Shoe Transformation Inspiration

If you remember, I finally decided to have my bridesmaids wear silver shoes on wedding day.  I called Sister Goodlaff a few weeks before the wedding, and she still hadn't gotten her silver shoes, so a few days before W-day (being the nosy big-sister that I am), I asked her to show me her shoes. 

Here's what she brought out:

I thought they were super cute, but didn't remember seeing these shoes in silver during any of my wanderings at Payless Shoesource. That's because, once upon a time, Sister Goodlaff's shoes looked like this:

The Tale of Goody Two-Shoes and the Magic Reward Points

Remember my super cute wedding shoes that I made shoe clips for?

First Comes Love

Well, I knew that even though they were gorgeous (that does offset a little bit of pain), there was absolutely no way that I could stand/dance in those heels all night. Clearly, I was in need of a pair of reception shoes...

And just like that, I was a two-shoe bride; it's not really that much of a surprise if you know me.  I'm a "the more, the merrier" type when it comes to footwear.

Because Zappos proved to be such a goldmine the first time around, I went back there in search of perfect, comfy, post-heel, wedding day shoes, and I was not disappointed. It took me all of two seconds to find exactly what I was looking for, and once I spotted them, I don't think I even considered any other options. Those were it. The right color, just a bit of sparkle--done and done.

Big Reveal: Bridesmaid Dresses (and a Shoe Decision)

The search for bridesmaid dresses is over!  This week Cosmo and I went dress hunting, and she picked out the style she wanted to wear for the Goodlaff wedding. We now have a complete set, and I'm thrilled to present the girls' choices to you:

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As you can see by all the different styles, there was no way that I could have picked one dress that would have made them all happy; looking back, I'm really glad I had the brains to not even try.  I love all of these dresses, and I think they each look fabulous in the styles they chose.

Sister Goodlaff, Cosmo, and TCollins will order this week (Sunrise already has--she's so on top of things!), and then I can cross one more thing off of the list and rest assured that the Goodlaff bridesmaids will be fully clothed on our wedding day. 

We also have a resolution to the great shoe debate, which came in the form of a paper sample, of all things. Mr. Goodlaff and I are currently designing our invitations for the wedding (more on that later), and we ordered a few paper and envelope samples from cardsandpockets.com, one of which was silver.  The minute I saw the silver against the swatch I have of the dress material, the decision was made.  Silver keeps the color scheme cool and helps balance the pops of color, whereas yellow really warms it up.  Plus, when everyone is telling you "no," you should probably listen.  Silver shoes, blue dresses, yellow, white, and green bouquets.  Done, done, and done.

Whew! Now, what's next?

When Yellow is Not Mellow...

Ever heard the saying: "Make my words as sweet as honey, for I may have to eat them later"? Let's just say I'm keeping a spoon handy.

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A while ago I told the Goodlaff bridesmaids that they could wear silver shoes for the wedding.  Just like with their dresses, the style could be of their own choosing, and if they already owned silver shoes, so much the better! Sparkly, tall, short, peep toe, doesn't matter; as long as they can stand up in the shoes, the shoes are good with me.

But then I saw these pictures:

Holy crap, they are wearing yellow shoes!

Gah! Again with the yellow shoes...

And just like that, I was in love with the idea of yellow shoes.  It's one of our colors!  It looks so cute! So. Cute.

Miracles Happen: Beaded Shoe Clips Tutorial

It's rare that my craft projects turn out right on the first try and without excessive swearing, so I'm thrilled to be able to say that the stars aligned, and from this crazy mess of beads and string came the perfect shoe adornments.  Trust me, if I can do this, anyone can. 

First necessary ingredient: patience.  Sewing these suckers made me feel really grateful that my job does not consist of hand-beading wedding dresses all day long.   Once (twice, actually) was enough for me.

Aside from a vast supply of patience, here's what I used for my clips:

Good Enough for the Front of the Refrigerator

What happens when you actually do succeed at something on your first try?  You squeal like a little girl who just found her first Barbie Dream House under the Christmas tree!


Remember those shoe clips I ran off and bought supplies for without knowing what I would really need to make them? 


I began with this:

And ended up with this: say hello to my homemade shoe clips!

Putting My Best Shoe Forward

When I was in college, I worked for a well-known low-cost shoe store.  I loved shoes before I started working there, but during and after, they became a bit of an obsession.  Footwear began explode out of my closet, and it didn't matter if I couldn't think of a single outfit that the bubblegum pink mary jane flats would go with, I bought them.

Now here I am, getting married.  Do you think my obsession has extended to my wedding day shoes? Um. Yeah.

The first pair I fell in love with? 

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