“The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart” Star Julia Rae Marries Matt Lucido in 'Old Hollywood' New Year's Eve Wedding (Exclusive)

• The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart alum Julia Rae married boyfriend Matt Lucido on New Year's Eve in an "old Hollywood" wedding at the Masonic Temple at ONE North Broad in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Before the wedding, the bride and groom had a mini golf welcome party to pay homage to how they first met when they were"randomly paired up to golf together" in March 2022 at Penmar Golf Course in Venice, California

• "The next chapters will be thrilling — both of our careers are moving quickly and having kids is just around the corner," Lucido tells PEOPLE

Julia Rae is married!

The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart alum married her "rock" Matt Lucido on Dec. 31 at ONE North Broad's Masonic Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The couple's "black and white black tie New Year’s Eve affair" was attended by 140 of their friends and family, along with a few notable figures including Good Morning America's Eva Pilgrim, meteorologist Cecily Tynan and film director Balbinka Korzeniowska.

"I wanted to be surrounded by the most important people in our lives as we celebrated starting this epic new chapter," the singer and actress exclusively tells PEOPLE. "I wanted the wedding to be a reflection of Matt’s and my love and the love we feel surrounds us."

Getting married is especially meaningful for Rae, who was born with the lung disease cystic fibrosis (CF). When she was younger, she thought saying "I do" was something she'd never get to do, due to the average lifespan of CF patients at the time.

"So having this day come to fruition in such a beautiful way, genuinely feels like a dream … Our wedding is a total dream come true on so many levels," the patient advocate says.

Ahead of the big day, a welcome party was held at Puttshack, a tech-infused mini golf course. The celebration paid homage to the bride and groom's golf meet-cute. Rae and Lucido met in the early morning of March 10, 2022, after being "randomly paired up to golf together" at Penmar Golf Course in Venice, California.

"We were both squeezing in a quick nine holes before work with our respective golf buddies. The sparks between us flew immediately and the mutual crushes were instantaneous," says Rae, who for the party had custom caddie suits made for them with "Lucido" written on the back.

The former Miss Philadelphia continues: "We chatted each other up while walking the course and on the ninth green, before his last putt, Matt asked for my number. I told him he could have it if he made the putt. He made it, but I would’ve given him my number anyway. I was on set shooting a pilot that day and decided to put my set makeup to good use by asking Matt out on a date from the makeup chair, so we ended up on our first date that same night!"

About two years later on Feb. 9, Lucido popped the question at Alila Ventana Big Sur in California. The weekend getaway was joined by Rae's beloved rescue dog, Boo Radley.

Ten months later, the couple exchanged heartfelt vows privately during their wedding first look.

"Taking these vows and getting married is an active choice every day, not just on our wedding day," Rae says. "The active choice to choose each other and be there for one another and share our lives together."

Lucido adds: "To me, marriage is about partnership and growth. It means committing to celebrating both the differences and commonalities between two people and to growing both as individuals and as a couple. What a beautiful thing it is for two people to decide to come together to create a new family unit."

After Pilgrim's daughter, the flower girl, created an elegant path of petals, Rae walked down the aisle to the same song her mother did toward her father 41 years ago, "Trumpet Voluntary."

Inspired by Grace Kelly's wedding dress and perfume, Rae wore a Rita Vinieris ballgown with a banded waist and mock neck, and sprayed on Fleurissimo by Creed.

The groom told PEOPLE he was most excited to see his bride walk down the aisle, noting that "it will be one of those moments I'll never forget."

While surrounded by magnificent architecture inside Corinthian Hall, the couple exchanged traditional vows underneath Latin lettering reading "Fiat Lux," which means "Let there be light."

"I knew it was meant to be as my future husband's last name, my future last name, is Lucido, which means 'of Light,'" Rae says.

The union was officiated by The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart winner Chris Watson, who performed an original song during the ceremony. For the recessional, he also sang "All You Need is Love" as a nod to one of the couple's favorite films, Love Actually.

Guests spent cocktail hour in Foyer Under the Stars before heading to the Grand Ballroom for reception. The grandeur of the ballroom's brilliant stain-glass windows and bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was illuminated by the addition of candles "to create an elegant ambience."

"I wanted the vibe to feel very glamorous and old Hollywood," Rae says.

The bride changed into a second bridal gown by Pnina Tornai which reminded her of one of Marilyn Monroe's famous dresses.

"[It] was better than anything I could’ve ever imagined," she gushes. "It was the perfect look to dance the night away in and sparkly enough to ring in the New Year as Mrs. Lucido."

The newlyweds, who are "huge country fans," had their first dance to Keith Urban’s “Without You." Rae surprised her new hubby by performing Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” with their 11-piece band.

Afterward, they enjoyed food by Catering by Design before slicing into their four-tier red velvet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and cream cheese filling. A simple ribbon decorated the cake, which gave a cummerbund effect as a nod to Rae's wedding dress.

The party ended with a New Year’s Day farewell brunch at the historic Notary Hotel.

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For their honeymoon, the duo is off to Vancouver, then to the Maldives. When they return, they look forward to growing their careers and family.

"The next chapters will be thrilling — both of our careers are moving quickly and having kids is just around the corner," Lucido tells PEOPLE. "Navigating all of this together will be the best adventure of my life!"

"I’m so excited to start this chapter of life with Matt by my side as we start our own family and create our dream life together," Rae says before excitedly adding, "I can share that I have a television show in development that is inspired by Matt’s and my love story."

Additional credits:

Photography: Mario Oliveto Photography

Videography: Nick DeRose of Visual Rose Films

Wedding planner: Chelsea Schnell of Olive + Shae

Florals: Catering by Design Garnish

Dress: Kleinfeld Bridal

Clothes: Ted Baker

Tailor: SewRob Apparel and Custom Tailoring

Limos: First Class Luxury Limos

Bridesmaid proposal boxes: Pat's King of Steaks, Goldbelly

Hair and Makeup: Michele Wilderman

Read the original article on People