Married Melodies: Feeling Very Bridal

The morning of our wedding day, I woke up early and checked the weather. Clear as a bell! Then it hit me: after fifteen months of planning, my wedding day was finally here! I was finally going to get to see all of my planning come to fruition. All of a sudden I couldn't wait and I wanted to get married immediately. Too bad it was only 5AM!

After eating a light breakfast, jumping up and down on my bed, showering and finishing up my vows I made my rounds to wake up the bridal party. Most of us had rooms on the same floor, so I went door to door demanding that everyone get showered and head over to my room to get ready. I was kind of a brat, but my family has a reputation for being a wee bit tardy. Thankfully, everybody got a move on and before I knew it, my make-up artist and videographer had arrived! I only had to wait a little longer before I could get fancied up with these little things:

After our makeup was done, my big Sis (BM Gemini) went to work on our hair. The photographer arrived after this, so there's no photos, but if you want to watch me get all done up, check out our wedding video! I was so anxious to get into my dress and get over to the venue for the first look, that I took out my curlers early. Which ended up coming back to bite me in the ass, because my curls completely fell out by the end of the night. But, I was determined not to keep my man waiting!

Yup. They're LAUGHING at me.

Once I was finally in my dress and saw everyone's reaction, I started to get a little misty eyed. These were the people who had watched me grow from a little girl into an almost married woman in the blink of an eye. I looked around the room and tried to imagine myself in their eyes. Thankfully, my niece started making jokes and reminded me that I'm a rock, I don't cry!

Mama Warbler getting fresh with that garter!

Let me tell you something. No matter how prepared and "ready" you think you are to get married, you will still probably have a mini freak out. None of my wedding planning prepared me for the enormity that was my wedding day. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the venue to see my fiancé one last time! After I finished getting ready, I flitted around the room making sure that I didn't forget anything. 

Up next: The guys get ready and...I forgot something.

Catch Up!

• We stuffed our faces at the rehearsal dinner.
• Check out our super fly wedding video.

All photos by Nataly Lemus Photography

Kate Spade is a Temptress

Alternative title: How I Ended Up With Two Wedding Shoes

Like pretty much any woman who has ever existed, I love shoes. Heels, sandals and fancy sporty shoes. Designer shoes to Payless shoes, I love them all. Lately, I spend most of my time online looking at shoes that I can't afford. Or you know, couldn't possibly walk in.

I would break all sorts of body parts in these babies.

Christian Louboutin "ballerina" heels / Image via Glamour.com

A couple of weeks ago, my favorite shoe site, Kate Spade hosted a "Friends & Family" sale. 30% off EVERYTHING in stores and online. I think I literally squealed in my chair. Mr. Warbs looked kind of worried. A Kate Spade shoe sale meant that I could now possibly afford to buy the shoes I'd been coveting for months:

Kate Spade's Charm, in all of it's glittery awesomeness

Screen cap image via Katespade.com

Even at 30% off, they were still pretty expensive. I started to feel guilty, especially considering we still had a ton of wedding stuff to pay for. And of course, I already have wedding shoes! What was I thinking? As I was talking myself out of it, Mr. Warbs took the decision out of my hands! He booted up his computer, searched for the sale and promptly bought them. The following Friday they arrived and I swooned. Other than getting glitter everywhere, they're amazing shoes.

So now, I have two completely different pairs of shoes for the wedding. The Stuart Weitzman Turalus are amazing and really suit my dress. But a part of me always had doubts from the beginning that they weren't "the ones". The Kate Spade Charm shoes don't really suit my dress or theme of the wedding (our colors are red and gold), but how can I not rock Kate Spade shoes on my wedding day? I know I can wear both, but I don't want the hassle of changing shoes in the middle of the wedding. I know, I'm crazy. No one should be this conflicted about shoes. So, how about you vote on my poll and make my life shoe decisions for me?

Personal Photos

Which Shoe Should I Choose?

A) Wear the Charms!
B) Wear the Turalus!
C) Wear both!

Help me out here, Hive!

