A bride picked a wedding dress with a sheer back and daring neckline that looked nothing like the gown she originally envisioned

Katie, 30, and Alex, 33, met online in 2015.

Six years later, they live in Arizona together, where Katie is a speech-language pathologist and Alex is a firefighter.

Alex proposed to Katie on Valentine's Day 2019.

The couple planned their wedding for October 30, 2021, giving themselves a long engagement in part because both of Katie's siblings got married in early 2021.

Katie told Insider she started shopping for her wedding dress the summer after Alex proposed, as she wanted to have ample time to find her dream gown.

"It was very helpful having a sister and sister-in-law who were also going through the same process because I knew the timeline," she said of getting a wedding dress ordered and made.

"I had a very strong vision that I wanted to wear A-line," she told Insider.

"It needed to be a deep V. It needed to have thin straps. I had to have 3D florals, all of these things," she said of the dress of her dreams.

"But I was open to trying all styles," she added. "I didn't want to be too set on the style just in case something else was better."

The Galia Lahav gown had the plunging neckline Hill had imagined, but instead of an A-line cut, the dress was formfitting through the waist. The trumpet skirt flowed into a train.

The designer dress was covered in floral appliques, but its standout feature was the straps. Statement bows adorned each sleeve. They flowed out as Katie moved, almost acting like a cape.

The back scooped down with sheer fabric, allowing the bows to shine.

The bottom flowed into a train, which added a dramatic element to the gown.

Katie first realized the dress was special based on her family and friends' reactions when she first tried it on.

"When I tried on the dress, I was initially shocked because I got a reaction out of everyone that I was not expecting," she said.

"When I got the reaction from this dress, I kind of felt immediately overwhelmed," she went on to say. "I was like, 'OK, I don't know what to do because this was not the reaction I was getting to other dresses that I was envisioning myself in.'"

So Katie decided to sleep on the decision, rather than immediately buying the gown.

"I felt like I'll wake up and I'll know kind of a better sense," she said. "And sure enough, I couldn't stop looking at pictures in that dress and woke up thinking about that dress."

She knew it was the one. She bought it that day.

"It was everything I didn't know I needed," Katie said.

She felt like the straps made the gown stand out.

"I think the bows are just something so unique. I've never really seen a dress with that," she said.

"I was very adamant about having a dress that had 3D florals, and it's very hard to find," she said. "It just totally makes it pop."

"When I envisioned myself on my wedding day, I thought I was going to have my hair down and loose curls and all these things," she said. "But I wanted to really be able to show off the bows in the back of the dress."

"So I decided I wanted the sleek, low bun," she said, adding that she felt like it was "elegant."

Michelle of Mane Ivy and Taylor Lamb Hair created the bun with extensions from Covet and Mane. Makiaj Beauty Hair & Makeup did Katie's hair.

Katie kept her jewelry simple too, opting for stud earrings. Katie's sister lent her the floor-length veil she wore on her wedding day for her nuptials.

"They're not something that I necessarily would wear all the time, but I wanted something comfortable," she said, adding that she wanted a thicker block heel.

Her venue also had many grassy areas, so the thicker heel made sense.

She said she felt "beautiful."

"I'm so sad that the night is over even now," she said. "I'm like, 'Can I just wear this again?'"

She said the experience was "such a special moment," particularly because her dad helped pick out the gown.

"He was there throughout the whole dress process," she said. "It was so fun having his opinion, and I didn't realize he was going to have such opinions until we were in the dress process."

Kaylee and Andy of Kaylee Chelsea Photography documented the moment, as well as the rest of the wedding day.

"He loved it," Katie said of her husband's reaction to the dress, adding that he was "excited" when she walked into the ceremony.

"I think he was pleasantly surprised by the style," she added.

The inside of his tuxedo was embroidered with the Arizona Coyotes mascot, a hockey team Alex likes.

The wedding took place at Venue at the Grove, and Katie told Insider she wanted to let the venue shine.

"There was elegant, natural beauty from the trees of the venue," she said. "I felt like the venue had a lot of just natural beauty, so I didn't want to take too much of it away. I just added in a few of my touches."

Wild Child Floral Design provided flowers for the event.

Katie said it was meaningful for her and Alex to be surrounded by their loved ones as they promised their lives to each other.

"They're all the people that love you and all the people that we love," she added. "It was so fun to see everyone that you love in the exact same place."

"The one piece of advice that I was given was to take a step back during the ceremony to just look at everyone that's here for you," she said. "A lot of times people get so caught up in making sure that they do everything that they never take a step back to just look at that."

"It was one of the best things that we could have done," she added.

"Alex's one request for the wedding was a 'Beer Burro,'" Katie said. "Her name was Sophie, and she joined the party during our cocktail hour."

Sophie delivered beer to guests throughout the cocktail hour, and she posed for photos.

"She was a fan favorite," the bride said.

"I like that I gave myself time to not have to make an immediate decision where I was like, 'I need to find a dress this weekend,'" she said. "I gave myself plenty of time to really explore all my options because I am indecisive."

"I love how he loves me and how he makes me laugh," she said of her husband.

"We're a true opposites-connect relationship," she went on to say. "So he makes me more spontaneous, which I love."

"It's not work," she added of her relationship. "It's just fun all the time."

You can see more of Kaylee Chelsea Photography's work here.

If you wore an eye-catching wedding dress and want to talk to Insider for a story, get in touch at sgrindell@insider.com.