Vickki Dozier

Lansing State Journal

Jaclyn Schultz lives in Holt, but she traveled to Manhattan to shop for her wedding dress.

"I went to Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan with one of my maids of honor, my cousin, in February of 2015," Schultz said.

She tried on several dresses before she found "the one," a full-length designer gown from Pnina Tornai, the top covered in lace with long lace sleeves,

She bought it. And then she applied to be on "Say Yes to the Dress," thinking it would be a cool experience.

And she will be on it. Tonight's episode will center around the Holt resident as she returns to Kleinfeld Bridal for her first wedding dress fitting.

It will be more than a cool experience, though.

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"It was another way to get Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome out in the public, as well," Schultz said. "That’s kind of my mission in life, to spread awareness about MRKH syndrome."

Schultz was diagnosed with the rare condition at age 16.

"One in 5,000 women are born without a uterus or cervix," she said.

Schultz has talked about MRKH as Miss Michigan USA in 2013. And she's taken her message to reality TV before.

"That is why we were on 'Survivor,'" she said. "We talked about that on the show. I saw it as another opportunity to get MRKH out there. It is known as the secret syndrome, and no girl really talks about it when they’re diagnosed."

The other half of that "we" is her husband, Jon Misch. The couple met in 2010. They appeared together on "Survivor" in 2014, which filmed in Nicaragua. Misch proposed in November of that year. They were married Aug. 16.

After being accepted to "Say Yes to the Dress," Schultz went back to the salon around May for the filming and her first fitting. When she put on the Pnina Tornai gown, the sleeves were too short.

"I loved the dress," she said. "I didn’t even notice the sleeves actually until Pnina Tornai, who designed the gown, came into the room and mentioned they were too short. It was like quarter length sleeves. I’m 6 feet tall, and the sleeves were not long enough. They were about two inches too short. They added more lace to the sleeves to make them longer."

She went back a second time for another fitting, which was not filmed.

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"That was two weeks before my wedding," Schultz said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I hope it's ready in time.'"

Viewers will have to tune in to find out.

Schultz, a Wyandotte native, is a graduate of Central Michigan University. She is a senior media planner at Universal McCann in Birmingham and commutes back and forth to Holt each day.

Misch was a Michigan State University football player, a part of the 2010 Big Ten Championship team. He is finishing classes at MSU that are prerequisites for dental school.

Szhultz said her experience on the show was remarkably like what you see watching the show.

"The feeling is pure, the feeling is magical," Schultz said. "It was really fun."

The show will air at 9 p.m. on TLC.

Contact Vickki Dozier at (517) 267-1342 or vdozier@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter@vickkiD.