Last March we sent a note to a then-Ms. Jennifer Johns letting her know that her love story took the cake (literally). As Jen explains it, the engagement to her boyfriend of four years, Ben, was something that had been on both of their minds for some time and was feeling more and more right. The cutest bits? Both Jen and Ben, unbeknownst to each other, had been speaking to a seller by phone about the same antique fireplace for their home. When Ben called up, the man asked if his wife had called earlier. Ben, processing the question, answered a collected: yes. Later when Ben told Jen about the call, she asked how he responded. When he said ‘yes’ she replied: well, should we?

Taken by the warmth and simplicity of Jen’s story, we chose her as the winner of our New York Times contest, where we asked brides to submit a snapshot of their engagement for a chance to let us help them realize their dream wedding. Though our little romance with Jen (and Ben) technically began when we read her entry, it wasn’t until we met her at our Chicago store that it was officially in bloom. Her bridal consultation kicked off two and a half months of furious-yet-joyous prep for their wedding on August 4, 2012. Their wedding day, in all its Colorado mountain top loveliness, will follow, but first: gowns, flowers, sweets, and champagne with our bride-to-be and her family.

Jen’s favorites coming into her appointment were a super-flowy Catherine Deane and our Zinnia Gown. She went for the Catherine Deane first, but once on it seemed like too much fabric for an August wedding.

Next, another (new!) Catherine Deane: a pretty strapless with a draped bodice and lacy A-line skirt. Our stylist Bri was pretty sure that she’d look great in it, and even though she’d shown it to Jen pre-appointment…to no avail…Bri brought it along anyway. She was right! Only two dresses in, and Jen and crew were pretty smitten.

The Zinnia was something Jen had wanted to try on from the very beginning. She told Bri that even though she had a hunch it wasn’t going to be the one, she couldn’t stop thinking about it!

This pretty, softly striped number surprised everyone by how much it came to life off the hanger, but at the end of the day it didn’t have enough wow factor for Jen and crew.

When pulling dresses for Jen, our stylist Adrienne made sure to stick to selections that felt easy, comfortable, and romantic.

But–options, options! Next up was our Flamenca Gown. This wasn’t something she necessarily requested, but she ended up looking gorgeous in it. Though it was super romantic on (you could tell Jen thought so too), it wasn’t quite as breezy as some of the others she was falling fast in love with.

Our Eyelet Medley Gown was on and off pretty quickly. Though she liked the shape they all agreed it was a bit too casual.

It had to be Luella (Luella, Luella!). She tried this one on at least three times throughout the day, and on the third, after walking around a bit and adding a shrug she’d been eyeing since the morning, she was 99% positive it was the one. Then, Bri grabbed the flowers out of the vase on the table and handed them to her. That was that. Everyone knew it was the one!