A stiletto on a wedding lawn sinks into the grass. A stiletto on a dance floor at midnight is perfect. A stiletto on a cobblestone street is a gamble you might lose. The best wedding-guest shoe is the one that gets you through the whole event without compromise or regret. The ceremony outside, the photos on a terrace, the dinner and the dancing all on the same shoe. That shoe is rarely a stiletto because a stiletto solves one problem and creates three more for the day.

Block heels and wedges are the undefeated champions of all-day wedding footwear. Veronica Beard's Ellen macrame wedge sandal, Cult Gaia's Phoebe platform sandal and Levanne block-heel boot all handle multiple surfaces without complaint or wobbling. Simon Miller's Raffia Cro slide bridges the gap between dressy and practical quite nicely. Each one gets you through the entire day from ceremony to dinner to dancing without a heel that catches on fabric or a good shoe that punishes your feet at the very end of the night.

Kitten heels are the compromise option for those who want some height. Khaite's Miriam low pump in frost ostrich, Ulla Johnson's Francine cage kitten heel, Staud's Joanna kitten heel mule and Tibi's Beasley leather heel all sit low enough to be safe. But if you actually want to dance and feel good on your feet all day, flats are the real answer. Sperry's Daliahfish sandal is cheap and fine, Cult Gaia's Anora and Camilla sandals are nicer, and ALOHAS' Rosalind barefoot ballet flat in red leather is the one you will actually dance in.

A wedding-guest shoe is not about what looks best in the photo. It is about what gets you through the whole day without pain. That means no sinking into grass, no catching on hems, and ideally something you can walk and dance in without thinking. The stiletto is beautiful for the ceremony. Everything else is for real life and keeping your feet happy. If you take one thing away, it is that the best shoe is the one you forget about once you put it on.