HaselBride

The Commission Project

Paul and Jordan Ferney recently announced their latest creative endeavor: The Commission Project. Based on the idea that most people can't afford to spend a lot of money on a custom painting, Paul is offering 100 custom 5x7 paintings for only $200 until they are sold out or by November 14, whichever comes first. An insane deal for an awesome keepsake!

I loved my wedding shoes and searched high and low for these gorgeous green heels. Jordan sent out a tweet asking for photos of wedding shoes to use an example and now this lovely painting, below, is on its way to me.

Absolutely wonderful, right? Paul's paintings are nothing less than fantastic. So if you want a painting to commemorate your wedding shoes, caketopper, wedding location, you and your groom, one each of you your children or grandchildren, etc. now is the time! Rumor has it – okay, according to Jordan's tweets – half of the portraits are sold already!

Don't have a particular subject in mind, but love Paul's work? Check out Paul and Jordan's previous collaboration: Let Them Eat Cake and Paul's portfolio to view his other paintings.

I am delighted to have this painting of my wedding shoes. How are you planning to showcase special items from your wedding? Would you consider commissioning a painting?

Photograph © Turtle Pond Photograhy. Painting © Paul Ferney.

Green Shoe Love

I loved my wedding shoes. {The Nine West Jojus in apple green.} It seems other brides-to-be do, too–I've had half a dozen inquires about where to find them or to see if I still the extras I purchased for sale. Sadly, I sold both pairs and plan to hang onto mine. However, I'm always on the lookout for beautiful green heels.

I found my pair on Overstock.com after seeing them in a real wedding featured on The Brides' Cafe. They were so comfortable–for a heel–and were a close–but inexpensive–match to the feathered Christian Louboutins {shown below} I lusted for featured on Style Me Pretty. I honestly didn't take them off until we left the reception and went back to our hotel room.

If you loved either of those green shoes, prepare to fall in love. J. Crew recently introduced the La Plume Satin Peep Toes from J. Crew. These are a fabulous take on the Louboutins, but without the ankle strap, which to me is a welcome change. Ankle straps can be so uncomfortable!

They are smidge pricey at $385, but still a steal compared to the $700+ price tag of the Louboutins. I love colored shoes with wedding gowns. It is a trend I hope becomes a classic. Are you wearing colored shoes? If so, in what shade?

Top image © Turtle Pond Photography. Please do not repost without providing credit and a link back to Turtle Pond and HaselBride. Thanks!

Additional images {from top to bottom} photographed by Cheri Pearl from Style Me Pretty {event design by Oh How Charming!} and J.Crew.

SOLD! {Shoes for Sale} Green Nine West Jojus

Edited to add: SOLD! I wish I had twelve pairs to sell to all of you, but I only had the two {and the one was sold before I even started this post; these babies are popular!}. They might not be a perfect fit for these brides, so I will let you know if they become available again.

I normally wouldn't post stuff like this, but I've had a surprising number of inquiries about the extra shoes I purchased. I was just going to return them, but I would love to help out a fellow green-loving bride. If you're a size 9 this one's for you: I'm selling one of my extra pairs of the infamous, green Nine West Jojus. I posted about them here. They've been featured on half a dozen blogs and our shoeru Molly is wearing them to her wedding in red. They are brand new, still in the box with all the original packaging. Interested or have a question? Shoot me an email.

These Shoes Were Made for Walkin'

Another chapter in the HaselBride shoe saga...

