Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima have tied the knot!
The former “Bachelor” host and his new wife said “I do” in Napa Valley, Calif., on Oct. 14.
Following the “intimate” wedding in Napa, the two celebrated their marriage with a “blowout bash” amongst 225 of their friends and family in Austin, Texas, Saturday.
“As much as we wanted an intimate weekend for our wedding ceremony in Napa, we also wanted to celebrate getting married with all the great friends we have — hence this bigger party,” Zima told People in an interview published Saturday.
The newlyweds, who relocated to Texas after living in Los Angeles, held a shortened version of their Napa ceremony as their friends and loved ones surrounded them in an outdoor venue.
Zima donned a stunning Sottero & Midgley strapless, A-line, satin wedding dress for both the Napa wedding and her Texas festivities before changing into an Olivia Bottega gown later during the festivities.
As for their Napa nuptials, Zima told the outlet that she and Harrison wanted to keep it small to share those “emotional, intimate moments” with a close-knit circle.
“I’ve just heard a lot of people say that on your wedding day, you don’t get the time with everybody, so we decided to do a really small, intimate ceremony, with the people who have really been there with us since the beginning of our relationship.”
Harrison — who shares two children from a previous marriage — was able to incorporate his kids into the touching ceremony by having his daughter, Taylor, sing “Beyond” by Leon Bridges during the reception.
“It came out when we first started dating and has always been meaningful for us. To have Taylor sing it for our first dance was a beautifully tearful moment,” Zima shared.
Zima, 35, and Harrison met in 2016 when she was working as a correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight” and covering the Bachelor franchise.
“I went to interview him, and I wasn’t very familiar with the [Bachelor],” she admitted. “I was texting some of my girlfriends from home them after telling them about my day and they said, ‘Oh my gosh, Chris Harrison. Is he so handsome in person? Oh, wow. Are you so nervous?’ I was like, ’Not really. I don’t really know who this guy is.’”
Jumping in, Harrison, 52, joked, “It was love at first sight, is what she’s trying to say!”
Gushing over their love, Harrison described their relationship as a “steady ascent” that “never wavered.”
“It wasn’t a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs in our relationship,” he continued. “It’s always just been this beautiful kind of steady climb together where each date, each time with our family, it just opened another door that we really liked about each other.”
Zima, echoing the sentiment, said, “Early on I thought to myself, ‘I could marry this guy.’ It just felt easy and natural. He’s the best partner, and I’m just happy every day.”
