t think it necessary for you to switch shoes just for one dance, but if you did get special dance shoes, you might enjoy them more for the whole evening.

We used the wedding as an excuse to buy dancing shoes! Although our teacher allows street shoes, we got tired of trying to do turns in Chucks–that kind of traction didn’t help at all. But leather-soled dress shoes of any kind, even tux-shop rentals, will be fine.

While our dance instructor told us that dancing in regular heels would be fine, she encouraged us to get dance shoes. She convinced us when she said that since dance shoes have suede bottoms, they won’t make “clack clack” sounds on the dance floor, which we thought was important because we didn’t want our guests to be distracted by clack-clacking during our first dance and instead wanted them to focus on the beautiful song and how graceful our dancing was (ha ha yah right). The softness of the suede bottoms also made it a bit easier to slide, turn, and spin on the dance floor; while the texture of the suede prevented slipping. (Nothing would have ruined my wedding high more than slipping and falling mid-song with about a gazillion eyes watching.) Heeled dance shoes for woman also usually have a strap that wraps around the ankle so that you don’t accidentally slip out of your shoes. Another thing about dance shoes is that the ankle strap easily and quickly slips into a clasp so that you don’t have to mess with a buckle. (Well, this isn’t entirely true…there is a buckle so that you can adjust the length of the strap to fit properly around your ankle, but once it’s adjusted you won’t have to worry about it again.) AND (can you tell I’m all for buying dance shoes?), like a previous poster already noted, they are indeed comfier to dance in. In other words, dance shoes really are made for dancing and I highly recommend them.

If your entire wedding is mostly indoors, there is no reason why you couldn’t have your dance shoes and your wedding shoes be one in the same. There are some super cute and reasonably priced options out there. (I purchased my pair for well under a Benjamin. Hubby’s were slightly more expensive, but nothing even remotely close to the cost of Manolos.) If your wedding is outdoors on a lawn, like mine was, you could still wear your dance shoes the entire time, but they would get a little dirty and you would need to use a special brush (about $10) to clean the bottoms before getting on the dance floor.

I opted for separate wedding shoes and dance shoes, and while changing them was a little inconvenient, I found it to be worth the trouble and it really did not take very long. I changed just before our entrance into our reception and once I got into the dance shoes, I didn’t bother switching back.

To help you decide, consider going to a ballroom dance shoe store and try on a pair so that you can see what I’m talking about.

If you decide to get dance shoes, just be sure to allow enough time in case you need to special order them in white or ivory. Since your wedding is in May, you have plenty of time. The shoe store I visited did not have many white/ivory versions in stock and with a mere 2 weeks away from my wedding there was not enough time to do a special order. Luckily, the stars were aligned, and I found a pair that were cute and in my size! Also consider getting a silver or gold pair that might be easier to wear again.

If you opt out of special dance shoes, just be sure to get plenty of practice while wearing them. Also, I agree with a previous poster that you should definitely practice a few times wearing a long and poofy skirt. This is mostly for your partner’s benefit, as he will need to learn how to maneuver around it. Your dance studio may be able to lend you one.

Now, after having said ALL THAT, since you are already learning to dance in socks, I actually think it might be kind of fun and cute for you to just dance in socks. Of course, this would depend entirely on what kind of dance you were planning on doing (Jive, swing, sure why not! Waltz, not so much.), not to mention how well you can move in a long dress that might be dragging on the floor a little bit without the extra height of heels. Show off your playful side by wearing some super cute or funky socks. Although, I might consider getting a pair with “grippy stuff” on the bottoms to address the possibility of slippage.