What is a “designer” wedding shoe? How does it differ to a non-designer wedding shoe?! These are questions you may well ask yourself, as the word “designer” is now so overused as to sometimes become meaningless.

A designer wedding shoe can mean a couple of things. It should signify a shoe that has been made with an extra element of care in the design and the fabrics used. Rainbow Club, the largest supplier of wedding shoes in the UK, has two ranges – Rainbow Club which retails at around £65, and Rainbow Couture which retails at around £110. The diference is in the quality of the silks used, and the individual design element that has gone into the shoes.

The Rainbow Club shoes are great value for money, and very stylish, but they will have been manufactured in larger quantities, with slightly less expensive silks, and with less input from the designer into each individual pair.

The Rainbow Couture range will be manufactured in smaller quantities, in expensive silks, and with greater input from the designer Diane Hassall into each pair. The styling will be a key element.

Rainbow Club also have an other range called Hassall. These retail from around £185. Each shoe is individually hand made, so that no two pairs are exactly the same. The designer Diane Hassall is very heavily involved in each stage of the process, and no expense is spared in the design of the shoe. Much of the cost of the shoe goes on the wonderful details are a key part of the vintage look – buckles, fine lace,cute button details, bows, organza and velvet ties, super styling on heel heights, and the very  best silks - all of these things make the shoes very special, and genuinely “designer”.

As usual in life, you get what you pay for, it’s as simple as that!

To see an extensive range of designer wedding shoes, see Designer Wedding Shoes at High Society Bride.