- Jamie Pandit and Phil Silva got married on August 28, 2021.
- Pandit, who is transgender, wore a custom sheer dress with three-dimensional appliqué.
- The dress also featured removable sleeves and a removable train.
Jamie Pandit had been dreaming of the perfect wedding dress for years.
Pandit, 33, a content creator, met her now-husband, Phil Silva, a 40-year-old restaurant owner, on Bumble in 2016 in Toronto, Canada, where they still live today.
Pandit told Insider she and Silva fell fast and hard for each other and were already in love by their third date, which was scary for her because she did not initially come out to him as transgender.
"In that time, because I was living in stealth and I passed as a cisgender girl, I didn't really accept my trans identity," she said. "But obviously the time came when I was like, 'Oh my God, we're falling in love. Things are happening so quickly. And I need to tell him.'"
Pandit said she "was scared because I didn't want to lose out on love," but her worries faded quickly after she came out to Silva.
"He said he fell in love with me for who I am," she told Insider. "He said, 'I see you. And that's what matters.'"
Silva proposed to Pandit in 2019, and they planned their wedding for August 28, 2021.
Although they were excited to be planning their wedding, Pandit said it was also stressful for her and Silva both because of the pandemic and because Pandit came out to friends, Silva's family, and the public during their engagement.
Pandit told Insider receiving negative comments online and facing rejection from some of her loved ones, particularly during such an exciting time in her life, "was very difficult." But one of the reasons she came out while she was engaged was that she wanted to feel like herself at her wedding, she went on to say.
"I didn't want people to come to our wedding not really knowing who I am and who we are as a couple," she said. "We wanted to celebrate this wedding very loudly and proudly."
Pandit's wedding dress was a big part of the celebration
Although she wasn't always sure she would find someone to spend her life with, Pandit said she had been dreaming of her ideal wedding dress for years.
As she shopped, it was difficult to find a gown that lived up to her fantasy. So Pandit ended up having her dream dress custom made by Lee Petra Grebenau through Powder Bridal.
The sheer dress was covered in three-dimensional floral appliqués, which were offset by a textured, sweetheart neckline. The corset-style bodice gave way to a fitted skirt.
Pandit's gown also had two removable elements: a sheer train and off-the-shoulder sleeves.
Pandit told Insider all of the details on the dress held symbolic meaning for her.
To her, the floral vines covering the dress symbolized growth. She said she wanted the sheer details to speak to the years she didn't feel "sexy or feminine," and felt like the subtle sparkly beading on the gown highlighted all the light she has in her life now.
"I dreamed about these details for years and years, even though I felt like it wouldn't happen to me," she said.
When she finally got to wear the dress on her wedding day, Pandit was emotional.
"I definitely started crying as soon as I saw myself," she said. "I think for every bride, when you put on your wedding dress, it's special."
"I remember my first dress I put on when I started transitioning," Pandit said. "It was red, and I still remember how euphoric it felt. And I think that's the same feeling I felt when I put my dress on. It felt like it was more than a dress."
Pandit and Silva's photographer, T.H. Jackson Huang of Ikonica, captured its beauty.
Pandit paired the dress with Jimmy Choo shoes for the ceremony and Louboutins for the reception, as well as Mark Lash jewelry. She wore a long veil, and Tania Az styled her hair in loose waves. Pandit added pearls and silk flowers to her hair for the reception.
And for her makeup, Pandit went for a natural, dewy look created by Aniela.
Pandit said walking herself down the aisle was significant to her
Pandit and Silva tied the knot at Copper Creek, a golf club in Kleinburg, Ontario, where metaphysical minister Aaron Milic officiated the nuptials.
Rias Designs planned and provided flowers for the wedding, which included ribbons in the colors of the transgender flag in Pandit's bouquet, and Event Graffiti made their seating chart. The couple hired SDE as their videographer.
Pandit told Insider it was important to her that she walk herself down the aisle, as she left home when she was just 16 years old.
"Even though I do have my parents' support and acceptance now, I felt like for most of my life, I had to take care of myself and be my own advocate," Pandit said. "I really wanted to walk alone to honor my journey for myself."
"In that walk, I was thinking about how lucky I am and how privileged I am that I get to even do this," she said, adding that she hoped to inspire "little Jamies out there who hopefully will see this wedding" and know "it can happen to them too."
Pandit said walking down the aisle by herself also allowed her to focus fully on Silva, which she loved.
Silva wore a white tuxedo jacket to the wedding with black pants, and his cuff links had the transgender flag on them, Pandit said.
He didn't see her ahead of the ceremony, so Silva was emotional as Pandit entered their ceremony. "He just could not take his eyes off me," Pandit said. "It made me feel so beautiful."
AB Limo provided transportation for the wedding. Fruitilicious Cakes made the couple's wedding cake. DJ Franky J was the couple's DJ, while Platinum Entertainment provided audio, visual, and lighting services for the event.
They also had saxophonist Jay Smooth and performances from both samba dancers from Dance Vibration and Bollywood dancers from Shadow Entertainment.
Pandit and Silva's wedding went viral on social media
Pandit shared videos of her wedding day on TikTok, and several of her videos went viral in December 2021, with one getting 10 million views.
The video responded to a comment that suggested her in-laws didn't attend the wedding, showing a clip of Phil and his parents entering the ceremony with the caption: "They were there proudly and with lots of love."
She said it was a bit overwhelming at times to have so much attention on her day, particularly when she got negative or harassing comments. She went on to say that she hopes sharing her and Silva's life publicly can help people live more authentically themselves.
"It's hard to even find love, and then hard to find somebody who will love you publicly and openly without wanting to hide your identity," she said of why she thinks it's important to share her relationship online.
"I can confidently say my husband chooses me every single day," Pandit said. "We face the world together."
But most of all, Pandit says she loves that she married her best friend.
"I feel like I am with my best friend and partner in crime," she said. "He's always the first person that I want to share any news with. He is my biggest support system."