Carly Pearce and Michael Ray Open up About Their Marriage After Intimate Ceremony

Carly Pearce and Michael Ray are officially married! The couple, who wed in an intimate and “whimsical” ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 6, are opening up about their marriage, and why they are so grateful to have found the person they are going to spend their lives with, especially now.

“Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I didn’t settle for something less than truly the person that I think was made for me is something that I am thankful for,” Pearce told PEOPLE.

“No matter what, I have her in my corner,” added Ray. “No matter what, she has me in her corner. I tell her, you’re never going to face anything alone. Never will there be anything in life that you don’t look over and I’m standing beside you.”

Pearce chose a non-traditional gown, with a sheer skirt and long sleeves.

“I just wanted a dress that felt very unique to me,” Pearce explained.

Pearce and Ray chose Grand Ole Opry announcer Bill Cody to officiate their ceremony, as a nod to their shared love of traditional country music.

“It just feels special, because it’s kind of all-encompassing of country music and the Opry and our story. And his voice is just so sweet,” Pearce noted.

Jake Owen serenaded Pearce and Ray for their first dance, singing his own song, “Made for You,” a song that was intended to be a surprise until Owen unintentionally spilled the beans on The Bobby Bones Show.

“It was so funny to watch him, in his head, telling, telling, telling, telling, telling, and then going, ‘Oh, oh, oops, oops, oops. Don’t know if I was supposed to tell that,’” Pearce recalled to PopCulture.com and other media. “So I joked, and was like, ‘You tell Jake I’m mad at him.’ And to this day, totally I am not mad at him. It was sweet how excited he was about it. For us, it was so kind of him to mark that off on his calendar so many months ago, but he totally thought I was mad. But he did slip up.”

Pearce and Ray might officially be husband and wife, but their honeymoon will have to wait. Thanks to their busy touring schedules, the lovebirds will delay their romantic getaway until December, when their busy season ends. They plan to honeymoon at a Sandals resort in Jamaica.

Photo Credit: Getty / Jason Davis