Creating Custom Wedding Sandals
To create vintage inspired wedding sandals, try incorporating some vintage jewelry. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. One of the easiest is to add a vintage clip on earring to a simple thong sandal. Clip one large earring on at the part of the strap right before your toes. Earrings are great for this because you can have matching additions to each shoe. If you can find three or four pairs of smaller vintage clip on earrings, run them along the entire strap of your thong styled sandal. Be sure to do this evenly on both shoes so that they look professional. If you are worried that the earrings may fall off while you walk or you are definitely not planning on ever wearing them as earring, use a leather or heavy-duty fabric style glue to adhere the earrings in place. You may be able to also use a sturdy needle made for working with leather and heavy duty thread to attached the earrings by sewing them in place. This would allow you to remove them if you thought you might want to wear them later in time. Other vintage inspirations could include attaching vintage or vintage inspired reproduction bracelets or beading to your shoes. Less is always more, so do not over do it!
For a colorful or festive outdoor lawn or garden wedding try attaching silk flowers to your shoe. Again, the easiest would probably be attaching one semi flat style flower to a thong style sandal. This can be very elegant, especially if your dress shows your shoe. To do this remove the center part of the flower. Most silk flowers can be taken apart into a couple pieces. Sew the flower onto your sandals using a strong needle and thread. Then, glue the center part of the flower back into its original location. I would use cement glue or heavy fabric glue. You may find that you need to cut part of the plastic insert out of the center of the flower to get it to fit properly back into place. If you can try using flowers that carry on the theme of the real flowers in your wedding. Be sure to coordinate with the style of your dress at all costs. The aim is to create something customized, elegant, and flattering. Invest in some good quality silk flowers since you are only buying two. The quality of your products will really be noticed here.
For a beach themed wedding you could add shells to you white wedding sandals. Most beach cities have oodles of local stores that sell small seashells. Some of these are reproductions and they really will hold up better than the real deal. Real shells can become fragile over time. To get this finished before you get to your beach wedding destination city visit a local arts and crafts store. They all carry these fake shells that look like the real thing. To attach them you will need heavy-duty glue. Something appropriate for fabric or leather. Make sure you buy a glue type that says it dries clear. If the seas shell has small holes you may be able to sew them on, but visible thread may not compliment the look. If you go this route be sure to choose a thread that blends well or is flattering to the style of your shoe. A beautiful look would be to run a row of very small seashells along the main straps. For a minimal look try grouping three very mall seashells on that central part above your toes on a thong styled sandal. Thong sandals with big decorations above the toe are very in style right now. So take time to look at other shoes and get a little inspiration.
For a more glitzy or formal wedding you can customize wedding sandals with all sorts of beading, crystals, and ribbons. Take inspiration from your wedding dress. If you are wearing a very strappy sandal that wraps around your ankle try attaching beads at the ends of the straps. The beads will sway as you walk and cause everyone to notice your beautiful sandals. For a slip on style sandal with a band of fabric over your toes you can sew on beautiful clear beading. Sew a row of glass beads along the top of the strap and along the bottom of the strap to finish off the fabric. This will add an elegant touch to a very informal shoe. For a little more glitz fill in the area between the two rows of beads with smaller different beads. These ideas can dress up the look of the sandal and really make an informal shoe more formal. Best of all, beading is really in style right now, so you could wear these shoes after your wedding day.
Get inspired to create customized wedding sandals. Visit your local arts and crafts store, look at what style of sandals are in style today, and open your mind to creating something truly unique. Most importantly though, create something that looks elegant, stylish, and beautiful.
