Bachelor in Paradise couple Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin-Solis have provided an update on their wedding planning.
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The couple is now in the process of planning their big day, but Mari confirmed they don't have a wedding date set just yet.
"We agreed that we're gonna do it in Puerto Rico, definitely," Mari said on the "Talking It Out With Bachelor Nation" podcast.
Mari revealed that she and Kenny have "narrowed down" their wedding-venue options to four places.
"I have a lot of extended family there -- my grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, everybody -- so we're all gonna meet up there in Puerto Rico... I really want to do something outdoors for the ceremony and then something indoors for the party," Mari said.
Mari said she wants "a tropical theme" with "tropical flowers" and a "colorful" event.
Mari, however, admitted that she doesn't exactly have all of her ducks in a row.
"I have so many ideas now! I thought I already had a ton of ideas because I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to this, but now I'm like, 'I want that color. I want this cake, but I want that cake, too!' It's a mess," Mari shared.
After Kenny popped the question in Paradise, Mari moved to Kenny's hometown of Chicago.
Kenny revealed in January 2022 that he and Mari were taking the next step in their relationship and moving in together.
"@Mari_Pepin and I have signed the lease on a new apartment here in Chicago," Kenny reportedly wrote on his Instagram Story at the time.
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Mari then reposted the announcement and added, "I can't wait to keep annoying you, and scaring you, and love you every day boo!"
On Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season, Mari, a 25-year-old marketing manager at the time, connected with Kenny, a boyband manager, right off the bat, and it seemed like love at first sight.
But once things began getting serious, Mari pumped the brakes and suggested the couple should continue seeing each other while keeping their options open and pursuing other possible romances in Mexico.
Kenny, a little heartbroken over Mari's lack of commitment, therefore dated Demi Burnett, with whom he went to "The Boom Boom Room," and he also went on a date with Tia Booth in which they played naked volleyball with strangers.
Once Mari saw Kenny with other women, she realized how much she missed him and how she wanted him all to herself. Mari therefore apologized to Kenny and fought for him, and the pair became inseparable after their reconciliation.
"Obviously, I was very into Mari from the very beginning," Kenny explained to People in October 2021.
"So once I sort of knew she was in the same place I was is when I started thinking, like, we might end up engaged at the end of this."
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"I feel like I'm kind of in a different life stage than most people my age. And so for me, I think someone who is in a similar stage [works best]," shared Mari, who revealed on Bachelor in Paradise she's not interested in partying and had always wanted to get married young.
"We do the same things and we've got the same habits, and it just works really well for us. So I think that's ultimately what I was looking for, and I found it."
Mari added of the significant age gap, "I think the only way that it's noticeable is when we talk about movies or music, because [we're] obviously [from] different generations."
On the Bachelor in Paradise finale, Kenny popped the question with an oval-shaped diamond ring, and the pair couldn't wait to show off their love and be a couple in public.
Although Mari and Kenny had to hide their relationship from the public for several months while the show was airing, they didn't exactly follow the rules of their contract.
"We actually snuck [out] to [got to] a concert together. We saw Journey here in Chicago," Mari revealed to People.
"We weren't supposed to, but we didn't get caught. We both wore hats. I wore a pair of glasses, and it was really late at night, so it worked out."
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Late last year, Mari was already thinking about her wedding.
"I have all my ideas of what I want for my wedding, but we haven't started planning anything solid yet," Mari noted at the time. "The only thing that we've agreed on so far is that we will get married in Puerto Rico."
In terms of having children, Mari said, "I think I just want to enjoy being married for a little bit first and then maybe in the next year to two years we'll start talking about that."
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Mari gushed about how Kenny had "100 percent of her heart" and she felt like the luckiest woman in the world to be with him.
Kenny admitted he was "blown away" by Mari's beauty at first sight and felt something entirely new for her. In turn, Mari felt she and Kenny had been tested like no other couple in Paradise.
Kenny's hands were shaking and he needed to pause and take a deep breath during his marriage proposal on the beach, before yelling, "Mari, I am so f-cking in love with you! And I can't see my life without you. You are an amazing woman and you've changed my whole outlook on life."
In addition to Kenny and Mari, two other couples got engaged on the Bachelor in Paradise seventh-season finale: Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt as well as Riley Christian and Maurissa Gunn.
Maurissa and Riley have since split, but Joe and Serena are currently living together in New York City and thinking about their wedding.
Before appearing on Bachelor in Paradise, Mari competed for Matt James' heart on The Bachelor's 25th season and Kenny dated Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
