Kary Brittingham Is Married! “Real Housewives of Dallas” Star Says 'I Do' in Intimate Italian Wedding (Exclusive)

"I am so excited to have found 'my person' who I want to experience life with and grow old with," Brittingham tells PEOPLE

• Real Housewives of Dallas star Kary Brittingham has married lawyer Mark A. Anderson, nearly a year after their engagement

• The pair said their "I dos" in Italy on Thursday, June 20

• PEOPLE has all the exclusive details and photos from the intimate affair, which was attended by their blended family of 5 kids

Kary Brittingham and Mark A. Anderson are officially married!

The Real Housewives of Dallas star and her lawyer beau tied the knot on Thursday, June 20 in a romantic outdoor wedding in Savoca, Sicily, Italy.

"I am so excited to have found 'my person,' who I want to experience life with and grow old with," Brittingham, 53, tells PEOPLE. "Finding Mark was like finding a needle in a haystack; someone that enjoys life the way I do and has the exact same life goals as I do. Getting married to him gives me a piece of mind that I found my person to spend the rest of my life with."

"Kary and I are in absolute alignment on how we approach life and it is incredibly peaceful to know that I will be able to grow old with someone who loves me unconditionally and who brings me incredible happiness,' Anderson, 58, adds. "She's a true partner and I'm looking forward to experiencing all that life has to offer with her by my side."

The pair had a traditional Italian ceremony which, by Italian law, was officiated by a local town officiant in Italian and then translated for guests.

Brittingham and Anderson both penned their own vows, and exchanged them — and their first kiss as husband and wife — under an arbor decorated with lush florals in yellows, blues and whites — the colors the duo chose for their palate.

It was an intimate affair with just 11 guests, mostly made up of their blended family of five children: Anderson's daughter Turner, 24, and Brittingham's four kids — Sofia, 26. Olivia, 24, Alex, 22 and Isabella, 17.

"We chose to make this family only, so it was just our five children and their plus ones," Brittingham says. "We both admire each other’s devotion to our children and have embraced taking on each other’s children as our step kids. We really are one, big, happy family."

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For the ceremony, Brittingham walked down the aisle to "Ave Maria" in a structured strapless gown by Ese Azenabor with a plunging neckline, a long train and and high-slit with ruffle details.

"I wanted a simple but sexy vibe and Ese created the perfect dress for me," says Brittingham, who accented the look with an embroidered sheer veil by Grace Loves Lace and sparkily white heels by Christian Dior.

It was a look that didn't just surprise Anderson, who had not seen her before the wedding, but also Brittingham's daughters. "I changed my dress ten days before I left for Italy," admits the mother of four, who runs her own jewelry business Kamo by Kary. "So everyone was surprised, even my daughters who helped her pick out my first dress."

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Sonia Sangiorgio did Brittingham's hair and makeup, styling her curly blond locks into a classic half-up, half-down 'do that beautifully framed her smiling face.

Anderson, meanwhile, wore a cream suit with a white shirt and a light blue tie.

Post nuptials the couple posed for a series of photos with Sicilian wedding photographer Linda Puccio, some snapped while sitting in a red 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible. The car was parked cliffside, allowing Puccio to capture the stunning views of the Sicily skyline.

All headed afterwarsd for a reception held at the couple's villa in Taormina overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The space was decorated in florals of elegant chandeliers, candles and even more flowers.

There, Brittingham later changed into a party dress by Zimmermann.

The event included an outdoor sit-down dinner prepared by local Chef Marco D’Agati. His traditional Italian menu included tagliatelle bolognese with truffles, rigatoni pasta with lobster and salt-crusted branzino with steamed vegetables.

For dessert, the happy couple dined on tiramisu: Brittingham's favorite dessert.

There was dancing, too, with music provided by DJ Erik Jerne. Brittingham and Anderson had their first dance to "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli, before partying the night away on the dance floor with their loved ones until 4 a.m. the next day.

Related: 'Real Housewives' Star Kary Brittingham Is Engaged — and 'Madly in Love!' See Her 12-Carat Ring (Exclusive)

Brittingham and Anderson got engaged in July 2023 when he popped the question during trip to Tuscany. They had met a year earlier on Match.com.

"Since we got engaged in Italy and we had such an amazing 'engagement moon' in Lake Como, we decided to get married in Italy too, " Brittingham explains to PEOPLE. "But we wanted to choose a place that neither of us had ever been to before, and we wanted to get married near the water."

The wedding day was just a part of the celebrations they shared overseas with their blended family. All spent a week together in Taormina, soaking up the sun with a plethora of activities including a day spent cruising the Mediterranean on a boat, a day spend tasting wine at local wineries, a day at the Tao Beach Club and a shopping day perusing the local stores.

A family brunch took place the day after the wedding at the San Domenico Palace, a Four Seasons Hotel.

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Though the day went off without a hitch, Brittingham admits that planning the destination nuptials was "very challenging."

"There was a lot we had to figure out until we arrived in Taormina, like our food tasting for the wedding dinner," says the new bride, who worked with Wedding Sicily to plan the event. "But the most stressful part was when our original villa canceled due to construction issues. We had to scramble to find a replacement villa that could accommodate all of us. Luckily, we found an amazing villa with picturesque views of the Mediterranean, but that was nerve-wracking."

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Now, Brittingham and Anderson are on a long honeymoon — traveling to Bora Bora, then Bali and then Hong Kong. The festivities will come to an end in Los Angeles, where the pair will celebrate Brittingham's birthday on July 14.

"We are in the same place in our lives and want to go have fun all over the world together," Brittingham says. "We want to spend more time at our places in Los Angeles, where two of our kids live, and in Puerto Vallarta, where I grew up going to as a child. Just traveling and having fun and enjoying our each other. Because we're both passionate and love to celebrate life together."

"This wedding really was our dream come true," adds Anderson, who runs his personal injury law firm. "It was such a fantastic, picture-perfect celebration with family. We're both so happy."

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