Before And After I Do

You’re thinking about buying your wedding shoes. So many choices and, oh, they’re so pretty. One gets carried away just thinking about it.

However, as well as looking divine, your shoes need to be your friend.

Think about it. How many hours are you going to be on your feet on your wedding day? There’s the ceremony, potentially a receiving line, speeches and dancing. Are you going to be able to do all of this in your chosen bridal footwear?

When you go off to buy your shoes, there are some things that should be at the forefront of your mind. First off, go shopping in the afternoon, when your feet have swollen up. I know, this doesn’t sound like the kind of thing that you want to think about, but believe me, you need to. If you buy a pair of shoes and they end up being too tight, you’ll have blisters that will irritate you on your wedding day and make sure you only wear flip flops on your honeymoon.

Second, take a swatch of your dress with you so that you can match the color. Next, are you looking for flats or heels? Your dress length will determine this. Anything with a heel will make your legs look slimmer, but ballet pumps are always stylish. Though bear in mind that heels and grass do not mix.

If you chose to wear heels, are you used to them? Do you want to be tottering down the isle or elegantly gliding? Tyra Banks covered this in her Beauty 911 show. If you’d rather look like a graceful princess than a tipsy gal, there are some things that can help you prepare.

Here are our Wedding Shoes 101 : Tips for Walking with Style and Grace:

1. Buy your shoes well in advance and practice, practice, practice.
2. Start off by just standing. Take a look in the mirror and see what they do to your posture and figure!
3. Take small steps in a ’safe’ place. Do try this at home and not in the mall.
4. Walk where it’s solid and not slippery. Thick pile carpets or marble flooring should be avoided.
5. Scuff up the sole if necessary, with sand paper. It gives you extra traction.
6. Wear your shoes with stockings as they will feel more comfortable and give your legs extra support.
7. Your legs should be close together, with feet pointing forwards, not out.
8. Remember to try turning, both to the left and right.
9. Try stairs once you have mastered a flat surface. Going up, the whole of the foot needs to be on the stair, coming down, just the ball of your foot. Hang on to the rail!

If you’re still in doubt, there’s a book, ‘How to Walk in High Heels. Top tips for all girls trying to perfect the art of walking in high heels.

Take some time to perfect your poise (even runway models don’t always have it all down) and balance and your wedding day should go without a hitch, or should that be trip…

About the Author

Emma Crabtree, Editorial Assistant to Maya Sunpongco, Editor-in-Chief and the Practical Bride at Giftpile.com - the great idea honeymoon registry. Though Emma has been married since 1996, she still likes to dream about big, white frocks and sunsets over beaches and, of course, to support couples in achieving their dream honeymoons. Giftpile.com helps you (the bride and groom) giftwrap your dream honeymoon. For more information about creating your online honeymoon registry, visit Giftpile.com today!

I love a good scavenger hunt and the Internet is so good for finding lovely treasures like the Bling Bling Engagement postcards from PaperBride.com and the dynamic duo of Erica Goldstein and Alexandra Fletcher. (20 postcards for only $15.oo)

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According to her bio, “Susan Breslow Sardone is the Web’s foremost expert on Honeymoons and Romantic Getaways. She has been an About.com Guide since 1997.” We were so honored when she sited Giftpile.com as the recommended honeymoon registry for bride and grooms in her recent Honeymoon Bridal Registry article.

Susan goes on to provide “some questions to ask when choosing a honeymoon bridal registry” which we’ve answered below:

