On Wednesday, the previous Bravo star, 47, married her fiancée Jennifer Spinner, 40, in a “final minute” ceremony at their Nashville house, in accordance with PEOPLE, which shared unique particulars and images from the marriage.

Windham-Burke and Spinner opened as much as the outlet about their nuptials.

“That is nearly us and us saying, ‘You recognize what? We love one another. Let’s do that,’” Windham-Burke mentioned. “After which after we even have the large marriage ceremony, we can’t be as stressed and we’ll be like, ‘That is only a celebration with our mates.’”

Following the intimate ceremony, the couple revealed they plan on having bigger marriage ceremony celebrations in California, New York, and Guatemala in 2026.

Whereas the pair — who bought engaged final yr — mentioned they had been initially going to attend to tie the knot till October 2026, they informed PEOPLE that they determined to get married now “as a result of uncertainty and the political and social local weather round LGBTQ+ rights in Tennessee.”

Spinner added that she and Windham-Burke are involved about what is going to occur underneath Donald Trump’s second presidency, together with whether or not “homosexual marriage will return to the states.”

“We simply wished to be legally protected and hopefully grandfathered in to any modifications that occur,” she mentioned, to which Windham-Burke added, “That is simply making it authorized and giving us these protections that we’d like as a queer couple dwelling within the south.”

The mother of seven mentioned she and Spinner had a public official come to their home for the ceremony, however they initially deliberate to tie the knot at their native courthouse. Nonetheless, in accordance with Windham-Burke, she realized that the courthouse “now not carry out[s] marriage ceremonies as a result of so lots of the judges there did not need to carry out homosexual marriages.”

Windham-Burke and Spinner started courting in July 2022 after assembly on Instagram. The 2 bought engaged on their first anniversary in July 2023, with the previous proposing to the latter. That they had a second proposal the next October with Spinner popping the query.

In response to PEOPLE, Windham-Burke and Spinner had a hoop trade on New Yr’s Eve final December, earlier than having an unofficially marriage ceremony ceremony in Las Vegas on Valentine’s Day.

“We have simply had loads of backlash right here. We have had a tough time with the atmosphere and the local weather, and for us, that is our personal little act of protest,” Windham-Burke mentioned in regards to the authorized ceremony on Wednesday. “We need to stand in our energy.”

Spinner added, “It isn’t only a protest … Clearly we’re actually privileged in loads of methods, and we’re not similar to each different couple that is doing this, however we have now children that we’re elevating collectively and we have now ex-partners that we’re attempting to co-parent with, and I feel that we’d like the protections and the rights that marriage provide, and sadly, we’re not on our personal timeline as a result of the federal government is deciding that timeline for us in some methods.”

Windham-Burke — who got here out as a lesbian in 2020 — shares seven kids together with her ex-husband Sean Burke: Bella, 24, Rowan, 22, Jacob, 19, 11-year-old twins Caden and Curren, Koa, 9, and Hazel, 6. Whereas Bella, Caden, Curren, Koa, and Hazel attended their mother’s marriage ceremony, Rowan and Jacob had been out of state, in New York and California, respectively, per PEOPLE.

“We’re so excited to lastly be legally spouse and wifey!” Windham-Burke mentioned.