Survivor Alum Kellie Nalbandian Marries Gabrielle Bellettieri in ‘Cozy Fall’ Wedding in New York (Exclusive)

Thirteen ‘Survivor’ contestants, including three winners, attended the New York nuptials

NEED TO KNOW

• Survivor alum Kellie Nalbandian married Gabrielle Bellettieri on Oct. 25 in Beacon, New York
• More than a dozen stars from Survivor attended the wedding, including winners Natalie Anderson, Dee Valladares and Kyle Fraser
• The couple met in 2011, started dating in 2015, and got engaged in 2022

Survivor 45 fan favorite Kellie Nalbandian has made a forever alliance with Gabrielle Bellettieri.

The brides got married after a decade of dating on Saturday, Oct. 25, at The Roundhouse in Beacon, New York.

“Our wedding day was a dream come true,” Nalbandian tells PEOPLE. “Every important person from every chapter of our lives all together in one room, celebrating the purest love and having just the absolute best time ever.”

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Among the 160 guests were several former Survivor contestants, including Survivor 29 winner Natalie Anderson, Survivor 45 winner and bridesmaid Dee Valladares, and Survivor 48 winner Kyle Fraser. Other castaways were Survivor 44 star Maddy Pomilla; Survivor 45 stars Brandon Donlon, Brando Meyer, Julie Alley, Jake O’Kane, Kaleb Gebrewold, Kendra McQuarrie and Emily Flippen; Survivor 47 star Teeny Chirichillo; and Survivor 48 star Stephanie Berger.

The “chic, rustic” red brick venue — set against “picturesque hills” and “small town charm” — overlooked autumn leaves and a tranquil waterfall through a wall of towering windows. A fall foliage-inspired color palette and “retro” details, such as a vintage photo booth from Saratoga Photobooth Co., added to the warm and nostalgic wedding theme.

“This time of year in Beacon especially has such a cozy fall vibe, so we leaned into rusty reds and orange hues with a classic timeless feel of champagne,” Nalbandian says.

The ceremony took place outside, with Nalbandian and Bellettieri walking separately down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon in D. After they said “I do,” the pair made their way back down the aisle together as an instrumental arrangement of The Beatles’ “She Loves You” was performed by string trio Scott Arcangel and The Music Boutique.

“The Beatles both were big in our houses growing up, so it’s a sweet homage to our parents and a song that captures the happy and in love vibe we want the day to feel,” says Nalbandian, who is a nurse practitioner and cohost of The Social Game podcast.

Penny Phillips Koukounas, a close friend of the brides, officiated the ceremony. Everyone was emotionally moved after Nalbandian and Bellettieri’s heartfelt handwritten vows, which both happened to include “a very specific, random mention” of how Bellettieri makes Nalbandian mini pancakes. Bellettieri, who works as a marketing director at Seven Sundays, promised to continue making the surprise pancakes for Nalbandian and their future children.

“Ten years together, we had a lot to say!” Nalbandian notes. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, very much including ourselves.”

For the ceremony, Nalbandian wore an Anne Barge wedding gown that fit her vision of “a classic, sleek silky look.” Meanwhile, Bellettieri’s A-line dress was designed by Justin Alexander. Both women later changed into after-party dresses to ensure they could “dance the night away without a care in the world.”

At the reception, the pair had their first dance to “Baby I’m Yours,” covered by the Arctic Monkeys, a rock band they listened to a lot in the beginning of their relationship.

“[We] love how this is a modern cover of such a classic love song,” Nalbandian says. “It perfectly summarizes our everlasting devotion to each other and love that will never fade, even as we grow old together.”

Because guests traveled from “all over the world” to attend the wedding, the couple “wanted to give them a night they would always remember.” A “banger” playlist of 2000s throwbacks, millennial anthems and current hits “really brought the heat.”

“One thing we love is a good party!” Nalbandian says, adding, “The day turned out absolutely perfectly.”

She continues, “We’ve been together for so long, we really wanted to feel like a celebration both of our relationships but what merging our families and friends has been over these years. So we wanted to make sure that everyone dances all night and has the best time celebrating with us and could feel the energy in the room.”

A farm-to-table restaurant on site catered the food, which included a white wedding cake with a custom lemon and raspberry custard filling that was simply “to die for.”

Nalbandian and Bellettieri started dating in 2015, but their connection actually dates back further than that.

The duo first crossed paths as seniors in high school when they were both around 18 years old in 2011. They exchanged information after meeting in line at a meet and greet for Naya Rivera, having both been huge fans of Glee and the lesbian representation of Rivera’s character, Santana Lopez.

Nalbandian and Bellettieri reconnected and started dating years later during their senior year of college. Bellettieri proposed to Nalbandian on a beach in Malibu at sunset on March 16, 2022.

“We’ve already felt like true partners in life — growing together from age 22 into our 30s. We look back and think, ‘Oh my gosh, we were such babies!’ This is just an official stamp on the beautiful love we’ve built through good and hard times of life,” Nalbandian says of marriage.

The newlyweds say that at the heart of their relationship is “the greatest friendship either of us have ever known.” They’ve supported each other unconditionally through every endeavor over the past 10 years, giving each other “the space to grow.”

After they tied the knot, the couple spent a cozy few days in Vermont cabin. In February, they’ll “live out [their] White Lotus dreams” during their honeymoon in Thailand, and also make a pit stop in Tokyo. They envision married life involving more “traveling and adventuring around the world together.”

“We can’t wait to keep doing that as a married couple — discovering new places, growing together, and making memories everywhere we go,” Nalbandian says. “It already feels like we’ve been married in every way that matters, but now it’ll just be official.”

She adds, “We are looking forward to continuing our life in New York City, and probably finally getting that dog we’ve always wanted. Over the first years of our marriage, we want to travel as much as possible!”