After meeting on the beach 4 years ago in Sayulita, Mexico, Bachelor in Paradise Season 5 alums Astrid Loch and Kevin Wendt said “I do” on Friday, October 28th in Sarasota, Florida. The happy occasion comes after the couple — who briefly separated, but later reconciled and got engaged in August 2019 — postponed their wedding due to the COVID pandemic. They also welcomed their son August in November 2021.
Bachelor Nation stars Rachel Lindsay and Blake Horstmann were among the 100 friends and family who gathered to help celebrate the nuptials, per People.
Fortunately for Astrid and Kevin, the trip to the altar was worth the wait, even though they’ve both amitted that it feels as if they’ve “been married for quite a bit.”
“We had the countdown for so long,” Kevin says. “It’s going on two and a half years that we’ve been counting down the day.”
Going into the big day, the pair wanted “minimal stress.”
“I feel like everybody that we talk to says it’s over in a blink, so try to enjoy it. And I feel like that’s easier said than done,” the Candian firefighter continues. “But I think if we have the right wedding planner and you have everything figured out, it might be stressful now, but the day of, we just want to have fun and not be rushing around stressing. We just want to enjoy each other, and enjoy our friends and family.”
That’s the way it should be. A wedding should just be a big party for friends and family to enjoy and celebrate the happy couple.
Astrid and Kevin worked with their wedding planner to get the details of their special day just right. It was important for them to create “something that was timeless,” says Astrid.
“We wanted to look back at pictures that would still look beautiful in 20 years,” she continues. “So we just kept it very updated and classy.”
The event space, which was next to the water, was decorated with an abundance of string lights and gorgeous flowers. They opted to have a “beautiful mix” of floral arrangements and candles lining long farm-style tables at the reception as well.
Though they opted to not have any bridesmaids or groomsmen, Astrid and Kevin selected “special people” to help make their day smoother. Kevin’s brother and Astrid’s sister were tasked with giving the rings and taking the bouquet, respectively. “Everything else will just be myself and Astrid up there,” he explains.
Astrid‘s mother walked her down the aisle, as she carried her tuxedo-clad infant son, and her stepfather officiated. The couple exchanged vows they wrote themselves, in front of a beautiful flower arch.
As an homage to having met in Paradise and “drinking tequila together for a month,” the couple’s first dance was to “Tequila” by Dan + Shay.
Astrid explains, “The song came out that summer. We’ll dance to that, and then we’ll have little shots of tequila passed out to everyone. We’ll all do a little shot at the end of that together and get the party started.”
Following the wedding, Kevin and Astrid were planning a honeymoon in The Bahamas.
“It’ll be the first time we leave August,” Astrid reveals. “So, my mom’s going to watch him for five nights, about a week after the wedding. We’re really excited for our first kid-free vacation since he was born.”
After the honeymoon, the newlyweds are eager to kick married life into full swing after having “a really nice little practice year.” Astrid says they plan to move out of Toronto and into the Canadian suburbs, where they’ll be able to “lay down our roots for hopefully the next five, 10 years at least.”
Says Astrid, “Getting married and having people from the show and everything there, it’s nice to look back and reflect and think that such a small choice of us both choosing to do that show led to everything that it’s led to.”
And it all started in Paradise, proving once again that BIP seems to have a better track record of successful marriages than either The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.
TELL US – DO YOU REMEMBER WATCHING KEVIN AND ASTRID FALL IN LOVE ON BIP? PLEASE SHARE CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE HAPPY COUPLE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.