‘Say Yes to the Dress’ to feature South Jersey trans bride

Thanks to a recent fateful appointment to pick out a wedding dress in New York, a trans South Jersey bride will appear on TLC's Say Yes to the Dress later this month. She will serve as the New York version of the show's first transgender bride when her episode airs at 8 p.m. March 25 on TLC.

Gabrielle Gibson, 33, told LGBT blog Unicorn Booty she felt "humbled" by being on the show, which began after the 6-foot-1 hairstylist and makeup artist booked an appointment to try on bridal gowns at Kleinfeld's — the store regularly featured on Say Yes to the Dress. The TLC reality series, Gibson said, already was scheduled to audition brides at the store the day of her appointment. Gibson informed producers in her audition application that she is trans.

"We walk in the store and I almost lost it," Gibson said in her Unicorn Booty interview. "I was so overwhelmed with emotions, because you see this show that you have watched so much, and it's now your turn."

"It just felt so amazing to be treated as a bride and a human being, and not a sideshow," Gibson told LGBT news site PinkNews of her appearance on the show. "It's validating to know that someone thought I was interesting enough to be a part of the show and wanted to hear my story."

Philadelphia-area drag fans may recognize Gibson as Chachi Divine, whom a Facebook posting indicates was the first transgender contestant to win Philly Drag Wars. The competition congratulated Gibson on her Say Yes to the Dress appearance on Facebook on Tuesday, encouraging her to "SLAY YAASS to the dress."

While Gibson is the main series' first trans bride, the first transgender bride to appear in the Say Yes to the Dress franchise was Precious Davis, who was featured on Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta in 2016. That series began airing in 2010; the original Say Yes to the Dress has been going since 2007.

As Yahoo Style reports, Gibson will wed fiancé Jaden Rogers, 32, in a "country chic" wedding at "a rustic barn" in November. Gibson met Rogers, a transgender man and graphic designer, while living in Colorado.

"I had no idea he was trans until I was getting into his profile," Gibson told Unicorn Booty. "I knew trans men, but I had never dabbled with them. He and I just clicked and we started talking."

Rogers, for his part, told PinkNews that calling Gibson his soulmate is "an understatement."

"She's always full of such joy, it's hard to ever have a bad day with her in my presence," Rogers said. "She's everythng and more I could have ever ask for in a partner, and I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle."