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Champagne fountains, professional dancers, glammed up dogs, poutine and a who’s who of Bachelor Nation – Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick are planning the wedding of the year in Nashville, Tennessee.
“We want it to be an over-the-top, black-tie affair, but also a crazy party,” Bristowe, 36, told ET Canada as she and Tartick promoted his upcoming book The Restart Roadmap: Rewire and Restart Your Career. “I want my dogs in tuxedos and dancers and champagne fountains. I want a big party!”
The couple were quick to note that such extravagance is a contrast to their “frugal” daily lives. “I shop at Target and won’t buy a loaf of bread over $3,” laughed Bristowe. “So, for this I’m like, ‘Let’s go all out.’”
“We want to make it great, not only for us, but everyone who travels from afar,” added Buffalo native Tartick, 33. “Kaitlyn’s family’s all in Western Canada, mine’s all East Coast and her mother still hasn’t met my mother face-to-face, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to celebrate two families and groups of friends coming together through this wild, unconventional path.”
That path saw the pair start dating after Tartick appeared on Bristowe’s podcast “Off the Vine” after becoming a contestant on “The Bachelorette” in 2018. Bristowe (a former “Bachelor” contestant and “Bachelorette” lead) and Tartick got engaged in 2021.
“I used to want to get married in Canada, but now I’m so worried about borders,” said the Leduc, Alberta, native. “We have two [Nashville] venues we love, so we’re waiting on availability.”
“There will definitely be some Canadian-ness to it,” she continued. “We want it to be super-unique to who we are with elements of where we’re from. Jason’s like, ‘Our late-night food should be poutine and buffalo wings!’”
As for her dream Canadian performers, Bristowe was quick to name Celine Dion and Justin Bieber. “I’ll just get Celine Dion – that’s how we’ll get more Canadian elements into the wedding!”
“She can sing the national anthem,” joked Tartick, an entrepreneur, investor and podcaster, who hosts business podcast “Trading Secrets”.
Tartick may find himself wowed by a different Canadian songstress – Bristowe, who released a country track in 2020, is hoping to pen a song for the occasion.
“Music has always been part of my life,” she shared. “My grandpa was a musician and it’s in my blood, so I want to write a song for the wedding.”
Having previously won “Dancing with the Stars”, Bristowe’s also excited to strut her stuff on the dancefloor. The two have enlisted “DWTS” pro Daniella Pashkov and husband Pasha Pashkov to choreograph their wedding performance.
Naturally, Bachelor Nation will have a strong presence. “There are so many people I’m close with – Tayshia [Adams], Whitney [Bischoff] and Becca Kufrin, who’s Jason’s ex. And we’re good friends with Ben Higgins, my ex.”
“Blake [Horstmann] will be in the house and producers,” added Tartick. “It’s a weird family, but it’s a family!”
Firing up the epic party will be Bristowe’s wine brand, Spade & Sparrows. Having developed a passion for wine while working under a sommelier in the restaurant business, Bristowe’s friends joked a glass of wine was her standard accessory and she proudly launched the label in 2019. Her loyal “vinos” even lobbied for Canada’s LCBO to stock it.
“They’re passionate people who have always believed in what I’m doing,” Bristowe said. “They emailed the LCBO saying, ‘You need Spade & Sparrows in your store!’ I had convincing to do and they did it for me.”
“Creating a wine label’s something I’ve been so passionate about and the hardest job I’ve done,” continued Bristowe, who’s a guest speaker on Women, Wine and Well-Being’s Manifest Tour, hitting Edmonton, Kelowna, Calgary and Saskatoon in June. “When I envision my wedding, the thought of having Spade & Sparrows on the tables makes me so happy.”
Wedding details aside, Bristowe said ultimately the big day is about cementing her partnership with Tartick.
“I come from a divorced family and I’ve always believed in having one person to start a family with and having my kids grow up seeing a healthy version of love,” she said. “Marriage is a partnership that goes through ups and downs and rock bottoms don’t mean the end.”
Added Tartick: “It’s a joint effort through thick and thin – two people bonding for a lifetime to create something bigger than themselves. Hopefully we’re fortunate enough to have a family with that.”
While Bristowe’s conscious of age impacting her ability to start a family, she has “some peace of mind” having frozen her eggs at 31.
“The pandemic’s definitely thrown me for a loop,” she admitted. “I thought I’d have babies by now, but when the timing’s right, it’ll happen.”
Bristowe has more time for such personal matters following news that she and Adams, who co-hosted the last two seasons of “The Bachelorette”, are being replaced by Jesse Palmer for season 19.
While she stressed how “incredible” and “well-qualified” fellow Canadian Palmer is for the gig, she’s unsure why she and Adams were dropped and feels the decision’s a “disappointing” step backwards.
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said. “That show has worked a certain way for so long and I was part of the change. They were having diversity, bringing women in and showing representation. That brought a lot of empathy and we hadn’t seen a lot of that within the franchise, so it was cool to see it evolving and be part of that.”
“And with them having two bachelorettes – something I know the struggles of – it would’ve made sense to have myself or someone who’s been through that. So, I’m super-disappointed but things happen for a reason … and I have a wedding to plan!”
READ MORE:
Kaitlyn Bristowe Reacts To Not Being Asked Back To Host ‘The Bachelorette’
Meanwhile, Tartick’s busy launching The Restart Roadmap, out on 5 April. The book aims to guide readers through revamping their careers and lives while pursuing financial, professional and emotional success. The eight-step roadmap was inspired by Tartick’s own experience, walking out on his well-paying but unfulfilling corporate banking career, and features tips, checklists and lessons from his success, like how he negotiated pay on Bachelor Nation contracts.
“It was a relevant time to write a book called The Restart Roadmap because the entire world just hit restart with a pandemic,” said Tartick, who will discuss the book with Bristowe during a live version of “Off the Vine” in Nashville on 4 April. “Change was terrifying, but that terrifying moment led to the unbelievable place I’m in today.”