Back in 2009 when Meg got married, she had a hard time settling on her shoes. In short, she had a pair she liked, but it seemed like fancy new shoes were just a thing you did for weddings. She even enlisted help, in the form of a roundup of cute options from East Side Bride (Do I still think she should have sprung for the pink Marc Jacobs pumps? Maaaaybe.) Ultimately, she made the somewhat last-minute decision to wear shoes she already owned, and they looked great. Smashing, even. Here’s what she had to say about them then:
The Dreaded Shoe Post
This was originally published here in September 2009
I have, up till now, refrained from writing the traditional wedding blog shoe post: because oh-dear-god-why? But all good things must come to an end, so here we go: The Shoe Post.
I, despite everyone’s best efforts (which for the record, I really appreciated), wore shoes I already had. Clarification: I wore fabulous shoes I already had. My shoes were broken in, I knew I liked them, and they were shiny. What more can you ask for? There is a picture from the wedding morning with my legs kicked up on David’s lap and you can see the bottom of my shoes, and they are all scuffed up. I love that shot – it feels grounded and real. It feel like, “Hey, we’re getting married, but we’re showing up as ourselves. Our most fabulous selves, but its still just us.” And that was more or less our MO on our wedding day.
Two weekends before the wedding, we drove up to Petaluma to visit a friend we’ve known since we were 15 and 16 respectively, to have her take in my last-minute dress. We were sitting in her sewing room chatting away, while she sewed on the dress, and I started listing my something old (my dress), something new (my just made hair flower and, uh, my hot pink bachelorette lacy boy-short underwear, obviously), something borrowed (my grandmothers pearl earrings), and blue (my passed-away grandmothers handkerchief). Suddenly our friend jumped up, and dived under a pile of fabric and started wiggling around. Up she came with a empty play-dough jar, from which she pulled…
A silver sixpence. A silver sixpence for my shoe.
I carefully worked that sixpence under the lining of my shoe, and you know what? Those shoes have felt new ever since. After saying my vows in those shoes, cutting our cake in those shoes, dancing my ass of in those shoes, and making a mad getaway in those shoes – they are now my favorite shoes in the whole world. And I plan to dance with David in them for a long, long time.
And as sweet as the sentiment about dancing with David in those shoes for a long long time is… it turns out that fast fashion shoes are not made to last for a decade or more. And when Meg put them on earlier this month, it became clear they were slowly falling apart. The sixpence is still firmly in the shoe though, and that’s easy enough to move to a new home.
Enter Chelsea
These days, APW is made up of a team, and that team includes myself and Chelsea, and we are… shoe people. So much like East Side Bride before us, we took it upon ourselves to get Meg into something new, and shiny, and fabulous. She’ll be wearing a pair of cowboy boots she already has for their ceremony at Giant Rock, so really: an utterly impractical pair of Palm Springs pumps seemed in order. After all, how often do you get to swan around the pool in a pair of utterly outrageous shoes? So, since life is short and shoes are fun, Chelsea took it upon herself (with my encouragement) to get Meg into a pair of utterly delightful and delicious shoes. Here’s what we sent her way, including the pair she ultimately picked. And for those of you looking for fab flats, we’re working on a collection of those too! Coming soon, promise.
Marc Ellis Vegas Rainbow Sandal ($164)
Rebecca Minkoff Capriana Heel ($158)
Miami Breeze Wedge Sandal ($90)
Schutz Yvi Strappy Sandal ($180)
Chinese Laundry Theresa Platform Sandal ($45)
Hanson Block Heeled Sandals ($33.50)
Cecelia New York Hibiscus Heel ($225)
Veronica Beard Olympia Sandal ($135)
Miista Lilac Block Heels ($139)
Villa Rogue Ally Sandals ($145)
Nina Vanna Ankle Strap Sandal ($79)
High Heeled Vinyl Sandals ($50)
Marc Jacobs Diamond Heel ($450)
Circus by Sam Edelman Sahara Heel ($34)
And as a final update, Meg ultimately decided on these, which are also available in blue and gold if you’re into that (did I order them in gold? Sure did).
