If the shoe fits ...
Sneaker-wearing brides are dashing down the aisle
My dress had pockets in it. I think that’s what set me off on thinking about what shoes I wanted to wear.
When I got married in 2004, I was adamant that I wouldn’t look back at the pictures in 15 years’ time and regret what I had chosen to wear, my hairstyle or my makeup. I kept things simple — a plain dress with no lace or beading, hair worn down as I would usually, barely there foundation — and now that the time has passed, I can honestly say that I nailed it. Except, that is, when it came to my shoes.
I’ve never been a fan of heels. But it just didn’t occur to me to be myself with my wedding shoes, and I ended up panic-buying a pair of hideous high street strappy kitten heels at the last minute. I took them off as soon as the ceremony was over and spent the rest of the day barefoot — I’m not sure I even took the shoes home with me at the end of the night. And I really cringe whenever I see the few pictures where those monstrous things are visible, peering out menacingly from under the hem of my dress.
Wedding season is here, but if you’re attending as a guest this summer, you may notice a shift. According to global fashion search platform Lyst’s 2019 wedding report, searches for white personalized sneakers have increased 61 per cent year on year. Glitter, lace and embroidery-covered white sneakers can be found everywhere from Kate Spade to bridal-shoe go-to Jimmy Choo.
Serena Williams wore white Nike Cortez sneakers covered in crystals on her wedding day. As the founder of U.K. shoe brand Rogue Matilda, Katie Cary had the skill set to create any style of shoe for her wedding day — her white Sweetheart sneakers bore a navy velvet heart on the heel.
My own wedding took place before I worked as a fashion journalist, and before I started writing my blog (Enbrogue.com), which is dedicated entirely to flat shoes. If I got married now, not only would I have the confidence to think outside of the box and wear flat shoes, I would definitely consider wearing sneakers. What could be better than a box-fresh pair of kicks to keep you comfortable on your special day? Sneakers have become such a big part of our wardrobes in recent years that now they’re even infiltrating the aisle.
When Katie Johnstone, a 36-year-old physical education teacher who spends her working life in sneakers and spare time in Doc Martens and Birkenstocks, got married earlier this year, she always knew she would change into her favourite 12-year-old slightly split white Cons after the ceremony for a walk through the woods to the reception. But she had a last-minute change of heart on the morning of the wedding.
“I knew that I was going to change into them but it wasn’t until the last minute that I decided to wear them for the entire day,” she tells me. “I had a bit of a nightmare with buying wedding shoes, everything I tried on wasn’t me at all, so I bought some very plain, strappy, not particularly high heels: the best of a bad bunch really. I put my heels on as I was getting ready and walked down the stairs and I just didn’t feel like me. So I changed and literally had the most comfortable wedding ever.”
It was this same relaxed attitude that drew Natalie Sneap, a beauty therapist, to opt for a pair of rose gold leather Converse sneakers on her big day. Her wedding in 2017 had a festival feel, set mainly outdoors with a marquee, food vans and live music. “My dress had pockets in it,” she says: “I think that’s what set me off on thinking about what shoes I wanted to wear.”
Valerie Bull also wore rose gold Converse on her wedding day, matching the groom in a red pair — and I think being able to wear the same shoes as the person you’re about to spend the rest of your life with is a lovely idea, one that Valentina Italiano, who got married in 2015 in Sicily, agrees with. “I didn’t decide to wear Converse to be more comfortable, but because I wanted my husband and I to wear the same shoes.” Wendy Crawford, who runs a Dublin fashion boutique, also matched her betrothed in a pair of British designer Grenson brogues, before changing into her 10-year-old high-tops later in the day.
“I’ve always loved Grenson and Converse, they’re kind of my uniform. You should always be yourself on your wedding day.”
Planning a wedding can be stressful, and as well as feeling pressure to conform to traditions, it can feel like there are a lot of people to please. I wonder if choosing to wear a pair of sneakers to get married in resulted in any disapproval.
“My mom initially didn’t get it,” says Sneap. “She wanted me to get married in heels and then change in the evening. But I was pretty set that I wanted to wear them for the whole duration. Eventually she said that if that’s what I want and that’s what makes me happy, then go for it.”
But for most it wasn’t an issue at all. “People said ‘of course you’re wearing Converse!’” says Crawford with a laugh. “It probably would have caused more of a reaction had I been wearing heels — the talk of the wedding!”
One of the biggest advantages of wearing your favourite everyday shoes on your wedding day is that you won’t end up with some heels you’ll never wear again.
“I can remember when one of my daughters got married, buying a beautiful pair of extravagant heels and kicking them off halfway through the day because my feet were killing me,” says Bull. “I’ve never worn them since.”
Unlike those wear-once heels, all of these women still wear their wedding-day trainers, as Sneap confirms when I speak to her: “I had them on yesterday.”