...Hello Hand-Made Manolos!

It's Sunday morning, about 8am.  I'm sitting in a close friend's apartment in New York City watching silent TV while he tries to catch some extra Zz's. I'm here for my stagette part deux and to-date it's been a blast.  A series of unintended good fun and near disasters have made this an all too memorable weekend and there's still one more day.

The only major issue has been the near loss of my baby toe.  I knew leaving the apartment on Saturday morning that my feet would be highly vulnerable in flip flops in the chaos of Manhattan however there was no alternative shoe choice after a Friday in stilettos at Sing Sing Karaoke. My feet and head were equally swollen, but I ventured anyway because neither disorder was going to stop me from chilling in the west village on a sunny NY day. 

Bad move.

Whilst buying coffee, I, nearly blinded due to reduced vision, didn't see the tallest man with the biggest feet b-lining straight into my baby toe. The pain was unbearable but so was the immediate thought: "God, not now, not before the wedding! I'll die if I can't wear my Manolos." 

You read correctly, Manolos.

Last week, while finalizing the touches on our wedding outfits, I came across a pair of shoes that caught my eye - hand made, crystal studded, silver wired 3 1/2 inch Manolo B's. Price: Forgedahboudit.

It was apparent even in Brazil that my fiancé was underwhelmed by my very elegant yet simple Brazilian pumps that I chose for my wedding dress. To be honest, I was too but I had insight he didn't and that was that no women can survive a Greek wedding in stripper stilettos - no one. So, for fun, I brought the masterpieces over to G to demonstrate my sacrifice, and to show this man - who was about to adorn his newly svelte bod with a designer tux --  what a reasonable and humble women he was about to marry. To let him know that in life, I will always choose modesty over material and how happy I am with my inexpensive Brazilian beauties and how jealously unhappy I am that he is about to spend more money than I did on my wedding dress.

His reaction? "Babe, those are swwweeeet! Get 'em."

And so I did. Just like that sexy beat out humility. Rational went out the window and his love for me not affirmed, but cemented at the cash register. Isn't this how Rome fell?

So now I have two pairs of wedding shoes - one, a work of art and the other a comfortable back up from Brazil, that made for a good article and a perfect segway to my next New York restaurant reco -  Berimbau Brazilian restaurant in West Village, where the food is as memorable as the staff.

Gotta go cycle though Cenral Park, see you back in Toronto!

Sousie Tsotskos, A Greek Divas Bridal Brigade
		About the author:
		Toronto public relations expert Sousie Tsotskos will walk down the aisle on June 6th, 2009. After years of showcasing Toronto's finest to media from around the world for Tourism Toronto, she uses industry secrets to plan her own wedding, taking us on an intoxicating and zany tour. From unusual dress-fittings, unwelcomed run-ins, hen parties and a minor identity crisis - find out how this Toronto mover-and-shaker learned to plan her BIG, LEAN, STYLISH GREEK WEDDING on a dime. This is one of the most highly addictive columns on WOMAN.ca.
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