Embracing the Non-Fancy Footwear

I bought my wedding day shoes, and they cost $16.  Mmmhmm...  True story.  Well, at least that's the true gist of the story, although it was a smidge more complicated than all that.  (When is that not the case for me?  Seriously.)

Sometime around the fall or winter of 2009 I decided that I really liked shoes from Aldo and I was planning to purchase a couple of pairs online.  As I always do, I checked the clearance section before I placed my order - you know, just in case there were any not-to-be-missed deals.  Now, you'll recall that we'd already finalized our wedding colors by then, which is why the sapphire blue flats caught my eye.  I always knew I'd wear flats for the wedding because, as much as I love heels and even find they can be comfortable for limited periods of time, there's no way I wanted to risk having aching feet on our wedding day. 

Okay, so... these shoes caught my eye, they seemed like they'd be the right color, and the price was certainly right - so I bought them.  I figured I could return them if the color was off.  Or, if I eventually decided not to wear them for the wedding, then I'd just have some cute blue flats for everyday wear. 

Over the almost two years I've had these shoes (and yes, they're still brand new) I've mentioned them to a couple people, and it always seemed to me that people thought they weren't fancy enough.  I don't know if it's because they're flats, or that they're simple, or that there's nothing glittery or blingy about them.  Whatever it was, it eventually had me worrying that I needed shoes that were more 'special' or 'fancy.'  So these shoes just sat in a box in the closet because I was feeling a little embarrassed that I ever thought $16 casual flats would be suitable as wedding shoes.

Then about a week ago Mr. FW's amazing wedding shoes came in and we both love them, especially when they're paired with his wedding socks.

And I was reminded, again, that we're not trying to have a super fancy wedding.  Sure, there are some elegant and fancy elements of our day, but on the whole there are way more casual, laidback, handmade elements than there are fancy ones.  Sometimes I get unnecessarily freaked out worrying that things will looks like a random mishmash of pieces because everything doesn't have exactly the same level of formality.  But then I look back at our completed projects and our mock-ups and my photoshopped collages of things and I'm able to soothe myself because I see proof that everything really is forming a cohesive whole.  There are certain stylistic themes that are running through every aspect of our day, and one of those themes, in fact,  might well be dubbed "fun, not formal."  So I'm fully embracing our fun, non-fancy footwear.  I think they look great together, and I'm more than a little stoked about that price tag.  Now I just can't wait to see them with the dress! 

What wedding purchases have you been uncertain about, and how did you resolve that uncertainty for yourself?  Is there something you've found that's a helpful reminder for you about the style of your wedding?