Giannina Gibelli and Blake Horstmann turned their reality-TV crossover romance into a destination wedding in Croatia.
The Love Is Blind alum, 33, and The Bachelorette alum, 37, married Saturday, June 20, in Rovinj, Croatia, after a weeklong European celebration that began in Venice, Italy. Their 2-year-old son, Heath, served as ring bearer.
People reported that nearly 100 guests attended, including familiar faces from Love Is Blind and Bachelor Nation. Jessica Vestal, Alexa Lemieux, Colleen Reed, Raven Ross, Taylor Krause, Jason Tartick, Anna Redman, Chris Bukowski, Kevin Wendt and Astrid Wendt were among the guests.
The wedding came four years after Gibelli and Horstmann met on the first season of All Star Shore, the crossover reality series that aired in 2022. Gibelli was previously known from season 1 of Love Is Blind, while Horstmann was a finalist on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette and later appeared on Bachelor in Paradise.
The Wedding Week Started in Venice
The couple’s celebration began Monday, June 15, in Venice, where guests explored the city before a welcome party at Ristorante Agli Archi. Gibelli told People she wanted the start of the trip to have the “whimsy and joy of la dolce vita,” while also giving guests time to enjoy the Italian setting before the wedding moved to Croatia.
The group traveled by ferry to Rovinj on Wednesday, June 17. Two days later, Gibelli and Horstmann hosted a rehearsal at Valentino Cocktail & Champagne Bar, a cliffside spot in Rovinj. Guests wore blue in a nod to the “something blue” wedding tradition, and the evening included appetizers, dancing and toasts.
Gibelli told People that Croatia had been meaningful to her before she met Horstmann. Her father is Italian and her mother is half Croatian, and she said she wanted friends and family to experience a place she had already imagined as her wedding destination.
Heath Served as Ring Bearer
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The outdoor ceremony took place at the Mauzolej on St. Andrew’s Island off the coast of Rovinj. Gibelli walked down the aisle with her father as a violin cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” played.
The bride wore Galia Lahav Couture’s Opéra gown and matching Opéra veil. She told People she found the dress at Little White Dress in Denver during her first shopping stop after the engagement, and that she knew it was the one when she tried it on.
Horstmann walked to the altar with his mother. Heath served as ring bearer, while other children in the family joined the ceremony as flower girls and bubble boys. The couple exchanged handwritten vows, and Horstmann joked to People that “the mission was to get the other to cry as hard as possible.”
The Reception Ran Late Into the Night
After the ceremony, the newlyweds celebrated at Hutterott Castle by the sea. The reception included a four-course plated dinner with Croatian dishes, seafood, tiramisu, traditional Croatian desserts and two cakes.
Horstmann, who is also a DJ, said the couple wanted the reception to feel like an “elevated banger of a party.” The night included music, dancing and a late-night “La Hora Loca,” the second-wind party tradition with performers and midnight snacks.
The venue was booked until 4 a.m., giving the formal reception room to turn into the high-energy celebration the couple wanted. The wedding weekend ended Sunday, June 21, with a recovery boat day along Croatia’s coastline, before the newlyweds left for a mini-moon in Santorini, Greece.
Their Romance Started on All Star Shore
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Gibelli and Horstmann met while filming the first season of All Star Shore. People reported that the couple were quickly “stuck like glue,” and they later turned the reality-show connection into an off-camera relationship.
The couple welcomed Heath Orion Horstmann in 2024. Horstmann proposed in October 2024 during a surprise trip to Parque del Retiro in Madrid, Spain.
Now married, Horstmann told People he is excited to call Gibelli his wife. Gibelli said marriage once felt unlikely for her as “a child of divorce,” but that she now gets to make the commitment with “the love of my life and the father of my child.”