The Other Shoes

Previously on Bows and Bats I wrote about Finding your cinderella shoes, my ongoing search for warm winter boots for the snow. I did find the ones for me, all the way from the USA, the Joan of the Artic Boot by Sorel.

These boots are amazing, so incredibly warm, and I can wear the the rest of the time I am in Canada! But I realised, these will be a bit too warm for while we are inside the beautiful Fairmont Hotel in Banff, so I needed a pair of normal shoes that I could switch back into after being outside.

The other shoes.
I decided I didn't want white shoes, I will never wear them again and I kind of think they are boring. So I went on the look out for a nice coloured pair. I decided on a purple/plum colour to match my sisters Bridesmaid dress. My requirements were:

• Nothing too ridiculously high (i.e. nothing over 3 1/2 inches, preferably less). 
• Peeptoe
• Closed back and sides
• Suede

I really wanted suede shoes, to me it felt more wintery and warm! I first looked on Shoes of Prey and although they are an excellent option, they did not have the colour fabric that I was after.

My next stop was the everyday shoe store, luckily for me Plum was in for winter so I had a few options! I ended up looking at every shoe store I could think of including: Betts, Style Trend, Iconic, Novo, Zomp, Hobbs, Marie Claire Shoes, Van Gogh Shoes, Wittner, Zu, David Jones, Myer. The list went on and nothing! I found nothing. It was pretty annoying. Then I found them at Nine West.

These are called Danee, they are perfect, they are suede, they are peeptoes, they are closed at the back and sides. They are just over 3 1/2 inches but, they are actually really comfy, the platform on the toe makes a huge difference.

Plus, for an added bonus they were on sale at the outlet store near my work, AND they had a further 25% off, so I ended up getting them for $50.

I do think I will buy a pretty shoe clip to glitz them up again, but that is another post, after my long search on Etsy! But what I love about these shoes is that it isn't a one off never wear again deal. I can wear these all the time after the wedding.

Remember, not everything has to be white, and investing lots of money in things you will only wear once not a great investment! Plus, coloured shoes look WAY better in photos!

Warmth for the Wedding

Alas it has been a while since I updated the Mandy and Ray wedding blog! But as of late I had nothing to report.

I recently made some progress, and soon I shall share some arts and crafts work I have been doing, however for the time being I will share with you my fabulous jacket!

So my last blog posts about jackets I noted how difficult it was finding something to wear over my dress in "The Winter Wedding Jacket conundrum". So I tried a bunch of white jackets, some pink ones and they were not really what I was after. I decided white dress, white snow, probably too much white and that I needed something that would look snazzy in the snow.

Introducing The Lonely Heart Jacket from Alannah Hill (which I bought on sale, score!). In hindsight the name is probably a bit unfortunate but at least I can turn a lonely heart into a loved one right!?

The Lonely Heart

In case you hadn't figured out I love Alannah Hill! It is beautiful with its bows, and beads, alas no bats but no one is perfect right!

On a side note, I am considering buying these "Scouting for Boys" matching gloves and scarf to go with the jacket because the sleeves don't quite come down to my wrists. Unfortunately these are not yet on sale, so I might hold off and wait and see.

Also because I get cold ears, earmuffs are a must, but like jackets I have found that earmuffs are tricky to come by especially in specific colours. But thanks to the internet I have earmuffs like these below, and at a low low price of $5. Nice.

Just in case you had not figured it out, my wedding colours are a plum/purple colour. 

Can't wait for the wedding.

Mandy

The ultimate Batman wedding

I recently wrote a blog post about wanting to include Batman in my wedding and in response I was sent the most amazing wedding photo album ever. You can check it out on the Tech Blog website.

In case you don't want to check out all 30 photos here are my favs!

I really loved this photo, I'm definitely hoping to get a photo with my Batman utility belt on!

I really want to make this photo happen for me.
 I know I wont have the awesome city skyline, but I just love the utility belt, gloves and mask! Genius!

The Winter Wedding Jacket Conundrum

With the wedding approaching fast and the winter upon us (in Australia), I have continued my ongoing search for a jacket to wear in the snow!

There are a few options available, from wraps, capes, coats etc. Below are the best options for winter weddings, and I have also tried to list some actual purchasing options.

The fur wrap/shrug option

Mission: Find a way to feature Batman in my wedding

I love Batman, he is absolutely my all time favourite super hero. 

If you haven't read my post about why my blog is called Bows and Bats I suggest you do so and then you can see the many ways in which I try to weave Batman themed items into my every day fashion choices.

Otherwise, if you too love Batman and have been wondering, "How can I have Batman stuff at my wedding" read on because I have found some fantastic items that will not interfere with your chosen wedding style.

If you refer to the image on the left, this is the ultimate in Batman themed weddings. The theme is called Gotham Nights, and is a classy attempt at having the Dark Knight feature in your wedding. I found this on Pinterest while search for Batman Weddings (don't you just love the internet). As much as I love this, I think i'd still like a white wedding, so maybe i'll save that for my 30th birthday instead.

Besides, if Bruce Wayne was getting married he wouldn't dare have such a blatantly obvious Batman wedding.

Finding your Cinderella Shoes..for the winter.

When Ray and I decided to get married in Canada during winter the first thing that I thought of was "what shoes am I going to wear?". I had seen a lot of really cute photos online of winter brides wearing snow boots on their wedding day, and loving boots like I do, that was definitely the option for me. 

So I set forth trying to find some nice snow boots, and realized early on that I would have to buy online, you just can’t buy pretty snow boots in Perth. Sure you could buy something practical, but no one wants ugly shoes on their wedding day.

Making the Invitations

I have seen some amazing wedding invitations some simple, some pretty extravagant. But because Ray and I are having a small wedding I didn't want to spend hours making wedding invites. I simply didn't think it was worth it as everyone who we would send them too already knew anyway.

Well, that is what I thought I was going to do, and so I proceeded to make the most simple invitations ever. A picture of Banff Springs Hotel in black and white with a fancy font. Done.