Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wedding bands and shoes

After months and months of browsing through catalogues and fussing I finally bought our wedding bands!

If you remember my last post, it's traditional in Poland for the wedding bands to have a matching design, and, as Suka and Spice pointed out, the rings are worn on the right hand. Generally, the main difficulty was that having initially consulted some designs with my fiance, I was given free reign to choose the bands, and, with Mateusz still in Vancouver, I had to shoot what size to get him. I had a model band made by myself of aluminium foil just before I flew back to Warsaw, and that had to suffice. We'll see if it fits...

The purple 'dots' you can see inside are in fact rubies!
I chose a very simple design of matte white gold with a shiny stripe. My band is 4 mm wide, Mateusz's band is 5 mm wide as he's got way bigger fingers that mine. I bought them from a Polish jeweller Red Rubin ('rubin' is Polish for 'ruby') and their signature feature is to put a tiny ruby inside each band as a symbol of good luck and prosperity. Also, I've had our names (mine bears the name of my fiance, and fiance's ring bears my name) and the date of our wedding engraved on the inner side. All in all, I'm really happy with them!

I'm usually not a fan of this heel shape, but somehow it goes well with the shoe. I also like the white soles and how soft they feel inside...
Also, I had to get myself a pair of wedding shoes because as you know, the dress fitting is impossible without the shoes. I visited dozens of stores, establishing that a) shoes designed specificaly for the wedding are twice or 3 times more expensive than usual shoes for lower quality and cheaper materials, b) the designs were fashionable 10 years ago, c) most of the pairs I tried on were terribly uncomfortable, d) the heels are mostly too high for me to even walk in. Finally, I came round the fact that I won't be able to find my perfect wedding shoes or even if I could find them, I refuse to pay ridiculous prices for something I'll wear once in my life. I decided to get this simple design; it's not the most beautiful shoe in the world, but the color matches with my dress, the heel is right height for me, they're comfortable, and they were very reasonably priced. Actually, they look really nice on my feet as well.

Have you had similar problems finding your wedding shoes or am I just too choosy?

11 comments:

  1. Awh the rings are beautiful, isn't it crazy that different cultures wear their rings on different hands?! Im sure youll look beautiful on your big day! and hope the ring fits your hubby to be! :)

    xoxo

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  2. @Aisling: It's so strange, I totally agree! Thanks, sweetie :) xxx

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  3. Oh I love the shoes. My sister has been looking all over for her wedding shoes as well, so I can imagine it's not easy. Are you excited?

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  4. @Halifax: I am! A bit terrified as well, to tell the truth... but I'll be all right :) xxx

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  5. I love the simplicity of the rings and the added touch of the little ruby. I love hearing about cultural customs.
    I really like the shoes you picked. I has a similar heal on my shoes. I needed something that would give me a bit of height (I'm 5'1) but wouldn't put any unnecessary strain on my back. I also picked up a pair of flats to wear if and when I got tired of my heals.

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  6. I like your choices, honey. I wish I could see your dress - love looking at wedding dresses and brides. :)
    My shoe shopping was crazy. :) I didn't have any shoes and didn't like anything I saw. At the end we decided to go to a massive mall and walk around in search of a perfect pair of shoes. Then my husband-to-be walked into one of the shops and picked a pair of stunning sandals (cream & gold leather straps, enamel flowers and tiny crystals). I tried them on and felt like a Cinderella, of course. So then my "prince" decided to buy them for me. It was the most expensive pair of shoes I had in my life and I was so shocked and happy at the same time I cried...

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  7. @Naomi: The idea of putting a ruby inside jewellery pieces that mark important moments in your life is fab! I also wanted to have some extra height without any painful consequences... I'm thinking of buying some flats as well. xxx

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  8. @Natalia: I will defo post some pictures of the pre-wedding styling! I'm having a fitting next week, can't wait!

    That's such a romantic story :) My fiance also likes choosing and buying shoes for me, some men really know how to make a girl happy! I'd love to see your wedding shoes... Maybe you could do a little post about your wedding bits and pieces? xxx

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  9. The rings are gorgeous. I love the shiny stripe against the matte it makes them unique.. and the little ruby inside is such a nice idea. Its almost like the ring is 2x good luck. 1x for what it stands for and 1x for the ruby!

    I like the shoes.. wedding shoes are always hard because all brides want a heel but not to be too tall. I know what you mean about the heel but i think everyone expects wedding shoes to look like that.

    ooo im so excited for you!!! xxx

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  10. I love the rings and the idea of the ruby for luck! xx

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  11. @Tali: Thank you, sweetie! I also think the rubies are such a nice idea, I was pleasantly surprised by this extra touch :)

    It's exactly what you've said, my fiance is not much taller than me so the heel had to be just right, and on top of it, I'm more flats type of girl, so comfort was the key issue here! xxx

    @Victoria: Thank you, honey! xxx

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