Bachelor in Paradise’s Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin Are Married! Inside the Puerto Rico Wedding! (Exclusive)

From Paradise to Puerto Rico!

Bachelor in Paradise stars Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin said “I do” on Saturday in front of 65 guests at Hacienda Don Carmelo in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.

“I believe in signs and numbers, so 11/11 is obviously considered a special number and means good things,” Pepin, 27, tells PEOPLE exclusively of why she and Braasch, 42, chose the date after their first engagement during the season 7 finale of the reality show dating series.

That their wedding falls on Veterans Day has special meaning for Pepin because her father served in the military for 25 years. “I’m his only daughter, so it’s special,” she says. “It didn’t have the best association or memories of Veterans Day, so we’re hoping to change that this year and keep Veterans Days moving forward.”

Kenny Braasch, The Wedding of Marie Pepin.

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Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin relationship timeline

Pepin says they decided on a destination wedding in Puerto Rico, where much of her family lives, because she and Braasch wanted their big day to be “smaller, more manageable” and “more intimate.”

“But we’ve always had the idea of ​​doing a few other celebrations to get more people involved,” she says, teasing a possible upcoming celebration with Bachelor Friends of the nation.

The guest list may have been limited, but Pepin made sure to include the couple’s pups Dice and Monster, who attended the ceremony in tuxedos. “We definitely wanted to include our dogs, so they flew here with us,” says Pepin, adding, “It was quite the adventure.”

Kenny Braasch, The Wedding of Marie Pepin.

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Braasch’s sister officiated the ceremony, during which the couple exchanged vows they had written themselves. Pepin wore a Justin Alexander dress to say “I do” and then changed into another Justin Alexander dress for the reception.

“It was completely different than what I imagined before I started planning everything,” says Pepin of her bridal look, which included custom earrings by Gage Diamonds, glam Victoria Duke Beauty with help from Alexis Santana, and hair by Gia Anderson. “I went and tried on dresses and ended up with the exact opposite of what I thought I was going to have.”

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At the reception, the DJ included traditional Puerto Rican music in the playlist. And for their first dance, the newlyweds chose Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” as a nod to the ’80s-themed prom they attended together Bachelor in Paradise. “When we walked in, that song was playing and everyone was slow dancing,” Braasch recalls. Sammie Cockerham, live wedding painter, also created artwork of the happy couple during the special evening.

Kenny Braasch, The Wedding of Marie Pepin.

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Guests enjoyed a chocolate cake with dulce de leche filling from Keiko by Andrea, a local Puerto Rican baker. “It’s so fucking good,” says Pepin.

The weekend also included a rehearsal dinner for the wedding party, a welcome reception for all guests and a stay at Hyatt Vacation Club Hacienda Del Mar, Dorado. In addition, Pepin hosted a breakfast for the bridesmaids, where they put together floral arrangements for the big day. (Peppina’s bridesmaids’ make-up for the big day was done by Jeremy Kregar.)

“I’m a huge DIY girl,” explains Pepin. “I’ve DIYed a lot of different wedding projects and I thought this was something interesting and something I hadn’t heard of. This is actually a very good way to save money as wedding flowers are very expensive. We came across this company, it’s called Flower Moxie, and they sent us all the flowers and all the instructions and kind of really held our hands through the whole process.”

The reality stars plan to go on a honeymoon next year – perhaps a European cruise – and Pepin would like to go on a honeymoon in Canada. “We’re going to stay at Blake Moynes’ cabin in Canada,” Brass jokes about his co-star Bachelor alum.

Ultimately, Pepin and Braasch just can’t wait to spend forever together.

Kenny Braasch, The Wedding of Marie Pepin.

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“As a little girl, I always dreamed about my wedding day and what it would look like and what I would wear, but as you get older, you realize that’s not the most important part,” says Pepin.

“The important part is actually finding the person with whom you want to spend the rest of your life and with whom you get along so well. And it wasn’t until I met Kenny that I thought, oh yeah, I don’t think about it that much because that’s the person I want to be with. It really made me realize that it was the right thing to do,” she continues.

The former pageant queen also appreciates that she is now out of the dating game. “No more trying to find out if a certain type of game is being played, that’s it. It’s locked,” she says. “I know Kenny is the person I want to be with forever.”

‘BIP’s’ Mari Pepin Opens Up About Planning a ‘Tropical’ Wedding in Puerto Rico with Kenny Braasch

Kenny Braasch, The Wedding of Marie Pepin.

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Brassch calls marriage “something I never thought would happen.”

“As you get older, you feel comfortable being alone for a while; it becomes normal,” he continues. “So for us to be able to end up where we are and the way we met each other, it’s just amazing to me how many things had to happen for us to even meet and get to where we are now. So many stars had to align for this to happen. She brings me a lot of peace.”

Now the manager of the boy band is confident of his future with Pepin. “It will be exciting to see what happens in the next five years,” he says. “I feel like we might start a business at some point – we joke about that. But it’s nice to know that the future is bright with lots of possibilities for us. We’ve already lived together for a really good amount of time, so we already know that things will work out.”

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Source: HIS Education