Singer Forest Blakk Marries Tooley Jones in Intimate Forest Wedding with Caroline Rhea as Officiant (Exclusive)

Forest Blakk is married!

The “If You Love Her” singer tied the knot with Tooley Jones on Wednesday in a private and intimate ceremony at Drakewood Farm in Nashville, Tennessee. The pair who opted for a “wedding in the woods” theme, said they wanted their nuptials to be a “simple” celebration of their love.

"Honestly, [choosing what kind of ceremony to have] was probably the hardest decision to make,” Blakk tells PEOPLE. 

“We’re from two different countries and it would have been impossible to have had all our family and friends there so we figured why not just get married, us two, and then bring the party to our loved ones,” he says. “I guess you could say we made the day simple but the next year will be a party.” 

Blakk noted that the couple felt they’d be in good hands after meeting with the owner and staff at the venue, but what ultimately sealed the deal was the fact that Dolly Parton once filmed a video there. “Tooley’s heart was set,” Blakk adds.

The couple opted to say “I do” under a simple arch with a single drape and a few splashes of colorful flowers, and while they had planned for it to be just the two of them, they did bring in a special guest to officiate.

“I mean, it's not every day that you get to have America's favorite witch Aunt, Caroline Rhea, marrying you,” says Blakk of the former Sabrina the Teenage Witch star. 

“We became great friends with Caroline at a hallmark Christmas event a few years back and ever-since then she has been one of our biggest relationship cheerleaders,” he explains. “Her and I were talking and the idea of having her officiate popped up, she jumped at the opportunity without sparing a second.”

Rhea wasn’t the only special guest, as the couple, who became dog parents this year, brought along their “not-so-little bulldog” as their ring bearer as well. Though, the couple jokes that he’d probably “get distracted along the way!”

Jones — a lover of secondhand fashion — wore an intricate 1950s tea-length dress adorned with layers of pleated tulle, floral lace appliqués and pearl beading as she walked down the aisle. The moment was twice as special, as she stepped in sync with her soon-to-be husband’s new song called “I Choose You," which he wrote specifically for their big day. 

“Just before Christmas I flew to Nashville, where I met up with my friends Emily Weisband and Andrew DeRoberts,” Blakk tells PEOPLE. “Together we spent the day talking love stories and weddings. What came of that day was the perfect song to be the backdrop of our wedding!”

The couple hand-tailored their wedding ceremony down to a tee even when it came to vows, which they hand-wrote themselves and recited to each other at the altar. 

And just as they changed up the rules for their wedding ceremony, they also decided to change it up in terms of afterparty traditions.

“We’re going to take our marriage out for a night on the town. Sparkling champagne and a fancy dinner for two overlooking Nashville's skyline," Blakk says.

When it comes to their cake, the pair will have to wait. Jones' favorite King Cake from Dong Phuong bakery in New Orleans only comes around during Mardis Gras, so they plan to “put their craving on hold” until January of 2024. As Blakk tells PEOPLE, “our wedding is going to be short, sweet but long-lasting.”

The couple initially met on the dating app Hinge, and coincidentally had both been contemplating deleting the app before they found each other. 

“Tooley always says she took one last look through her new messages and felt drawn to something I had written her,” Blakk says. “A couple texts quickly turned into a short phone call which then turned into an eight-hour-long first date. At the end of the night I asked if we could have our 87th date in Jamaica… she accepted!” 

"So we went to work building a list of 85 dates we could have between our first date and our island getaway,” he continues. “We didn't know much about soulmates or love-at-first-sight back then, but these days we like to believe that those things do exist and we get to be the proof!”

The couple says they finally made it to that 87th date on Nov. 14, 2022, three years to the day they connected. Just like Blakk promised, they went to Negril, Jamaica, where he proposed. 

“She balances me out," he tells PEOPLE. “I love the way she walks through the world. She’s soft, gentle, and inviting and everyone who knows her would say the same. I love how she accepts every part of me; the silly, the wild, the energetic, the chaotic and everything in-between. She’s the first person I can be unapologetically ‘me’ with.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“He’s the kindest soul you’ll ever meet," Jones echoes. "He handles my heart with the utmost care. Before my mom passed away, she told me, ‘kindness is the most important thing in life’ and to look for a husband with that quality. I’m happy to say I fell in love with the kindest man in the world.”

As for what’s next after the wedding, Blakk says, “We have a whole world to see, honeymoon is just a fancy way of saying, ‘Where to first?’ ”