• Susan - What does it cost to register?Giftpile.com - $225 is prepaid by the bride and groom.
• Susan - Are there other fees involved?Giftpile.com - no hidden fees incurred to the bride/groom or their guests and gift-givers.
• Susan - Do you deduct anything from the price of gifts?Giftpile.com - if your Aunt Sally purchases $100 towards a couple’s sunset dinner cruise, that $100 honeymoon gift directly to the bride and groom… nothing is deducted.
• Susan - What services do you provide?Giftpile.com - Learn how your honeymoon registry works from beginning to end with a no obligation, phone orientation. Learn more at Giftpile.com
• Susan - Is your business a travel agency?Giftpile.com - is not a travel agency but if you need assistance with brainstorming what you could experience at your ideal honeymoon destination, we can always create a Brainstroming Activities List to Europe, Tahiti, /insert your honeymoon destination here/ based on what other registered couples have published on their registry… Just ask!
• Susan - Do you help customers announce their registry?Giftpile.com - this is the fun part! Of course, we recommend that you tell your moms and girlfriends who are part of your wedding party. They are the gabbers and your wedding guests naturally ask them where you are registered. If you need announcement cards to insert to party or wedding invitations, just ask. How about HTML code you simply can copy/paste to your wedding websites so your wedding guests can click on a graphic or text link… and are redirected directly to your registry? Want a fancy HTML email template to announce your registry? You got it!
• Susan - In what form do we receive our registry gifts and when? Giftpile.com - Don’t worry about your who purchased what for your ‘Thank you’ cards. You will receive an Itemized Gift Summary with all the details of who purchased, what was purchased, how much was contributed, your gift-givers’ address and email — a great ‘Thank you’ list. A check is priority mailed to the couple. We’ve had special requests from couples where we’ve paid directly paying off their credit card bill. Why wait for the check in the mail, then deposit it in your bank statement and then pay your credit card bill, right?
• Susan - Do you notify us every time a gift is purchased?Giftpile.com - email notifications are sent directly to your Inbox. It helps you get alittle more excited that your honeymoon is around the corner and that your friends and family support your dream honeymoon experience.
• Susan - Can the registry be integrated onto our wedding Web site?Giftpile.com - “integrated” not necessarily but if you copy/paste the HTML code we give you… your friends and family can click on a graphic or text link that redirects them to your Giftpile.com Honeymoon Registry.

Hope that helps! Happy Honeymoon Planning!

I’m a big Googler (it’s my Internet browser homepage). So, I was searching articles on the buzz around honeymoon registries … and read the following:

“I personally find it tasteless to have one’s honeymoon expenses paid for by one’s friends (family is different),” said Letitia Baldrige, the author of “New Manners for New Times: A Complete Guide to Etiquette,” in an e-mail. “It becomes as emotionless a gesture as paying for the bride’s teeth-whitening or the groom’s car insurance — both necessary, but not wedding-like.” (posted on Newsday.com)

Yes, I am biased but let’s look at gift giving and gift receiving from a practical point-of-view.

Are you engaged? Does this sound like you:
“We don’t really feel like registering anywhere because we don’t feel we need anything… especially household stuff because we’re older and we live together. We know some of our friends and family insist on getting us wedding gifts and are asking where we’re registered. We’re adventurous and love to travel so we thought why not a honeymoon registry?! A romantic, relaxing and exciting getaway will be remembered for years and that experience is worth more than a toaster, dinnerware, and fine china.”

Wedding gifts aren’t expected but if people insist on getting you a little “something, something” don’t you want to communicate what you want? Let me repeat that. Ahem! Attention Bride and Grooms: “Don’t expect gifts. Be thankful for what you have received. Don’t get neurotic and start analyzing your relationship with someone all because they gave you this gift or that gift.” That’s not what gift-giving and gift-recieving is about. Ok? Let’s move on.

Have you ever met someone who got married and had a stack of wedding gifts still boxed up in the closet - collecting dust? I have. All engaged couples should register somewhere so you don’t leave your wedding guests puzzled on what you want. Who says you have to register only at one place?

As far as an “emotionless gesture” goes, I’ll let Sarah and Bryan who honeymooned in Hawaii tell you, “Everyone got to give a gift that was personal to them: one uncle who loves fishing gave us a deep sea fishing trip, another uncle who is a big golfer gave us a day of golfing.” It’s hard enough narrowing down and choosing your wedding party… my personal opinion is that a honeymoon registry can bring friends and family closer together. They get to participate in the bride and groom’s first days as husband and wife… Don’t you feel great as the gift-giver when you know your present was used and enjoyed? Friends and family learn more about the engaged couple by the honeymoon destination and activities they have planned. What can you learn about your friends from buying them a blender?

Learn other reasons people had no regrets about their honeymoon registry!

What do you think? Leave your comments below.
- Maya, The Practical Bride