What color shoes should bridesmaids wear? What kind of shoes should the bridal party wear with long bridesmaid dresses? And can bridesmaids wear different shoes?
These are all fantastic questions inspired by the latest Ask Emmaline email from bride-to-be, Whitney. She wants to know,
“Hi Emmaline! I’m not sure what kind of shoes my bridesmaids should wear. Can bridesmaids wear different shoes? Can the shoes be different heights? Some of my bridesmaids are tall and others are short. Thanks in advance.”
Hi Whitney! This is a great question, one that I wondered myself while planning my wedding. The topic of bridesmaid shoes is a pretty easy one that shouldn’t be so heavily debated! I’ve heard many different things but we think that bridesmaids should have “free reign” on at least three things.
3 Things to Let Bridesmaids Choose
• Hair and Makeup
• Jewelry
• Shoes
We think they should have some input on the bridesmaid dresses, too, but the final decision on that is up to you as the bride.
Bridesmaids Should Be Comfortable
We think bridesmaids should feel comfortable in what they’re wearing, and things like hair and makeup as well as jewelry should be left up to them to ultimately decide. They’re doing you a service by being an attendant, so it’s not really your role to be in charge of every single detail of their attire.
You could — you have power as the bride! — but it seems like bridesmaids are generally happier having control over, ya know, their own hair, makeup, and jewelry. ;)
The Bride Can Choose Bridesmaid Shoes, Within Reason
For bridesmaid shoes, though, there’s a little bit you will want to decide because it will change the way everything is more cohesive: everything will look more coordinated during the grand entrance, your photos will look more uniform, etc.
So, can bridesmaids wear different shoes or should bridesmaids wear the same shoes?
Can Bridesmaids Wear Different Shoes
Yes, bridesmaids can wear different shoes, but they should all be the same color.
The bride should decide on the color of bridesmaid shoes, but then the bridal party can take it from there.
Should my bridesmaid shoes match?
Whether bridesmaids shoes should match, yes — in color. Can bridesmaids wear different heel heights? Sure thing.
It doesn’t matter that much if some bridesmaids wear heels, while others wear flats. It comes down to their own personal preference. You’d rather have a bridesmaid wearing a comfortable pair of flats that she can walk down the aisle easily in, rather than stumbling on a pair of stilettos if she never wears them, simply for photo’s sake.
What Color Shoes Should Bridesmaids Wear
Anything you choose that coordinates well with the bridesmaid dresses. The most popular colors are black, navy, nude, silver, or gold.
If you choose one basic color of bridesmaid shoes that coordinates with your bridesmaid dresses, then have them choose ANY shoe in that color, everyone will look uniform and will be 100x happier. I promise.
And it’s so much easier for a bridesmaid to find a pair of shoes she loves in black (she probably already owns a few pairs) or nude, even metallics like gold or silver, versus finding a shade of sage or burgundy that will coordinate with everyone else’s pick. Keep it simple: go with neutral color bridesmaid shoes.
For heels, these are wildly popular and have great reviews. They’ll be easy to wear again, long after the wedding. They’re by Sam Edelman.
There’s a pair of white block heels for you, too!
If you really, really have your eye on matching bridesmaid shoes, and you want bridesmaids to wear the same shoes, here’s an alternative:
Buy bridesmaids shoes as gifts.
One popular thing we’re noticing brides doing more and more, especially as part of their wedding day gifts to their bridesmaids, is to gift a pair of shoes. Typically, this is a pair of bridesmaid flats. Heels are great, too, just make sure they’re comfortable wedding shoes.
These comfortable flats make a great gift because everyone can wear them on the day of the wedding — and beyond, because let’s be honest, everyone can use a nice, fresh pair of flats for spring and summer. :)
Since spring is just around the corner, I was shopping for fresh flats for myself to wear and stumbled upon some really beautiful pairs of comfortable bridesmaid flats that would work great for weddings.
I partnered with the team at Zappos and they gave me a gift card to spend: I was able to find inexpensive bridesmaid shoes — 3 pairs of them! — for under $100 (including shipping, whattttt?!)
That’s insane!
I realized, wow, this really does make a great bridal party gift: bridesmaid shoes that match! And no one has to go through the trouble of buying their own, or worrying if their shoes will coordinate well enough with the other bridal party attendants.
So if you’d like to go this route, here are the shoes I bought to inspire you. I went with three different styles to give you variety.
Now, let me be the first to tell you how these are insanely comfortable bridesmaid shoes. I am very picky about flats because I have wide feet, but I usually don’t buy wide shoes because they are rarely available in wide when they’re super-cute. Some of these options I found at RSVP have regular AND wide size shoes. Score!
In addition, they had half-sizes available, so I went up a bit on the size. When I wear flats, sometimes they pull too much on the back. One full-size up is too big and they fall off my feet; if I stick to my regular size they usually give me a back-of-the-foot blister. Ouch. But these? Ooh, they’re heavenly, and I think I just found my forever flats — and they’re a great alternative to having bridesmaids wear different shoes.
Black Bridesmaid Flats
First, I decided I wanted one pair of black flats because every girl needs a nice pair of black flats that go with everything. These are more of a loafer style, something I’ve been eyeing in fashion blogs but never tried out until now. And they’re amazing with capris, dresses, jeans, dress pants — you name it. They’re named Maladen and you can see them here.
Then, a pair of nude shoes. If you don’t have a pair of everyday flats in this shade, run and get some now. You won’t be sorry. These are a pair of neutral flats made of recycled material with a pointed toe and micro-polyester suede. They’re named Malley and you can see them here.
And finally, to bring out my inner Carole Baskin (ha! only kidding!) I went with a fun leopard print flat. I really went with a leopard print because I want to prove that I can pull off a printed pattern flat, not just the same old boring style. For bridesmaids, perhaps leopard isn’t going to be your choice, but I think it is worth showing these off because they’re freaking cute as can be. These are named Belen and are available here.
These are rounded toe and available in more colors — not just leopard. ;)
Last but not least, you will also want to gift them something that every flat-wearing bridesmaid, bride, or anyone needs to have: great low-cut flat socks.
If you don’t wear socks with your flats, that’s a shame because your shoes will be SUPER stinky. ;) Your feet will sweat. Your insoles will get stinky and sweaty. You’ll quickly realize you should’ve worn socks.
These flats socks are great gifts for anyone, regardless of whether bridesmaids can wear different shoes or the same shoes. These are low-cut socks that are great for flats, they don’t slip (thank goodness, the ones I always used before slip right off — super annoying!), and they’re a great price. By Toes.
You can buy a 6-pack of socks for $11.99, making them a great additional gift for bridesmaids at just under $2 a pair.
There’s also something like these by Flat Socks that are more of an insole. I haven’t tried them yet but they have great reviews. They’re also printed with fun patterns: you can see more here.
I also really wanted these Lucky Brand flats in ‘Emmie’. I think they’re perfect for the bride in bright white:
And I loved them in Fuchsia, but they weren’t available in my size (they are, of course, restocked now, yay!) Shown in Gunmetal.
Want to buy some comfy shoes for yourself or spoil your bridesmaids? Click here to shop these darling looks!
!Happy Planning!
xo
Emma
This is a partnership in collaboration with Zappos.
