Comedian Who Jokingly Asked People Magazine to Cover Her Wedding is Married — And Yes, We Have Pics! (Exclusive)

Comedian Eilise Patton, who went viral in 2023 after she jokingly asked PEOPLE to cover her wedding to help offset the crazy cost of everything, is officially married!

"It was the best day ever, every detail was perfect," Patton tells PEOPLE of her June 15 nuptials to fiancé Eric Heintze held in her hometown of Roanoke, Virginia.

The Groundlings comedian, who lives in L.A., says, "I know everyone always talks about how it all comes together but leading up to it, I thought… “Oh but not for me though! Mine will be a disaster somehow!'"

"But it really was more than we could’ve ever dreamed of. The flowers, the energy, the speeches, the flowing Aperol spritzes, and all our favorite people back in the small town where I grew up. I felt unbelievably grateful… like how is this my life?!"

The bride wore a Monique Lhuillier gown, and her bridesmaids wore lavender-gray dresses from Anthropologie. The bridesmaids hair and makeup was by Branded Muse and Hair by Addie, and the videographer was RLM Film.

The event, which was planned by Erin Cleveland Events, began with the wedding ceremony at  Basilica of St. Andrew in Roanoke, Virginia. Then everyone went to the Sundara Wedding venue for the outdoor tented reception, where they drank Aperol Spritzes and dined on food from Blue Ridge Catering.

In 2023, Patton's joking request for wedding coverage in PEOPLE went viral.

"This is a message for PEOPLE magazine," Patton had said on Instagram. "If you're not PEOPLE magazine, then keep on scrolling. I've thought a lot about it because I know it's a lot of cameras and publicity and I didn't think I wanted that for my special day, but at this point I think I would be interested in doing that," she said.

"So, we would be on the cover I guess, and then just everything would be covered by you," Patton jokingly continued. "Florals and bar and DJ and potentially the honeymoon..."

Of course she was kidding, and was shocked when PEOPLE did want to come along for the ride.

"It’s all so insane!" Patton laughs. "It certainly goes to show you, just ask for what you want! Next time, we’re going for the cover article," she jokes. "Keep an eye out for me when you’re grocery shopping, I’ll be working my way up."

Of her actual big day, Patton says the best part was the gathering of everyone from all aspects of her life.

"Seeing all our people, all together, was the most surreal part. We kept looking around and were like - “Our psycho friend Megan is taking a shot with my old principal? What is going on?” It was so fun."

As for her new husband, Patton says she feels unbelievably lucky to have found a partner like Eric. "It’s not lost on me how lucky I am to have found a love like Eric, he’s really just my best friend in the world. I’m a very sentimental person and so I just kept trying to be very present during every moment of the wedding day, really letting it all sink in."

She continues, "Everyone probably heard me say 50 times, 'We’ll never get this moment back!' It was like 'Ok Eilise, shut up and just do the cha cha slide please.'"