V: Shoe Saga Concludes--Black is Practical, but boots are more fun anyway

Behold, my closet's latest resident: Cole Haan Petra boots with Nike Air cushioning.

Perfect for a late fall honeymoon in Italy, don't you think? OMG, life is complete. And yes, these count as 'wedding shoes' in the budget.

Oh, and I got something to wear at the actual wedding too. Guess's Janesca is way on sale at Nordstrom, coming in at a much more wallet-friendly $52. My review: very comfortable and stable-feeling, with a manageable 2.75" heel.

It's pretty darn near impossible to find black pumps that are NOT patent leather this season, but these are technically just shiny black leather.

For the wedding, I'm thinking of dressing them up with a classic shoe clip. Then they will live on as a totally great pair practical of black heels. Perfecto!

I don't want wedding shoes. Is that wrong?

At this point, I think I'd much rather spend [really, blow] my budget on a sweet pair of brown leather boots to wear on our trek through northern Italy. 

Oh J.Crew. Your shoes continue to taunt me.

I just can't find anything to wear on the wedding day that isn't better than what I already own [aka comfortable and broken in. Without 3.5"+ heels]

Can I pretty please replace 'wedding shoes' in the budget with 'honeymoon boots'?

Awesome, thanks.

Samantha's shoes: ordered!

Well friends...I have shoes!! Finally, I've made the decision and these make the final cut (provided that they fit):

RSVP, Ivana for $89 with free shipping from Zappos.com! I'm hoping that they come just in time for my first dress fitting next Friday July 31st!

Samantha's thought of the day: Beautiful Shoes for Under $100!

So remember when I was trying to decide between these two pairs of shoes? The gorgeous pink Badgley Mischka Carlo pumps in pink or the oh-so-tempting Maria Lopez shoes in peach?

Well, I decided that $300 for a pair of shoes is just not necessary...so I started to look at Zappos and Like.com and there are some fantastic options for under $100!! Nina shoes, rsvp, Me Too and Johnathan Kayne have some very fun choices.

So those Badgley Mischka pumps were beautiful, right?

Check out these, very similar shoes by rsvp, which come in champagne, pure white and black for $89! An extra $200 could go a very long way!
Or what about these killer red shoes by Nina, also for $89? Ooooh, these are tempting!

Or what about these Caparros shoes, called "Greece" for $79...very sweet and would be great for a daytime outdoor wedding, I think.

Or if you wanted something blue in your shoes? Check out these Navy ones by rsvp- also under $100!
Classic white shoes by rsvp:

White and be-jeweled:

Ok and these aren't appropriate for a wedding dress, but I really want them!

Check out Zappos, particularly rsvp brand!!

V: End the colored shoe trend

True, I myself have lusted after some beautiful yellow wedding shoes [and even ordered them]. But I'm done. The perfect yellow shoes do not exist.

east side bride already deemed it ok to go with a black wedding shoe [for Practicality's sake]. But I've already got black pumps and I would love to add to my little collection.

Enter: Nina Paladin in Slate. Totally affordable. Totally wearable post-wedding.

So, could this be it??

Shoes: back to the drawing board

Remember these? The prettiest shoes in the world? Too high [aka I'm a 3.5" high heel wimp]. Back to square one. Options are open, from wearing shoes I already own, to continuing the hunt for something rad.

Enter Option:

Nina Shoes now allows you to build your own shoe. We're talking custom heel heights and an incredibly wide range of color options. And they come in canary luster yellow satin [hopefully the color looks better in person?].

The question is: does anyone have experience with Nina Shoes? Comfortable? Quality?

Um, thank you Martha Stewart's Bride's Guide blog. Normally, you shame me in my manners [I'm going to address envelopes to Mr. Dean and Mrs. Christine Birdson and there is nothing you can do about it.] or feature brilliant DIY weddings that still end up costing seven times what ours will be. But this is a serious lead.

Miracle!!

Thanks to the the tip from The Professional Bridesmaid, I discovered that not only could I use this awesome coupon, but my beautiful saffron satin peep toe pumps are ON SALE.

Score a big one: they were less than half price. 

Hooray!

Help needed!

OMG, I have found the holy grail of Victory Bird wedding shoes. Behold:

From our fav online shop, J.Crew, naturally. Here is the dilemma: I cannot try them on. Has anyone ever owned shoes from J.Crew? How do they fit?

I've come across the deal of the century. 20%, plus free shipping. Though they are wicked expensive . . . I can't imagine finding a more drool-worthy wedding shoe.

ps - Mr. B officially signed off on a color scheme of yellow and gray [and white and exposed brick and Kraft paper accents] Wooo!