Alexandra Jarvis is married!
The Selling the OC star said "I do" to CEO Sergio Ducoulombier on April 14 at the iconic Villa del Balbianello overlooking Italy's Lake Como.
"We wanted to have a very intimate and romantic wedding day without all the traditional expectations around us," Jarvis tells PEOPLE exclusively. "So we decided let's the two of us go to Italy. We've been before and it's actually where I told him I loved him. He had already told me he loved me, but I held back for a little while."
Jarvis continues: "It's a special place for us. We wanted to get married on Lake Como because it's just magical — the greenery, the natural beauty. It's honestly just the perfect, romantic backdrop for what we had envisioned."
The real estate pro, 32, and Ducoulombier, 46, dated for two years before getting engaged on Christmas in 2020. Amid difficulty trying to secure a venue post-pandemic, the couple decided they didn't want to wait, and opted to do things differently.
"We just decided we don't want to do the traditional wedding where you have all these guests and you have to entertain the whole time," Jarvis explains. "We just wanted to have a day where we shared our vows intimately and we just enjoyed the day together, because it's one day you have together and we wanted to just soak it up every way. It's not that nobody was invited, we just didn't really tell anybody the details, really."
For her special day, the bride wore a one-of-a-kind gown by celebrity designer Michael Costello. Jarvis adds she was very "hands-on" during the design process.
"It's beautiful," she adds. "It's a complete custom dress. I met with Michael months ago and we sat down and I just explained my vision and he sketched up what I was describing. It was exactly what was in my head. He's so talented."
She continues: "Then we picked out the fabric together. It's an elaborate, fully embellished beaded dress with rhinestones. It's more of a couture style dress with a nod towards bridal so, it has different elements that give it a bridal last look, but it's very couture."
The Italian affair was led by an ordained resident that their wedding planner Benevent knew personally.
After they exchanged vows, the couple enjoyed a private boat ride to nearby Bellagio and capped off the evening with an Italian meal to celebrate their new union.
"We're going to have a private dinner at the hotel that we're staying at," she says. "This beautiful boutique hotel called MUSA, they're setting up this really beautiful private reception dinner for the two of us. We're going to have the boat all day. We're just going to go around different places and really capture moments and just enjoy our time together."
While the couple celebrates their nuptials abroad, they plan to enjoy the Italian fare. "Bring on the pasta," she says. "We're foodies, we love to eat, so anything like that is amazing."
After spending time together in Europe as husband and wife, the newlyweds plan to come back to Orange County to celebrate with friends and family. Jarvis says invitations for the upcoming affair won't go out to all of her OC castmates.
"When we come back, we're planning a party and celebration with friends and family," she says. "People may think that there would be certain people there that I was perceived to be close to in season one, who will definitely not be on the guest list."