My Shoe-cision

After going back and forth for a while, I'm finally ready to share my wedding shoes. Honestly, I've had them for a while, but I had my doubts. In my last shoe post, I talked about my desire to rock red shoes. I found the Stuart Weitzman Turalu available online and figured I would buy it if nothing else sparked my interest. Unfortunately, most of the shoes that I wanted were discontinued in red or out of stock in general. I tried holding out until the holiday season in hopes that more red shoes would come out. But I had a feeling in my gut that if I waited too long my "safety" shoe would become unavailable too. The day after I bought them I checked the website again and they were no longer available in my size. Phew!

Stuart Weitzman Turalus!

They're the right color that I wanted, not too bright and not too dark. They're also very comfortable. I originally wanted slingbacks, but think that these are a better option. They're comfortable and classy. And they fit better with the style of my dress than slingbacks would have. I know I haven't shown you my dress yet, but you'll just have to take my word on it! I was hesitant to buy these because I kept thinking that something better would come along. Most people told me to keep looking, but I honestly feel that I would have been waiting forever for the right pair of shoes. More indecisive than Goldilocks, nothing would have been "just right" for me. I'm happy with my Turalus though and not just because they give me a (loose) excuse to sing my favorite guilty pleasure song. Toora-loora-toora-loo-ra-aee?

Come on Eileen! / Video via Youtube

Did you pick the shoes you originally envisioned?

*All photos are personal

Seeing Red

Kenneth Cole Reaction Wicked Rich in Red.
Image via Project Wedding

Red shoes, that is! It's no secret that I'm in love with the color red. I have had two red bedrooms, countless bags, clothing and accessories. The color scheme for my wedding is red and gold. So, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that I want red wedding shoes. Desire might be a more appropriate word. It never crossed my mind to wear the traditional white shoes. White is fine, but I'll likely never wear the color again. Red shoes on the other hand can spice up a black cocktail dress or jeans. So a cursory Google search returned images like the one above and these:

 Manolo Blahniks. Carrie Bradshaw would be proud!
Image via Euroshoesbox.com

Ouch! Christian Louboutins
Image via christianlouboutin2011sale.com

Gorgeous, yet sky high shoes. Realistically, I won't be able to wear any of them. Not just for the fact that I can't afford them (although that's a big reason), but I'm kind of a giant already. I tower over most of my family and friends at 5'9". OK, I suspect that I'm a bit taller than that these days, but I'm afraid to measure myself. In a pair of 3 inch heels, I'm  closer to 6 feet than I am to 5'11. Luckily, Mr. Warbs is about 6'4", so my height isn't usually a factor. But, on the day of my wedding, I want to look beautiful, feminine and NOT like the Jolly Green Giant.

Hello, up there!
(Source)

While perusing my favorite wedding blog, Weddingbee, I saw a post about Kate Spade shoes. They sell high end shoes catered to weddings, at a fraction of Blahnik and Louboutin prices. If you've never heard of Kate Spade before, please take a minute to peruse the website. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Kate Spade Charm Also available in Platinum, Silver and Navy Blue!

Amazing, right?! It was then that I decided my wedding shoes would definitely be Kate Spade shoes. But after a closer look at the website, I discovered that it was seriously lacking in kick ass red shoes. The Charm shoes are awesome, but not awesome enough to throw me off my red shoe mission. So I went back to Google, wedding sites and scoured the globe for similar styles in red. I found a whole bunch, but I was two or three years too late as they were all discontinued. Every time I excitedly clicked on a search result, I was forwarded to the sad face at Zappos, saying my item was no longer available. I would have loved to rock the Nina Koras, but couldn't find them anywhere. Sad face.

Nina Kora, discontinued

Nine West Jojus, no longer available in red
Image via Overstock

Stuart Weitzman Pomposo, no longer available in red
Image via Martha Stewart Weddings

I was able to find a few styles not yet banished to shoe-blivion.

Nina Forbes
Image via Endless

Vigotti Metis
Image via Zappos

 Stuart Weitzman Turalu
Image via Zappos

I was pretty bummed that they weren't more options out there. I'm not sure if red is a seasonal shoe color or not, but they're pretty hard to find in low heel, non feather styles. Maybe more options will become available around the holidays. But for now, the Forbes and Turalus are the two contenders. Out of the two, which one is your favorite? Are there any other red shoe (or colored shoe) brides out there?