Dress length vs heel height

My heels for the ceremony are 4" tall. I plan to wear them for as long as possible but bought flats for the reception just in case. What my seamstress did was hem the length to my heels and then create a front bustle in the event that I change my shoes. Basically she just put a few little tiny loops along the inside of the front so that I can just fold it under to pick it up off the floor.

Hope that makes sense.

Following this discussion as I am doing the same thing. Great question!

Bump! And Ashlee that's a great idea, I didn't think of that. I'll be in 4 inch heels for the ceremony too but I really want to wear flats for the reception and not have to wear wedges or platform flip flops. I'll have to check into that when my dress comes.

I'm wearing heels for as long as I can and then just wearing wedged flip flops when my feet hurt. They'll be just as comfy as flats and I don't have to worry about a front bustle or anything like that.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to ask the seamstress about a possible front bussle. I just know that no matter what, shoes are coming off at the reception! Lol or I'll wear flats. Do you guys think 5'4'' is too short to not wear heels for the ceremony? I have a big ball gown so I don't want to width of it to make me look short and wide. If I could just wear flats the whole time I'd love that though. I plan on getting the white crochet toms they're so cute!

I am wearing quite tall heels for the ceremony and pics, then will change into flats for the dancing. I'm having my dress hemmed somewhere in between the two - a little shorter than would be usual for the heels just so I'm not tripping over all night in the flats. I love my heels, so if they peek out as I'm walking I can live with that!

I would recommend doing something about the dress length. I wore a full length bridesmaids dress and was tripping all night when I switched to flats. It was no fun and I couldn't really dance.

@Christine -- I understand not wanting to look wide (I'm the same height as you, and know how that goes for those of us on the shorter side), but your height is your height. You're not "too short" for flats, lol. I'd say as long as you like the way you look and your dress looks, the height of your heel (and YOUR own height) really have nothing to do with it.

I'm 5'2. I wore fancy 4" heels for the ceremony and pics, and changed into low-heeled cowboy boots for the reception. I had the seamstress do the hem to match the boots, as I wanted the heels to be seen as much as possible before I took them off.

One thing to keep in mind is that heels make you carry yourself differently - a bit more wiggle to your walk, and you stand up straighter. That's why models on magazine covers are wearing heels, even if you can only see the model from the waist up.

I wouldnt worry about wearing flats and having them make you look wide, that is your height.

However, heels do give you better posture. I hate heels but am wearing them for the ceremony so my posture looked great in all my pictures.

If you can't even see the shoes, I say it doesn't matter. I'm wearing flats the whole time and I'm 5'6".

Thanks so much for the help everyone! I really like the point about heels giving you better posture. I will need that lol. Maybe what I'll do is just have a smaller heel, enough to give me better posture and make me feel a little better about my height haha but not so much that it will be a huge difference for when I wear flats/go barefoot. Then I can have the dress hemmed somewhere between the two and hopefully not trip on it all night!

Following! Some really great ideas here. Does anyone have any pics of their heels showing under their dress or of the front bustle?