When I was in Indiana, I begged my mom to make a quick pit stop on the way home from the airport. She begrudgingly* drove me to Saks Fifth Avenue, where I tried on the wonderful Manolo Blahnik silver Sedaraby that I've been obsessed with since, well, forever. It was heaven. Made of leather, it is so supple and soft and fabulous. I pranced around the store in it as my mom rolled her eyes. I love it, I really do BUT. Here goes...it is such a beautiful shoe and I would wear it again for a million other things after the wedding, BUT I just don't think it compliments my dress. The buckle and the silver might be too blinged out with my very beaded dress. So, I am back to the shoe drawing board and thinking maybe this time some color. {One day, I will own those shoes...I promise.}

We've all been eyeballing the lovely green feathered Christian Louboutins {also available in blue and red} that were featured in a real wedding post on Style Me Pretty. They are gorgeous and so unique, but at $760 are a bit too much of a splurge for me. Plus, where do you wear a feathered shoe after your wedding? Not too practical. {So so hard for me to admit, but it is true.}

Then Janie at The Bride's Cafe showcased a real wedding where the bride wore the Nine West Jojus in green. I had been admiring the light gray version for months on Piperlime, but I had never seen the green. So I Googled and searched every online department store and shoe shop {and a few brick and mortar stores}, until one day I finally found the green ones on Overstock.com. For $30. {Other colors were $80-90.}

In a crazy mad rush, I ordered three sizes to be sure I had my choice. They came in this week and I love them! They are so comfortable. Because they aren't super strappy and the front knotted straps are made of fabric with a soft leather underneath, they won't rub my feet raw after a long day of standing and dancing. However, I am not 100% sold on the green. Seems like everyone is wearing green shoes. Although I'd be in great company, I want to see what the light grey looks like in person. They were now on sale also {$50!}. I ordered those a few days ago, so they should be here next week. Then I think I'll try them both with my dress and see which I like best.

How did you chose your wedding shoes? Or if you haven't yet, what shoes are you daydreaming about now?

{*I did not inherit the love-to-shop gene from my mother, we think it came from my aunt or my father's love to shop for cars, guns and watches...you know guy things.}

Top images © Cheri Pearl via Style Me Pretty {event design by Oh How Charming!}, bottom images © Amy Squires via The Bride's Cafe.

{Sex and the City Inspiration} A Woman's Right to Shoes, continued

Sex and the City: The Movie was as fabulous {and somewhat predictable because I read too many spoilers} as I had hoped. I hope those of you who want to see it get to soon.

These Manolos to the left were specially made for the movie and are gorgeous {something blue anyone?}. According to the NY Post, they were created by Manolo Blahnik just for the movie and will be sold for $885 on June 9 at the Manolo Blahnik store in New York.

If I had an extra $900+ lying around, I might just have to have them. Alas, I will hold out for the $600 pair.

{Sex and the City Inspiration} A Woman's Right to Shoes

Sex and the City is to shoes like peanut butter is to jelly – you can't have one without the other! The show put high-end designer shoes like Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin on the radar of every woman in America. {Myself included!}

Photos © HBO.

When I started thinking about possible shoes for the big day, I knew I wasn't opposed to splurging for some very memorable shoes. Especially if I would wear them after the wedding {in other words, not cream/ivory/white/etc}. The first dream shoe that popped into my mind was the infamous, stolen silver Manolo Blahnik d'orsay heel worn by Carrie in the season six episode "A Woman's Right to Shoes." Called the Sedaraby, the style is exactly what I have in mind. Open-toed, but not strappy.


 
Photo left © HBO and right © Barneys New York.

I've searched every high-end department store online {Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, etc.} and have found many gorgeous versions {teal leopard print anyone?}, but not my desired color. In my search, I found a random purse and shoes forum where some women had luck calling a Saks directly to order the shoes. Others have contacted the Manolo Blahnik store in NYC directly and were put on a wait list, but eventually got the shoes {rumor has it the silver Sedarabys are released twice a year to the actual Manolo Blahnik boutiques}. I know some other people have had luck just looking in the stores.

As much as I love the shoes, I'm going to wait until I've made other accessory selections and see my dress in person again before I make my final decision. It's fun to dream about these for now. In the next week or so, I'll be sharing other choices for wedding day shoes {all splurges of course}.

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PS: The movie comes out sooooo soon, I cannot wait to see it!!!