What’s in a Name:  The Story Behind Ellie Wren Custom Wedding Shoes

What’s in a Name: The Story Behind Ellie Wren Custom Wedding Shoes

Kate Friedman (better known in the bridal industry as Ellie Wren) is the principal designer and owner of Ellie Wren Custom Wedding Shoes.  She has been designing women’s shoes since 2007.  Ellie’s wedding shoe designs are uncommon in that her specialty is working one on one with her clients to understand what makes them, and their significant others, unique.  A firm believer that custom wedding shoes are a opportunity to capture the essence of the couple, Ellie then incorporates what she learns into the bride’s wedding shoes. Ellie shoes have been walking down aisles the world over and, in addition to her collection of lovely lace-covered wedges and Swarovski-studded peep toes, Ellie has done some pretty amazing custom work, including the “Cloud Shoes” that she designed for Good Morning America’s anchor meteorologist, Ginger Zee’s 2014 wedding to Ben Aaron.  Other unique wedding shoe designs include her trademark baseball wedding shoes, originally designed for Yankee Stadium nuptials that have since been recreated for the coupling of Colorado Rockies’, St. Louis Cardinals’, Detroit Tigers’, Boston Red Sox’ and Chicago Cubs’ fans.  She even has a pair of “rock climbing” and “pilot meets flight attendant” wedding shoes under her belt. While a shoe lover and style devotee by birth, Ellie (then better known as Kate Friedman) didn’t have the guts to pursue her passion until after four years of a traditional college education, followed by three years of law school and eight years of law practice (good for business development, bad for creativity), but she maintains that everything happens for a reason and she is now (finally!) happily and exactly where she...
Custom Wedding Shoes — How to Get the Perfect Fit

Custom Wedding Shoes — How to Get the Perfect Fit

It isn’t uncommon (or particularly surprising) that many of our brides seeking a pair of custom wedding shoes are concerned about the fit.  As custom wedding products, often handmade exactly to the brides specifications, it remains a challenge for us as designers to create a pair of dream wedding shoes only to find that the bride’s heel slips in the back.  Returns and exchanges are tricky for both parties–brides have fittings and drop-dead dates by which they need the shoes, and, for Ellie Wren, sometimes the designs are so unique, resale isn’t possible (as fun and creative as they are, how many brides are looking for custom airplane shoes?). To accommodate this problem, Ellie Wren has introduced the “Try Before You Buy” program.  For a small fee (the majority of which can be credited toward the price of the bride’s custom wedding shoes), brides can order a pair of shoes for the purpose of trying them on before the custom work is completed.  Here’s how it works… Shoes may be purchased in your size and shipped directly to you. They will arrive unadorned and in white. The cost of this service is $45.00 (per pair) fee and you will be responsible for the cost of shipping the shoes to Ellie Wren for completion of the custom order.   If you complete the purchase of your shoes, 75% of the $45.00 per pair cost will be credited to your purchase. You will not be credited for the shipping costs to Ellie Wren. If you do not purchase the custom design for your shoes the $45.00 will be non-refundable. If you decide...
Wedding Shoe of the Week — What We’re Up to in the Custom Wedding Shoe Studio

Wedding Shoe of the Week — What We’re Up to in the Custom Wedding Shoe Studio

[A note from principal custom wedding shoe designer, Ellie Wren:  As we get our blog off the ground, I’ve been thinking a lot about the tone that I’d like it to take and the kinds of things that I’d like to share visitors.  Naturally, we’ll talk a lot about wedding shoes.  It’s our passion and our pride and we’ve got a lot to share as new designs and ideas come into the studio all the time.  To try and present that in the best manner possible, I’ve decided to do a “Shoe of the Week” post, where we’ll showcase on particular custom wedding shoe that we’ve been working on.  In addition, I think it’s also important to put together thoughts on wedding style in general, probably with an emphasis on themed weddings, as well as some thoughts other wedding accessories as we start to explore expanding into those areas.] And, now, without further ado…the custom wedding shoe of the week! For this particular design, we were inspired by a collection of wedding dresses featuring soft, flowing layers of chiffon that cascaded to the floor.  As so many brides request, we wanted to capture that same romantic theme into a pair of wedding shoes, but as the same time, keep the slim and elegant feel of a d’orsay style peep toe by not overwhelming the wedding shoes with too much chiffon.  After some experimentation, we created this stunning, handmade chiffon flower–constructed of a dozen layers of blush chiffon.  We placed the flower slightly off center to the outside of the shoe, just to add to it’s overall free-spirited, romantic nature....

Custom Weddings: Incorporating Your Personal Style Into Your Wedding (Part 1, Custom Sashes)

The world of bridal fashion is buzzing — talented designers abound and, let’s face it, really. pretty. stuff. is. everywhere.  Sometimes it’s hard to find your perfect something in the vastness of it all.  But, fear not, bride to be, if you can’t find it, rest assured that you can have it made for you. Yes, yes.  This blog in general is most definitely a plug for custom wedding shoes, as Ellie Wren has carved a niche in the bridal market by creating one of kind, custom wedding shoes.  And we will get to that, but today we’d like to explore other opportunities to bring your own personal style to your wedding day through custom wedding dress sashes. The ever-popular Etsy is a great source for finding truly talented individuals capable of creating something totally original for your wedding day and as (most) designers are small business owners or sole proprietors, you can often find gems without paying hefty mark ups. If you’re looking for traditional, yet original, designs with lots of sparkle, we love EnrichbyMillie.  You can tell just by looking at these pieces that a lot of time, energy and care goes into them.  And, while each piece showcased in Millie’s shop is classically beautiful, she also customizes pieces for color and size.  EnrichbyMillie is also rocking a 5-star review on Etsy, which we can tell you from experience really means something.   It is a ton of hard work and dedication to customer service, month after month. For brides who aren’t as into bling for their wedding sash, we also love what A Goddess Divine creates.  Lynn,...