‘Bachelorette’ Alum Just Got Married

Jillian Harris and Justin Pasutto have tied the knot!

Nearly a decade after The Bachelorette alum, 45, got engaged to Pasutto, the couple wed first in a church ceremony on Aug. 21 before saying “I do” once again two days later in a ceremony at their farm in West Kelowna, British Columbia, attended by 176 guests.

“After eight years of planning, we’ve decided to really go for it!” Harris told PEOPLE. “It is an actual fairy-tale dream come true. I’m so happy that we waited this long so that we could truly plan the day that we’ve always dreamed of.”

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Harris, who starred on Season 5 of The Bachelorette in 2009, met her now-husband outside of a bar in 2012, and the couple got engaged on Christmas morning in 2016.

The couple, who share 9-year-old son Leo and 6-year-old daughter Annie, initially planned for a backyard wedding in July 2020, but decided to push the ceremony back, only to have the COVID-19 pandemic delay their wedding even further.

Then, in 2023, “wicked wildfires” destroyed much of the couple’s property, including their heritage bar, as well as many of their trees and vehicles. While Harris had dreamed of a backyard wedding, the couple decided to “run away and get married in Italy” in the wake of the destruction, only to put off the plans once again over fears of their parents’ health possibly making them unable to travel abroad.

Ultimately, the couple made a “last-minute decision” to get married on their property.

“The first four times we tried to plan this wedding, it did not go well,” Harris says. “We were stressed about location, budget, COVID, our babies being young, and still growing as a couple,” she said. “But after being together for 13 years, and finding the most amazing wedding planners, Devon Dunn and Jordan Maxey of Smitten Events, the process has been an absolute joy.”

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The couple has been through “highs and lows” over the past 13 years, Harris told PEOPLE, who recalled having “had babies, lost loved ones, lost our dog Nacho, gone through COVID, and watched our property burn nearly to the ground” with her now-husband.

“At this point, we want to celebrate all that we have created together, everything we have accomplished, and all the hardships we have overcome. We want to celebrate the successes, the relationships, and the wins,” she continued, adding that the wedding feels like a “congratulations and a seal” on their relationship as they go forward into the “next chapter.”