She's ready for her happily ever after! Hayden Panettiere — ahead of her walk down the aisle to fiance Wladimir Klitschko — modeled a number of gorgeous wedding gowns as the cover girl for Brides magazine's April/May issue.
"When eyes have been on me in the past, it's been because of an event, where people see me as a persona, as Hayden Panettiere the actress," the 24-year-old Nashville star told Brides. "For the aisle, you're the purest, most emotionally stripped down version of yourself, sharing this raw moment with the most important people in your life. It seems very overwhelming!"
Panettiere, who publicly announced her engagement to the 37-year-old Ukrainian boxer back in October, shared how the proposal was "very sweet and simple and genuine." (Us Weekly first broke the news of their secret engagement last March after sources said the star just wasn't "wearing her ring publicly yet.")
"It wasn't about being overwhelmed by fireworks or a mariachi band," Panettiere shared with Brides. "I think it's amazing when people do that, but I like that mine was simple and from the heart." On the cover, Panettiere looks fresh-faced and beautiful wearing a strapless beaded column gown by Naeem Khan.
The petite knockout also told the magazine that she envisioned her wedding day as "classic, beautiful, and elegant, but I also want it to be fun! And I love color, so that will play a big part."
And how is she certain that Klitschko is the one? "It means a lot when you experience life with someone, then you experience life without him and decide that you don't want to live without him," Panettiere confessed. The actress and athlete split briefly in 2012 and reconciled in January 2013.
"You date, you try to be with different people, you make mistakes, and you get to know yourself in the process," she explained. "And in the end you want to be with someone who makes you the best version of yourself." (The actress previously dated Heroes costar Milo Ventimiglia and One Tree Hill actor Stephen Colletti.)
It doesn't hurt that her family absolutely adores the 6-foot-6 heavyweight champ. "They loooove him," Panettiere gushed of her fiance. "It must be a great feeling when you know that your child is with someone who will protect her and take care of her."
