Entertainment
Ashley I. & Jared's New Wedding Officiant May Be A Familiar Face From 'Bachelor' Nation
They've already secured a venue and said yes to the dress, but there's still one pending "I do" detail for the next big Bachelor Nation wedding: Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon need a new wedding officiant, as the couple revealed in a recent interview with People. Back in August, the Bachelor in Paradise alums announced their castmate from the ABC summer spinoff, Tanner Tolbert would do the honors at the summer 2019 wedding. "This is a preview of things to come," Jared captioned an October Instagram photo of Tanner conducting a mock ceremony in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
So does that mean there's trouble in paradise for the friends? Not quite. Tanner and wife Jade are expecting their second child right around the same time as the Rhode Island nuptials. “If Jade’s heading to the hospital at the same time that I have my flight, I’ll have to obviously choose the hospital over the flight,” Tanner explained to Access Hollywood late last month. “I warned Jared, and I asked that he at least have a backup ready just in case, but I’m going to do everything in my power to still be able to go.” (He also revealed that his potential replacement is a member of Bachelor Nation “in a roundabout way.”)
While Ashley I. and Jared said they do have their sights set on someone — they haven't locked anyone in just yet. “We’re working on that, but we do have someone in mind,” Ashley I. shared with People. (Side note: Chris Harrison is an ordained minister — just sayin'.)
No matter who ends up conducting the ceremony though, Ashley I. already knows what dress she'll be wearing — selecting a wedding gown from New York City's iconic Kleinfeld Bridal boutique, with a very special guest in attendance. “My 96-year-old grandma came out from Jersey which was really special,” Ashley I. also told People, noting she "grew up watching Say Yes to the Dress," TLC's long-running bridal reality show filmed in the shop.
Ashley I. also shared with the mag that she'll slip into a second number for the reception: “I never thought I would be a two-dress kind of girl, but I found my reception dress first and couldn’t say no.”
As far as wedding planning goes, however, she said that the process has been relatively calm for the couple, who first went public with their relationship in May. “I always imagined myself a bride-zilla because I like to have control of things,” said Iaconetti, who's enlisted enlisted wedding planner Troy Williams to help pull off the big day. “I’m typically the opposite of the ‘go with the flow’ mentality ... [but] this almost feels like a fun hobby to us.”
It's been so much fun, in fact, that Ashley I. is already getting a bit ahead of herself, eyeing honeymoon destinations that can rival the couple's experience in Paradise. “I think we’re going to do a Mediterranean honeymoon ... Italy, Greece, maybe in Mykonos … we can get a nice place overlooking the sea,” she spit-balled to People.
But first thing's first, as Jared interjected: “We still need to finish the wedding plans. One thing at a time!”
From the sounds of it, however, once they lock in a wedding officiant, they'll be pretty much set to let the honeymoon begin.