The shark attack victim whose uplifting story inspired the movie Soul Surfer has opened up about her wedding day dreams while posing for a bridal feature in the new issue of In Touch magazine.

Bethany Hamilton, 23, lost her left arm and 60 per cent of the blood in her body when she was attacked by a tiger shark off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii in 2003.

Her brave story of survival and her return to surfing became a bestseller that was adapted for the big screen.

Earlier this year (13), Hamilton revealed she was engaged to Christian youth minister Adam Dirks, 25, and now it appears the wedding is at the top of her priority list.

In Touch caught the bride-to-be trying on gowns at New York's Mark Ingram store and she tells the publication, "I feel like a princess!"

And she opens up about her dreams of getting married, admitting she had to put her faith in God that she would find someone special: "I always felt it would be hard for me to meet someone because I'm different. To say I was completely comfortable looking at myself in the mirror and seeing one arm would be a lie. I just had to trust in God and know that he had someone special for me."

Hamilton met her husband-to-be on a blind date set up by mutual friends. The couple will wed later this summer (13).