Celebrity Celebrity Weddings Clare Crawley Legally Marries Ryan Dawkins in Vegas After 2023 Wedding: 'Your Girl Is OFFICIALLY Mrs. Dawkins!' The 'Bachelorette' alum wrote on Instagram that "within all the craziness of the year, we never got our actual marriage license" By Erin Clack Erin Clack Erin Clack is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE. She has been writing about fashion, parenting and pop culture for more than 15 years. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 7, 2024 11:38AM EDT Clare Crawley and Ryan Dawkins obtain their marriage license. Photo: Clare Crawley/Instagram More than a year after celebrating their wedding, Clare Crawley and husband Ryan Dawkins tied up one important loose end — making their marriage legal. On Sunday, Oct. 5, the Bachelorette alum, 43, shared a post on Instagram revealing that she and Dawkins realized a few months ago that "within the craziness of the year" they never actually got their marriage license. In the post's lengthy caption, which was titled "story time," Crawley explained that when planning their 2023 wedding, the timing needed to be moved up due to her mother's health. "She has late stage dementia, so our time is limited and precious. But just as soon as we started planning [the wedding], she got really really sick to the point where she might not make it through," the former reality star wrote. "So without skipping a beat, we threw all the plans to the wind and within the week my amazing event planning husband pulled together the most perfect intimate ceremony." With her mom by her side, Crawley and Dawkins — who is the CEO of Mascot Sports — said "I do" last February in a small family wedding Sacramento, Calif., which the bride described in her latest Instagram post as "truly perfect in every way." Clare Crawley and Ryan Dawkins. Clare Crawley/Instagram Crawley went on to recount how life continued to be "crazy" for the couple, as soon after the wedding "we found out we were having our miracle Rowen and closing on our dream house all within the next few months." The Bachelorette's Clare Crawley and Husband Ryan Dawkins Welcome First Baby, a Girl: 'Dream Come True' The couple welcomed their first baby together, daughter Rowen, via surrogate in January 2024 — a moment Crawley called a "dream come true" when she shared the happy news on Instagram at the time. But amid all of the big life developments, Crawley and Dawkins never actually made their marriage official. So they decided to finally get it done, Vegas-style. 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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In her post, Crawley explained, "We decided since the first ceremony was so sentimental and perfect, that we would just have a blast getting our actual marriage license and make it the most fun, love filled day ever! So we did Vegas!!" And from the sounds of it, they had the full Vegas wedding experience. "We did Pink Cadillac, Little White Chapel and obviously Elvis was our officiant!!" Crawley wrote, adding, "We had the time of our lives and your girl is OFFICIALLY Mrs. Dawkins! ❤️." Clare Crawley and Ryan Dawkins celebrate finally getting their marriage license. Clare Crawley/Instagram She included a sweet photo of the pair posing under a red heart sculpture outside a marriage license bureau. In the shot, Crawley is proudly holding a piece of paper — presumably the marriage license — above her head. Dawkins commented jokingly on his wife's post, "Let’s do it again! 😜 ❤️," prompting her to reply, "Every year baby!" Bachelorette Star Clare Crawley Praises Husband Ryan Dawkins on First Wedding Anniversary In her long caption, Crawley also shared an encouraging update about her mom. "I prayed every day that my strong mama would be able to somehow hang on to see ME become a mama, and Rowen could meet her namesake. It felt like a miracle when that happened," she wrote. "Cut to now — my mama is still holding on strong." Back in February, when she and Dawkins celebrated their first wedding anniversary, Crawley shared a photo and a sweet clip from their California nuptials on Instagram. The photo showed the couple holding hands in their wedding attire as Dawkins planted a kiss on his wife's head. In her caption, Crawley wrote a heartfelt tribute to her husband: "To the man who has moved heaven and earth for me❤️. Happy Anniversary!!" In a playful nod to their new parenthood, she added: "Let’s celebrate + pop some bottles! 🍼🍼🍼 XO." Close