Heels that don't hurt for the more curvy bride

I'll admit, I'm not plus, but my feet are picky about my shoes. Anything over 4in will kill after a couple of hours, especially when I'm on a hard surface like hardwood or concrete. For my wedding shoes, they're 3 1/2 with a 1/2in platform which makes the heel a true 3in. That little platform in the front can really help. I also need to make sure that they're actually leather and not the fake stuff because my feet will sweat and rub with cheaper shoes. Also, pay attention to the stitching on the inside. If it's too prominent or the plastic threads vs string, that'll rub and hurt my feet too. You can usually fix that by putting the gel pads in there too. I think pumps or peeptoes are more comfortable over strappy because the straps will eventually start to dig in.

The thing that tends to make shoes either comfy or not comfy are a nicely-fitting arch, a well-balanced heel, and a toe space that echoes the natural shape of your toes. It depends on the brand and the foot, but I really like Steve Madden shoes.

I'm plus-sized and I'm on my feet all day. My favorite brands are aerosoles, Sofft, naturalizer. Naturalizer does make formal shoes!

Good info. It's funny because I have found flats can hurt just as bad as some heels. I have some cute flat sandle shoes I wear but on Saturday the family and I went to this picnic which required a lot of walking for four hours by the end of the four hours my feet were killing me. Sigh.... I think worse case I might buy some platform flip flops to switch into later worse case scenario.

SXC is there a certain brand you like? In heels?

Rachel I will check that out

Erica good to know thanks a bunch!

I always hesitate to recommend brands because it's so specific based on your feet. I have average to narrow feet, high arches and my ankle bones seem to be a bit lower so sometimes some flats will hurt because the back goes up too high. I will 2nd sofft but I'm not sure what they have for formals. Most of my fancy shoes tend to be designer and I'll say that Miu Miu (what I'm wearing for the wedding) Prada and Chanel usually fit me best. I hate to say I've kind of wasted money on Louboutins because I hardly wear them since they narrow and painful. Cole Haan has some heels with the Nike air technology - I have a pair of low wedges that are just as comfortable as running shoes - not sure if the heels are the way though.

Yeah I will probably hit up some stores to try on the shoes I guess. I thought about checking out DSW.

If you're having problems with heels and flats both, the problem is probably arch support. Have you considered character shoes? They're the shoes that stage dancers/actors wear and they typically have arch support built into them and a more cushioney sole. They are limited in color (typically black, tan, white, and maybe gold or silver) and aren't as "fancy" typically as other shoes, but can easily be glittered or bedazzled. They typically have very flexible leather soles and shorter heels, too. I can wear a pair of them literally all day without pain, but with regular heels I can only go a couple of hours before I'm dying. I'm doing flats for my reception, but as much as FH is talking about dancing now, I'm considering getting a pair of the character shoes instead and just bedazzling them or something, since it would be easier to dance in them than flats.

I like munro. but they are hard to find. I think zappos might have them.......

How about shoe inserts! They make amazing gel pads that fit any heel and make them feel amazing! For heels at least, that way you can pick out whatever Shoe you Love and feel great in them. I buy mine at TARGET in the shoe department and now Dr. Scholds(misspelt) makes ones for heels as well too!

I can't wear heels any more but I used to wear them ALL the time. I totally second the character dance shoes. I had a pair of black t-straps with a 3in heel and I used to easily wear them all day and night (walking in NYC) with no problems. This was also when I was much, much heavier as well.

And if you can bedazzle a pair, even better!

Maybe also limit the amount of time you have to be in the heel? I am wearing heels (a mall heel...2.5", because it is the right height for my dress), for the ceremony, pics, first dance and all that stuff, but once the dancing really starts, I will be changing into different shoes. (i'm doing platform flipflops, but you could choose something more comfortable).

Molly- I'm not sure they are the look I am looking for but they are something to consider when I need a nice pair of dress shoes! I really don't want to bedazzle anything. I'm not crafty and the shoe still isn't the style I'm wanting for the wedding. When I mentioned flats I was just pointing out that just because a shoe is flat doesn't mean that it will be comfortable. Like my flip flops for instance are flat but don't hurt my feet. I have another pair of shoes that are flat that don't but these after a few hours did. That sort of thing.

Janica - as I mentioned inserts don't really work. I have used them in the past with heels (when I was smaller) and found that while they helped they didn't make an uncomfortable shoe comfortable. In my experience it does not work for whatever shoe and I have used many different brands. I found this true as well with athletic shoes.

Shannon - I am thinking that might be what I will and might be best especially for dancing

Definitely head over to DSW and check some out. As another plus size bride I do recommend naturalizer. Easy Spirit is good too, but you can rarely find very dressy shoes.

I had flip flops as my plan, but I am starting to rethink it. Although I need to be careful because my dress has already been hemmed.

I wish I knew about these shoes when I worked in an office sigh... It would of saved my feet some pain lol.

I'm fairly small and most heels kill me after a few hours. Wedges are wonderful. My favorite are Aerosoles. They are amazing, about as good as a pair of sneakers. I went for fashion over comfort for the wedding, 4 inch stilletos, so I have Dr. Scholl inserts for the heel and ball of my foot. But I will have my comfy wedges just in case!