From the start, Alyssen knew she wanted a second look that felt like her.
“I love my wedding dress, but she’s not a danceable dress,” she said. “I knew I wanted to wear red, because it’s my favorite color and my husband loves me in red.”
Finding NK Bride
In her search for a dress, she discovered NK Bride on TikTok.
“I just loved the flow of the dresses, I loved the uniqueness that they were able to bring into everything people wanted.”
Their first consult confirmed the fit.
“It was just really easy to talk to Nathalie, and she was so ready to jump in with the dress that I wanted,” she said. Nathalie immediately got excited and began offering ideas.
From the start, Nathalie made the experience tailored to Alyssen.
“One of the things my mom loved was when we got the first sketch back, she was like, ‘Oh my god, she put it on a Black-skinned person,’” Alyssen said. “Nathalie took the time to make it look like something I could see myself in.”
Designing the Dress
Alyssen envisioned what she called “the evil twin” of her wedding gown.
“My wedding dress is very romantic, beautiful, and whimsical, and I wanted my second dress to be sexy and fun.”
From the get-go, she knew she wanted a satin dress.
“I love satin. I love the way that it feels on the skin.”
Working remotely at first, Nathalie sent sketches and then invited Alyssen to the studio to choose fabrics. Together, they selected an “in-your-face blue-red satin material.”
A muslin fitting fine-tuned proportions. Together, they decided how the straps would sit, the width of them, how high they wanted the slits, and how low they wanted the back. For dancing, Nathalie engineered two side bustles and a wrist hook.
“I could have my dress high and not worry about anybody stepping on it, which was really great.”
Throughout, the experience felt joyful and collaborative.
“It felt really comfortable,” Alyssen said. She said the whole NK Bride team was engaged in the process.
“They made sure that what they were doing was the best work that they could give.”
The result was a crimson-red Spanish double-faced satin gown, bias-cut for liquid movement, with a soft draped neckline, low open back, and a flowing A-line skirt split high over one leg. Matching bridal buttons ran the full length of the back seam, and a built-in bustle and wristlet transformed it instantly for dancing.
When Alyssen tried it on for the first time, she said she was “on cloud nine.”
“I was like such a giddy little girl,” she said. “I was doing spins with it, and I was staring at myself in the mirror.”
A Love Story for the Books
Alyssen and Brendan’s story began in childhood.
“We have known each other since second grade,” she said.
They started dating at fifteen and have been inseparable ever since.
“No matter our situations in life, we just figure out how to make it work.”
By the time Brendan proposed, their relationship had already spanned more than a decade—through high school, college, and years of long-distance as he served in the military.
They were celebrating their tenth anniversary, staying in a cabin in Pennsylvania after attending a friend’s wedding. What Alyssen didn’t know was that Brendan had told all their friends at the wedding that he was planning to propose that Monday.
“He had my best friends help set us up, so they set up candles and a bunch of pictures of us,” she reflected.
The entire proposal was themed around the couple’s shared love of books.
“We’re big book people, we love reading, and Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, so he did a Pride and Prejudice-themed proposal,” she said.
Brendan put a heartfelt letter in a hollowed-out Pride and Prejudice book and put a photograph of them in a big frame, stating, “You must know, surely you must know, it was all for you.” This matches a Mr. Darcy quote that Alyssen has to celebrate her love of the book.
Brendan proposed on the back porch surrounded by candles.
A Wedding Under the Stars
Alyssen and Brendan were married at The Mill Lakeside Manor in Spring Lake, New Jersey, a venue that felt cozy.
“We wanted it to feel comfortable, we wanted it to feel like people were in our home,” she said. “The energy was very calm. Everyone could feel the love.”
Their ceremony was personal and family-focused, blending their heritages.
“We did a handfasting for him—he’s Irish—and then jumped the broom for me.”
The couple danced under clear skies through midnight, surrounded by friends who never left the dancefloor.
When Alyssen changed into her crimson gown, the room erupted. “Brendan had one of those faces of, like, ‘dang!’” she said. “It was a double-take for everybody. Everyone loved, loved, loved the dress.”
