'Say Yes to the Dress' Features a Blind Bride Finding Her Dream Gown

Shaela said yes to the dress!

If you are like me and you can’t stop watching TLC’s hit show, “Say Yes to the Dress,” then you know you’ve seen hundreds of different types of brides over the years. What I saw for the first time while catching up on old episodes a few nights ago, was a blind bride featured.

Shaela Warkentin was a bride on the 20th season of “Say Yes to the Dress.” She explained how at 15, she was in an accident with a driver under the influence that ultimately left her disabled and without her vision. Due to her accident, she lost friends and a lot of people due to the new communication barrier, as she described it. She was hoping things would return back to the way they were prior to the accident, but they didn’t. 

She had a personal pessimistic outlook on love, “Because I mean, who wants to be with someone who can’t see? But then, I met Tyler.”

She met her fiancé while in college and the rest was history. He proposed on the beach and soon after she jumped into bridal mode. She describes what matters to her in a wedding dress – textiles and feel. That and she wanted a little bit of shimmer where it’s not too plain but not too much.

Her bridal assistant, Lisa, jumped on it. 

Her first dress was a shimmery A-Line dress with a lace bodice, plunging sweetheart neckline, and spaghetti straps. Her entourage for the most part loved it, but her mom had her small reservations. She felt good in it and was excited, but it wasn’t the dress for her.

Dress number two was a dress from Randy’s line (as can be expected with this show). She liked the dress and the sequins, and while it felt good it still felt off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Personally, I could tell very quickly this wasn’t the dress for her but maybe that’s my background in working bridal boutiques and events that made it obvious. It was romantic, but it wasn’t sexy, and that’s what she wanted.

She physically felt dress number three before putting it on. “It’s so detailed and I love that about it.” 

She was beaming as she walked out, which competed with the radiant smiles of the people she brought. “Do you love it?” Her entourage asked. She replied, “It’s everything.”

She loved the different fabrics and textures, and it felt the best in the midsection. 

“It’s interesting because I’ve had such a hard time describing what it is I want, but when I have this dress on me, I feel that exact feeling that I can’t describe.” 

Randy Fenoli agreed that she felt beautiful and her fiancé would love it. Everyone was in agreement when a veil was put on her head. This was her dress.

Shaela said yes to the dress eagerly. 

In the past, the show featured the “bionic model” Rebekah Marine onto the show, a disabled woman with a high-tech prosthetic that mimics muscle movements. This isn’t their first time featuring a disabled bride, and hopefully, it won’t be the last.

Congrats to Shaela and we can’t wait to see her wedding day play out!