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Seven years, three New York City apartments and one Chocolate Labrador later, Derek Bauer asked Jacqueline Gilbert the long awaited question: "Jacqueline, will you be my wife?"

You may wonder, "seven years, what took him so long?"  Derek and Jacqueline met when they were twenty-one, when they were kids, and we were lucky enough to have time (a lot of time) to really get to know each other and to essentially grow up together.

They met back in 2000. Jacqueline had just given up her career as a ballerina due to an injury, and Derek had a similar story except he was a baseball player in the Yankee organization.  It was perfect timing and love at first sight. 

Their first year together was long distance. Jacqueline was just finishing school in Miami and Derek was living in New York, but they made it work.  It took many visits, expensive phone calls and care packages, but they got through it. When Jacqueline was finished with school she decided to move to New York, for work and for Derek. 

They now live in the West Village in Manhattan with their now 7-year-old Chocolate Labrador, Bailey.  Bailey was an instrumental part in the engagement.  Jacqueline recalls: "The setting was perfect, it was a beautiful summer evening on the roof of our apartment building, Bailey was dressed up in quite a fancy tuxedo and sat next to his nervous dad while he was down on one knew with the ring, and of course the answer was 'yes.'"

"I had always dreamt of being married in a castle, which is why I chose the Biltmore Estate," Jacqueline notes. "I am lucky enough to have a mother who is an amazing party planner, so the wedding arrangements were a breeze - think fairytale, that is all I gave her to work with." 

The dress outing was also very easy.  Jacqueline and her mother went to one bridal shop in Manhattan, which carried her favorite designer: Monique Lhuillier.  After trying on only a couple of dresses, Jacqueline decided on a beautiful blush-colored, princess-style dress and paired it with Vera Wang shoes and heirloom jewelry. The bracelet belonged to her grandmother, which her sister also wore on her wedding day.

The colors of the wedding were inspired by the palette of fall leaves. Derek donned a custom, chocolate brown tuxedo and Jacqueline recalls him looking "incredibly handsome."

The day can be described as "magical" and "a true fairytale." Both Jacqueline and Derek describe it as beyond their wildest dreams.