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.