Life for a military couple is already challenging, but when army medic Jennifer Brooks (formerly Hatcher) got engaged, it was a rush to make it down the aisle before her man was redeployed. Jennifer, who lives in New York but was raised in Bellevue, had less than six months to plan her wedding, fine-tune the details and pick the perfect dress, as it turns out, on national television.

Tune in tonight at 9:30 p.m. to watch Brooks on TLC’s “Say Yes To the Dress.”

The sixth season of the show premieres tonight with back-to-back episodes beginning at 9 p.m. Part fashion show, part bridal story, part family therapy, the show uncovers the hurdles of staff members at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan as they try to leave each bride completely satisfied in preparation for her big day.

Jennifer married Bryan Brooks, Army Chief Warrant Officer 3, on Aug. 28. In October, Bryan was deployed to Afghanistan for a year.

Jennifer talks to the Bellevue Reporter about the struggles of army relationships, growing up in Bellevue where she went to Sammamish High School and how weird it is to watch herself on T.V.

Bellevue Reporter: Have you seen the episode yet?

JB: No, I’m just going to watch it with my mom and dad tonight. My family wanted to have a viewing party, but I was like ‘No way, not unless I’m able to preview it first.’ I’m one of those people who doesn’t even like to leave a voice message because I don’t want my voice to be recorded.

Bellevue Reporter: What’s it like to have cameras following you?

JB: Surprisingly, they were very unobtrusive, which is amazing, because I don’t even like my voice being recorded. I’d often forget they were filming me. Only sometimes they’d ask if I could turn or shift a certain way.

Bellevue Reporter: How did you and your husband meet?

JB: We met right before I left for Iraq. Then I came back and got out of active duty, but he was still in Iraq for another year. We kept in touch through letters and e-mails, but didn’t get to spend any real time together, like going to the movies. Finally, we’d been talking for two years, we knew each other so well. All we’d been able to do is talk.

Bellevue Reporter: Why did you choose Kleinfeld Bridal?

JB: I had watched “Say Yes to the Dress” before and Kleinfeld is so legendary. Being only six hours away, I decided it would be a tragedy if I didn’t go there.

Bellevue Reporter: How did you end up getting on the show?

JB: Well, that’s a funny story. I called my step-mom and told her I wanted to go to Kleinfeld to get my dress. She said you should try and get on that show that they film there. I said, ‘That’s dumb, no way.’ So then I called and made an appointment. The lady who helped me said I should go online and apply to be on the show. So I did, and then got the call from TLC.

Bellevue Reporter: Talk about the dress you chose.

JB: It’s a strapless, Melissa Sweet dress with a rosette detail at the waist. It’s silk chiffon and gorgeous. I had them add an over-the-shoulder detail on one side because I wasn’t feeling the strapless look. My budget was $3,000 and I was actually under-budget with the dress.

Bellevue Reporter: What else did you do to complete the look?

JB: They put this long cathedral veil on me that I just totally fell in love with and finished the entire look. But it turned out to be more expensive than the dress. Then my dad surprised me by paying for both the dress and the veil, it was very sweet.

Bellevue Reporter: What was your August wedding like?

JB: It was amazing. We had our wedding in Hood River, Oregon. The ceremony was in this really adorable white chapel. The reception was in the Columbia Gorge Hotel. We had our photos taken in one of the local vineyards. It was sort of a wine-tasting theme with all these local wines.

Bellevue Reporter: You now live in Watertown, New York. What do you miss most about Bellevue?

JB: Lack of need for a snowplow is what I miss the most. I’ve never seen as much snow in my life. I miss the mountains, too. We definitely plan on moving back to the West Coast, as I’m from the Pacific Northwest and Bryan’s from San Diego.

Bellevue Reporter: What are the challenges of being an army couple?

JB: There’s always those times when you can’t be together. A year is a long time to be separated and knowing you’ll have to do it all over again is hard. It adds a whole other dimension to relationship stress. He’s committed to me, as well as the army.

Bellevue Reporter: What’s the best part about being married?

JB: Being able to call him my husband. We still treat each other the same, but now I can say he’s my husband. We did it – the whole schabang.