PHOTOGRAPHY | Trynh Photography SHOES | Christian Louboutin

Heel Height

This is the most important and the most complicated decision to make when it comes to choosing your bridal shoes, mostly because it depends on a few different factors.

Gown Length- You should definitely wait to go shoe shopping until you have your gown selection locked in. Most gowns come in a standard length (60” hollow-to-hem on average). Depending on your height, the length of your gown may dictate how high of a heel you should wear. The bridal sales associate that helps you when you purchase your gown should be able to tell you the standard length for that designer and advise you on the maximum heel height that would work with the hem. If your gown is floor-length, when you are wearing your shoes, the hem should just graze the floor. For a fee, some designers offer a service where they can add additional length to the hem if needed (but this needs to be done when you place the order). If your gown has a high-low hem or isn’t floor length, your heel height options open up completely.

Physical Comfort- This is a big factor when determining heel height. A lot of brides feel pressure to wear high heels on their wedding day–don’t! Your wedding is a celebration, you want to remember laughing and dancing with your friends and family, not how much your feet were killing you. Choose a heel height that you are comfortable with. If you live in heels and would feel naked wearing anything else, go for it! We recommend choosing a brand that you know and love so you know you’ll be comfortable dancing in them and walking around all day. If you never wear heels and feel like you’ll be tripping over yourself, go with flats. These days, a lot of designers are making super cute formal options for flats. If you’re somewhere in-between, try both. Take your time, try shoes on and see which one you like best.

Mental Comfort- In addition to physical comfort, consider your mental comfort as well. Some women are uncomfortable wearing heels, especially if they are tall (or are taller than their partner). To address this, first let us say, whether you are petite or tall–embrace your height! Your partner fell for you just the way you are, so don’t feel like you need to be anything else on your wedding day. If you’re a tall girl and heels make you feel great, rock a heel! If you’re short and aren’t comfortable in heels, wear flats! If there is a big height difference between you and your partner and you want to downplay it, your photographer can help account for that in photos, just let them know that it’s something to be conscious of.