A bride only had to try on 2 wedding dresses before finding a gown that's fit for a princess

"We met about four and a half years ago at Kentucky Motor Speedway," Mariel Swan, 29, told Insider. Mariel tagged along with her best friend, who was going to the track to meet her boyfriend.

Paul was there, as he is a NASCAR driver. The two instantly connected.

"My husband and I were just best friends in the beginning, and it just kind of turned into more," Mariel said.

"He surprised me in Vegas," Mariel said of Paul's proposal. She was attending the 2017 NASCAR Banquet in Las Vegas, because she was working as a victory lane model for the organization at the time.

Paul arranged for Mariel's friends and family to fly out to the city, and he popped the question in front of their loved ones.

They planned their wedding for 14 months later.

Unlike many brides, Mariel knew exactly what she wanted out of her wedding dress.

"I envisioned a big ball gown with long sleeves and a beautiful, long train," she said. The long sleeves were important, as she would be getting married in the winter and wanted to be comfortable.

"I also wanted something with swan feathers or some kind of feathers on it," she added. "I'd been looking for months and months for my dream dress."

Mariel was hoping to spend between $6,000 to $8,000 on her wedding dress, but she was willing to go up to $10,000 for a dress she really loved.

To make her experience even more fun, Mariel decided to shop for a dress in New York. Mariel, her best friend, her mom, and her mother-in-law headed to the Big Apple to shop together.

RK Bridal is known for its designer gowns.

The first dress Mariel tried on at the boutique was a sleeveless ball gown with a lace bodice and a layered skirt. It cost approximately $4,500, according to Mariel.

"I liked that it cinched at the waist, and it had kind of a short bodice," she said of the dress. "I have a shorter torso, so I looked for something that cinched at the waist and wasn't too long."

"And I loved that it was a ball gown," Mariel added. "But I knew that I wanted long sleeves because I had a winter wedding, and I knew I wanted a long train."

So although the dress was pretty, Mariel decided to keep shopping.

Before she even went to try on gowns, Mariel took notice of this off-the-shoulder Morilee ball gown online.

"They had a couture gown that was almost the exact dress I was looking for," she said of the brand. "It had the long train, the beautiful bodice, and they had the option to add the feathers on it."

"I was just like, 'Oh my god, this is the dress,'" Mariel said. "I knew what I wanted."

When she got to RK Bridal, she asked if they had the dress in stock, and she was in luck. When she tried on the dress, she knew it was the one.

She didn't even go to the appointment she had made at Kleinfeld Bridal for later in the day.

The dress originally cost around $6,000, but with the addition of the feathers and other alterations, it was closer to $8,000.

Mariel also had to get the dress taken in to better fit her small frame.

The dress was covered in floral detailing throughout the skirt, adding even more flair to the gown.

The dramatic gown spoke for itself, making Mariel look royal.

She also had a white bouquet, which also ensured all eyes would be on her dress.

"It was exactly what I wanted," she said. "Everything about it was just perfect for me."

"There are so many emotions and so much stress you're feeling leading up to that day," Mariel said. "And I just remember when I was putting my dress on, I was like, 'Wow, God really did give me everything that I could have asked for.'"

"I felt overwhelmed with a lot of gratitude and emotions," she added. "I felt beautiful."

Paul didn't see Mariel's gown until she was walking down the aisle.

"He just bawled his eyes out," she said of her husband. "I just wasn't expecting him to cry like that, because if you know my husband, he's super macho. He's such a guy's guy. I never see him cry."

"It was really, really sweet," she said.

The couple's wedding took place at Childress Vineyard in North Carolina, which is owned by NASCAR team leader Richard Childress, adding a personal touch to the day for the couple.

The venue was covered in greenery, candles, and big floral arrangements for the Swans' day, and a string quartet played during the ceremony to add even more romance to the event.

The Swans had friends and family fly from all over the country to support them, which meant a lot to Mariel.

Trinity Photography documented the day.

"For the second half of the day, I wanted something a little bit sleeker," she said, as she wanted to be able to dance comfortably with her guests, particularly her friends. Mariel is a former NFL cheerleader, as are many of her friends, so she knew dancing would be a must.

She chose a Jonathan Kayne couture gown for her second dress, which she also bought at RK Bridal.

The floor-length gown featured head-to-toe crystal detailing, and Mariel paired it with a cape that she also purchased at RK Bridal.

"Just get an idea of what kind of styles you think that you would like," she said. "It helps you narrow in on what you're going to choose when you do go shopping, because if you just go in and don't really know what kind of fit you want, it just kind of makes things more difficult because it's giving you so many choices."

"Have an idea of the budget," she added. "Know what you want to spend and then ask before you go into these places what prices their dresses normally run."

"Going wedding dress shopping for me was by far one of the highlights of my wedding year," Mariel said. "Your wedding date legitimately goes by like the snap of the fingers, and I think that women should really realize how important it is when you're going dress shopping. That's a moment with you and your girls."

"Try to make it into an event with something that you can remember forever, because when you look back on the experience, having your wedding day is freaking amazing, but if you have all these other memories that you made along the way, it makes the journey so much better," Mariel said.

"Before I fell in love with Paul, I journaled in my diary," she said, writing a prayer for what she hoped her future husband would be like.

"I pray that he has a zest and a zeal for life that could not be contained," she wrote. "I pray that he loves me, and no matter what he chooses me over and over again."

"Every day for him is such an adventure," she said. "And I love the fact that I'm secure in his love. No matter what we go through, I always feel that he chooses me over and over again."

"As a woman, that's really important because I feel like we give so much of ourselves," she added. "We put so much of ourselves into relationships. It's really important to have somebody that's going to choose you no matter what."

You can follow Mariel on Instagram, and you can see more of Trinity Photography's work here.

If you are in the process of shopping for your wedding dress or have photos from when you shopped and want to talk to Insider for a story, get in touch at sgrindell@insider.com.

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