I think a natural color (light or dark tan) sandal would look nice with a neutral color like beige. But I also agree that you could wear ANY color shoe with a beige dress as long as you wear other accesories in the same color to tie it together. I don't wear beige much, but I wear a lot of khaki (skirts and pants) and really enjoy wearing a variety of different colors with it---so have some fun!!!

Thank you all for all the advice and opinions. I have ordered the dress and I am going through with it. I did try to talk to the bride. I declined the nail, hair, makeup appointments on the reason that I will just not have time that day to attend them. She is now very angry with me because I am not "cooperating" with what she wants for her "special" day. My hair & makeup will not match the other bridesmaids or hers. Oh well, life moves on. I got the matching dress and I have a hairdresser friend who is coming to my house to do my hair & makeup(this helps me with time because I don't have to go anyplace). I am not the cake server, just the cake maker & set up. Yes, I will be attending the wedding anyhow....the reason I originally agreed....I would be there anyhow..why not stand up for her. It got way more complicated after that point. My husband will be helping me. He has to get ready for the wedding as well and has his own list of "chores" he is supposed to be getting done the day of the wedding. He will be getting the boys ready....we have 2. I will be responsible for our daughter. Not sure where the communication in the thread came from that said i had 3 boys....i may have typed something incorrectly. Bride is also upset that I am not allowing my daughter to attend the nail, hair, makeup sessions too. She is 8 years old and is supposed to be a jr. bridesmaid but IMO she does not need nails & makeup done. My friend is doing her hair when she does mine. I really am trying to make this all work. I have a very tight schedule that day. It keeps getting worse....yesterday the bride tells me she wants everyone at the wedding site at 2 pm....wedding is at 5. I just came right out and said....that is pretty much impossible for me with everything else but I will have your cake done and ready for the reception and myself & the children will be there and ready to walk down the aisle when its our turn. I know how hectic weddings can be.....I deal with brides all the time. I am a cake decorator. In the months of May & June, I make as many as 5 wedding cake per week to be set up and delivered. I can deal with busy & stress. NEVER, have i ever had a bride behave as this one has. Lesson learned i suppose. Someone posted something about my in laws loving me or trusting me. I'm not all that sure that its that but more that there is no one else for her to turn to, to get things done. She has burned a lot of bridges over time. & I am apparently glutton for punishment. haha Also, I did decline to host the wedding showers and bride is very upset because no one else did them so they had not a single wedding shower. I offered to help if anyone else wanted to plan them but no one did. Again, thank you all so much for your help!! Ill post back later and let everyone know how everything ended up going. Date is April 17th. We shall see....I will put my very best effort forth...that is all I can do. :-)

I installed Corian Rain Cloud after looking at a variety of marble look a likes. I love marble, but it can be hard to maintain and I have a sloped kitchen in an old house...would stress the stone. I LOVE THE CORIAN! I think I like it even better than marble now. I had it honed (non shine) as that what the installers said they are doing with all the marble on direction from the designers. You can see pics of my counters here: http://gildedmint.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-update-your-kitchenwithout.html Also, call around...don't go to Lowes or Home Depot. I went with a surfacing company and it was around $55 installed. Here is a link that might be useful: Rain Cloud Kitchen Photos

I agree with Raven-- you have to at least choose a line with the same purples if the bridesmaids will chose different dresses. Part of the challenge is that purple is a big color for weddings this year. Nordstroms and many of the other stores have a range of purple dresses but the available sizes are very limited. I'd try to find one of the lines that comes in plus sizes. While a lot of the dresses will go up to 16 or 18 in regular sizes, we all know that a lot of the bridal style dresses run small. Look for brands like Eliza J and Ralph Lauren... and I strongly suggest checking a couple of times a week for the new styles. If you see something you think is a possibility, order! You can always return. FWIW when my bff was married (also Sept), we all wore linen sheath dresses from Talbots. The ordering was easy. The dresses were a light gray and we all wore pearls. It was a very simple style but we all looked lovely-- from size 4 to size 18. I don't see anything that would work now but if your daughter would be ok with a more simple style, you may find something in the next month or two.