Sharing the day with family

Part of the driving force behind who I'm inviting to the wedding is thinking about who in my life I need to thank....and I have a lot of people I want to thank. It's a mixed blessing, for sure.

I'm not a very expressive person unless an occasion calls for it, so I'm making my wedding an occasion to recognize those people in my life who have made a significant impact, especially during the really rough times in my life when I needed their friendship and support the most.

The only problem is that I can't actually SAY the words out loud. I am a big crier and the words would never make it out of my mouth. Instead, I'm trying to think of subtle ways to include them in the day...small ways of showing them how much I appreciate them and how fortunate I am to have them in my life.

The wedding slideshow is one way of visually showing my progression in life and the people who've been involved along the way.

But I've also thought about printing up a bunch of pictures, at least one of me with each person I'm inviting. On the back, I'll write their name and a little message to them, or one of my favorite memories of them, and of course a thank you. I'm thinking about stringing up a clothesline across the windows and hanging each picture up with clothes pins.

It would look a little bit like this:

http://www.thingsworthmaking.com/2009/04/making-original-art-for-big-event.html

This couple used the clothesline idea for a photo timeline....which is another good idea too...hrmm...

Shoes shoes shoes

I hate hate hate that once you slap the word "wedding" on it, everything costs 200% more. Take shoes for instance. Initial shoe shopping on wedding websites and zappos produced shoes that were upwards of $50 and sometimes up into the $200 range for a simple white shoe!

Now...I don't wear white shoes. Ever. So whatever shoes I buy for my wedding I will probably only wear them once. Once I got over the "need the perfect shoe for my special princess day" inclination, shoe criteria became:

A) does it fit? i have very wide feet that that is usually where my foot pains stem from.
B) white or silver in color
C) can i stand wearing them for 8 hrs straight
D) less than $100

Now that last one seems ridiculous to me, but it seems people only make white shoes for one reason: weddings, and they know they've got you cornered on that matter.

So here's what I've come up with:

Payless Shoe Store: Unforgettable Moments - Audrey ($25)
White slingback peep toe with a 3" heel (link)

Surprisingly comfortable for a 3" heel and the peep toe doesn't dig into the sides of my toes. It also comes in a wide width on the website, but the size 8 actually fit okay.





Payless Shoe Store: Fioni - Kayley Dress Sandal ($20)
White dress sandal with a 3" heel (link)

I haven't actually tried these on, but they are only $20 AND they come in a wide width!








Zappos.com: Vaneli - Modesta ($74)
White dress sandal with a 2.5" heel (link)

I ordered the 8W and they fit alright and are a low enough heel that I could easily deal with it. The strappy-ness makes me think that I would have an easier time wearing these shoes with other outfits...maybe. These also come in an 8WW, which I might try, especially with Zappos free shipping and free returns.


There are many many other shoes that I found on the web...but you know what, i'm tired of looking. They're just shoes and on the wedding day, our guests are there to see us get married and no one's going to care what shoes I'm wearing....least of all me.