Sara, whatever you do, do not skimp on the shoes (or socks). Buy a name brand, and probably any quality name brand that fits your foot is going to be good. Bypass the 'store brands' sold by WalMart or other discounters. Probably the single most important piece of gear for any hiker/walker is the footwear. So I will not advocate any specific brand, but I will strongly suggest you find some quality footwear. Boots or shoes, that choice is yours to make. I would suggest a Gore-Tex liner to allow your feet to breathe a bit. Water proof (which is actually highly water resistent since nothing is 100%) is a big plus.
ALSO, and this is just as important. GOOD MERINO WOOL "HIKING" socks. Darn Tough brand light hikers are my favorites. Smartwool Phd light weight hiking socks are my daughter's favorites. My wife has both, and a couple other brands too! You will want to 'break them in' just like you will want to break in your hiking boots (for a couple months) not a week or two. Realize there are Merino Wool socks that are not hiking socks, so buy hiking socks. I like "light" hikers, meaning they are lighly padded, but others prefer more padding. Its a personal choice, try a couple different types.
You will want 3 or 4 pairs of socks. 1 you will be wearing. 2 or 3 will be in your pack. If you get your feet wet, stop and put on a dry pair of socks.
ALSO, you may want to buy a spare pair of shoe insoles. If you step into a deep puddle/stream/etc and get the inside of your shoe soaked then the spare pair of insoles will allow you put in a dry pair of insoles AND put on a dry pair of socks!
Wet feet = blisters.