>>> for the second-straight year, " brides" magazine has held operation dream dress, the competition for up-and-coming designers to create the ultimate wedding dress. hundreds of entries have been whittled down to just five finalists. we're going to meet the designer and see the dresses and announce the winner. here is "brides" editor in chief, millie martini bratten. good to have you back. this is absolutely exciting. that's why we can't show the cover. >> that's right. it's all a surprise. this is our second contest. our first contest went unbelievably well. the dress sold immediately. and the designer is in the bride dress business. her name is amy micucci. >> ah. >> she has she has her own line. >> sher own line of brides dresses. this season, we have five that made amazing dresses. and our theme was classic. >> let's meet the designers. and sara from new york city. >> from new york and minneapolis. >> okay. tell us about your sketch here. >> this dress is inspired from a small island where my grandparents met. >> let's take a look. meredith, come on out. you can see how the sketch translated into the dress. >> that's beautiful. >> beautiful. this dress is really incredible. it's got a rock 'n' roll fashion forward feel. we love the zipper in the front. the texture. all of the textures are amazing. and you see the gray, tiered skirt and the shading, that are grades of color. you go from a pale lavender to a deep purple. they're all hand-dyed. they're hand-dyed. it's just an extraordinary dress. >> i love to see the expression seeing her creation come down like this. our next designer is lindsay bollic of alabama. tell us about that beautiful design you have. >> i've been inspired by marilyn monroe and audrey hepburn. i wanted to catch a little of the hollywood glamour. >> you did. >> we'll show you what it looks like. >> oh, my goodness. >> in real life. we love it. vintage is so popular right now. it has a "mad men" feel. it's fun. it's romantic. it's complicated, too. the appliques are from a vintage wedding gown. there's dotted toile over this. a wonderful belt effect there. the toile, really pretty. very right on trend. and that nice high/low effect. >> and it doesn't have to be white. you see many wedding dresses. >> that's right. >> yeah. good work, lindsay. thanks so much. our next designer, vanessa, hails from florida. hi, vanessa. tell us about your beautiful sketch. >> i wanted to create a -- it's essential, strong but soft. >> let's take a look at how the sketch played out. the bodice is amazing. we love this. classic. the nice pleats that are hand-sewn and hand-draped. not only did the designers sketch their dresses, they made the dresses. beautiful skirt. light and flowy. the belt gives it a little tribal feel. really lovely dress. and vanessa is from ecuador. >> yes. from ecuador. >> nice to have you here. beautiful design. thank you. and our next designer is tasha wisnewski. are you from brooklyn? >> i am. >> tell us about your design. >> i was inspired by the night sky, which is romantic and a lovely vision for a bride. >> let's see what it looks like. >> you see tasha's love of art and fashion in this dress. very, very glamorous. we love the laser cutouts. look at the detail on this. the lase cutouts, the sparkle, the layering. it's very unusual in the platinum color. it's a wrap dress, also unusual for a bride to be a little unconventional. has a real hollywood siren glam to it. instead of vintage hollywood, it's kind of futuristic with the laser cutout. >> works well together. ladies, thank you very much. beautiful, beautiful. >> that was the great surprise about this contest. >> now, megan lawless, our next designer from savannah, georgia. tell us about our design. >> i wanted to do ivory and black and create a balance between conservative and sexy. and lingerie has been a huge source of inspiration for me. >> wonderful. >> come on out, caitlin. oh. now, megan -- i love that megan became inspired to design when she was 12 years old. now, look what she has created here. ivory and black, white and black, classic bridal colors. it's very modern. with the black rosettes and the black train. a modern feeling, and also very much a wedding dress. >> can we bring everybody back out here? we can see all of the dresses and all of the designers. they are beautiful. each and every one are so different. unique, and beautiful. >> and high stakes, too. pretty good prize for the winner here. >> you're all so tall. my goodness. so, we're going to take a little