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Like many of you, I have been spending countless hours searching for the perfect wedding shoe.
I am a shoe girl. I have countless amounts of shoes in my closet, many of which I have only worn once. I have also been known to buy a pair of shoes that cost more than the rest of my outfit put together. So, being that shoes are my first love (sorry Mr. P), and I can easily hush my guilty conscience if said shoes cost slightly more than anticipated, and I should have no problem finding the perfect pair, right?
WRONG!
Being a 5′9″ bride whose bridesmaids (luckily) are approximately the same height, which just happens to be (unluckily) around 5′4″, I have been banned by Mama Pudding from buying anything with a heel higher that 3 inches.
Sadly, these are out:
“Not to worry, Miss Pudding” - you might say - “there are tons of great bridal flats out there!”
Unfortunately, flats are not in the cards for me on my wedding day. I can rock a ballet flat with a pair of skinny jeans like nobody’s business, but I find that they do little for my slouching problem. In my experience, a little heel goes a long way to making a girl walk a little straighter.
The problem is that I cannot seem to find a beautiful shoe with a low enough heel. Many people have advised me not to worry about it. They suggest that I just purchase a comfortable and functional shoe, since most people don’t even see the bride’s shoes.
Not so at a Polish wedding. There is a Polish custom that allows for all of the bachelors at a wedding to hunt down the bride and steal one of her shoes. Said bachelor than barters with the groom to give up the shoe in exchange for - you guessed it - wodka!
Brother Pudding showing off his booty after successfully negotiating the terms of release with the groom - yes, Brother Pudding is a ham.
So, you see, my shoes will have their moment to shine at our reception, and they need to be gorgeous!
Sigh… have any of you found beautiful shoes with a heel under 3 inches?
I love that vodka tradition! Makes for some fun “bride-hunting,” I’m sure.
I haven’t really been looking for <3″ heels, since I’m short, but I will definitely keep an eye out for you!
I’ve had lots of success with Zappos - I needed a shoe with a heel between 1.5 and 2 inches (any shorter and I would need to have the dress hemmed, any taller and I would need to purchase extra length - yay for 5′11″). And you can search by heel height, color, style, etc. I killed a lot of time during conference calls that way 
I totally feel you on this! I’m 6.0′ and have wide feet, so finding adorable shoes in my size has been (and continues to be) quite a chore. One option would be to find a pair of shoes that you love, and take a detailed picture into a shoe repair shop and ask the cobbler if he or she can lower the heel.
endless.com has tons and they have free overnight shipping (and free returns)! Plus you can seach by heel height!
Liz Rene Couture Women’s Melissa Sandal
Nina Women’s Culver Kitten Heel Peep-Toe
Caparros Women’s Ethel Pump
I found some great Cole Haans - the Ceci Air Rose Sandal! The heel is pretty low and they’re gorgeous!!!
What a fun tradition! I’m a shoe-aholic too! Here are a fre of my favorites: Kate Spade Evie: http://www.zappos.com/kate-spade-evie-ivory-satin, Stuart Weitzman Formal: http://www.zappos.com/stuart-weitzman-formal-ivory-satin and Caparros Amari: http://www.zappos.com/caparros-amari-ivory-silk. They’re all 2 1/4 - 2 1/2. Good luck to you!
I think these are pretty fabulous: http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/shoes/heelsandplatforms/PRDOVR~17491/99101799235/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~20+17+4294966994~15~~~~~~~/17491.jsp
hopefully they still have them in your size as they are on sale!
I had the reverse issues! Since everyone else was so tall and I’m so short … everyone said to get 3-4″ heels! Hello pain.
I second the recommendations for endless, zappos and dsw. <3 and if you have an offbroadway shoes near you, they’re not so bad either.
I have never worn a pair of heels *over* 3″ and can’t quite understand the mindset that <3″ = flats. And I’m only 5′3″! There are a TON of beautiful shoes in the 1-2.5″ range out there. Besides, anything over 2″ kills my feet, and why would I want to be in pain on my wedding day?
Zappos, Endless, Shoebuy, and http://www.myglassslipper.com are all good places to start your search. If you could be a little more specific about what you are looking for, we might be able to recommend some specifics.
@mcnetn3 thanks for the tip on endless.com….I have been looking for an easy way to find purple shoes in a wider width
Oh my struggle too. I’m 6 inches taller than my tallest bridesmaid and I’m only 5′9.
And my dress is almost the perfect length barefoot but the dress lady INSISTED I not get shoes over 3 inches.
So I like these and their price but I am not committed yet…
http://www.zappos.com/caparros-frida-ivory-silk?zlfid=111
I adore Nina bridal shoes, especially these (both at 2.5)…
Pump, closed-toe, 1/2 bow: http://ninashoes.com/paladin-ys-ivory-luster-satin–13748
Slingbacks, closed-toe, 1/2 bow with rhinestones: http://ninashoes.com/laos-ivory–14079
Like D’Orsay, I had the opposite problem. The heels I ended up with are 3 3/4, which is as tall as I wanted to go. I like how you can search by heel height on Zappos, which I’m sure you’ve done. I guess I have no helpful advice, but yeah, your brother is a cutie!
You can get custom shoes with different heel heights here: http://ninashoes.com/dyo.aspx
Can’t you have pretty shoes to be hidden and wear other ones with your dress?
J Crew has some great wedding-suitable shoes right now (many on sale!), most with 3″ heels, give or take.
Has Mama P considered that the bridesmaids will also be wearing heels? It’s not like you’ll tower over them more than normal if you’re ALL wearing high heels. I think it’s great that you do so much planning with your mom, but this seems like a very nitpicky thing for her to have control over.
Thanks for all of the suggestions, ladies! I will look into them! What I am really looking for is a peep toe or sandal in gold or off white. I really love bows and embellishments on shoes!
@Miss Pug: @Ms Potato Chips: It runs in the family ;P
@Meghan: well, I do tower over them quite a bit…just check out the picture on my “ode to our wedding party” post - sister pudding is wearing platform shoes with a 4 1/2 inch heel in that pic 
Also, to be fair to Mama Pudding, it’s not just about the height. She’s also making sure that I buy a practical shoe because our wedding, from start to finish, will last over 12 hours. I can’t have sore feet!
That wedding tradition sounds like a lot of fun and wouldn’t have been difficult for my wedding guests b/c I walked around our reception barefoot most the night.
I thought I had a website for you but it turns out all the shoes are 3″ or 4″, but I’ll keep my eyes out for you
If you get a chance to go back to Poland before the wedding try buying shoes there. I actually found my wedding shoes in Warsaw. I feel like shoes in Europe are better quality and I ended up only paying $80 for beautiful ivory heels with rose (alson made out of the ivory leather) on the front.
~Olga
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Mrs. Pudding, Greater Toronto Area/Vermont Age and Occupation: 26, High School Teacher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Computer Engineer Engagement Date: August 2008 Wedding Date: July 2010 Venue: Catholic Ceremony, Cultural Hall Reception About Me: Quite literally a citizen of the world, I was born in Poland, grew up in Canada, and now live in the beautiful state of Vermont. I love reading historical biographies, multi-tasking, teasing my hair, and, despite my height, wearing high heeled shoes. I am the ultimate klutz with an uncanny ability to put on a graceful front. Mr. Pudding and I have been dating for over six years, and are very excited to finally merge our (very large) families. We are planning a traditional Polish-Catholic wedding that is anything but predictable.
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