Wedding shoes and being flexible

A few months ago, I met Madeline at a book club meeting for A Practical Wedding groupies. She is one of those gals you fall in love with instantly – super energetic, upbeat and fun. Her story about planning a wedding to a US Marine totally touched me. I also loved that the very first thing Madeline bought for her wedding were her shoes! (My wedding shoes were an early purchase, and I’ve worn them to bits since my wedding day.) I asked her to write a guest post about her planning experience and feel lucky that she obliged. The result is below.

What I personally take away from Madeline’s experience thus far is how important it is to not sweat the small stuff. To know what is important to YOU (be it shoes, location, music, food, or none of the above.) To know what would truly make you sad to give up or compromise on – and then to be flexible on the rest.

So much has changed since I bought my wedding shoes.  They were my first purchase for the wedding, besides books about weddings, and this order of operations makes sense for me.  I love books and I love shoes.  Of all the random and only somewhat useful collections I have (the least useful of which is my rubber duck collection), the largest two are books and shoes.  The perfect pair of wedding shoes has long been more important to me than the perfect wedding dress.  So when I found this beautiful pair of t-strap sandals on one of my favorite shopping websites, I was beyond excited.  They’re gorgeous.  Just the colors I had in mind, and under $100 to boot!  I didn’t know if I could wait till my September 2012 wedding in Texas to wear them.

Thus far, I have waited.  The only exception was when I wore them to try on wedding dresses.  I ended up with two dresses because I went during a sample sale, they were cheap, and I couldn’t decide between them.  The shoes look wonderful with both, but particularly with the rather retro, tea-length, tulle confection that is now definitely my wedding dress.

In just the last few days, I’ve started to look at the shoes as a reminder of the early stages of wedding planning, when it was barely touched by the Marine Corps, my fiancé’s employer.  The part of planning when the Marine Corps’ involvement in our wedding did not go beyond a sword detail and cutting the cake with a saber.  But the change I referred to above was brought on by complications with the Marines, and now my lovely summer wedding has become a cozy winter wedding.  I wasn’t sure the shoes would even work in the winter, but I refuse to give them up.  I’ll just wear tights.

A large chunk of what we’re planning has been determined by the Marine Corps thrusting change upon us.  Having a winter wedding (only five months from now instead of fifteen!) is just the beginning.  The flowers will have to be different, although this means I can have my absolute favorites.  The second dress I had chosen is far too lightweight for winter, even in Texas, so my dress decision was made for me.  Our venue may change, if the one I love so much cannot accommodate our change in date.

But there are and always will be things the Marine Corps’ plans for my fiancé cannot touch: my knack for planning, my excitement over the coming gathering of all our loved ones, my love for this incredible man, and my shoes.