Big Brother alum and his fiancé,, are riding high after an epic joint bachelor party weekend.
The soon-to-be newlyweds headed to Austin, Texas, with 27 of their friends on Thursday, October 3, for several days of fun before they tie the knot.
“We chose Austin because we wanted to pick a place that most people hadn’t been to yet. Now, when they think of Austin, they’ll think of all the memories we made this weekend,” Bracco, 34, who is represented by Little Red Management, exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, October 7. “Nothing is more important to us than our friends and family, so having a joint bachelor party allowed our people to come together and become one. It was the best weekend of our entire lives! Truly a dream come true!”
With such a big group, Bracco and Macli had their work cut out for them planning the weekend.
“We had to be on the same page with almost everything. It was a big task to plan the weekend, and I’m so proud of Joey and I for accomplishing it,” Bracco said, noting that they had help from the Let’s Batch app. The party planning website helped them book their main activities for the trip.
“Highlights of the weekend were taking a boat out on Lake Travis, Rockstar Hibachi with Let’s Hibachi coming to the hotel to cook dinner for us, a night out at Electric Shuffle, making trucker hats with LoverTrucker Hat Co and eating a delicious brunch at Aba restaurant,” Bracco said.
To keep track of their busy itinerary, the couple had a customized “Bachbill” modeled after a Broadway musical playbill, a fitting nod to Bracco’s Broadway experience.
While Bracco and Macli did a lot of planning together, Macli did manage to pull off one big surprise: a movie-themed night.
“They dressed up as different characters from my favorite movies and did a fashion show for me that had me hysterical crying,” Bracco shared.
Among those who helped the twosome celebrate their upcoming nuptials were Bracco’s fellow Big Brother 21 alums and . The trio have stayed close friends since appearing on the CBS reality series together in 2019. Bracco told Us that even though Macli “can’t get into” reality TV, he has bonded with his Big Brother buddies.
“At this point, my friends have become Joey’s friends too,” he said. “Between reality TV, Broadway and content creating, I have a lot of creative and bold personalities in my close circle.”
After melding their friend groups so seamlessly, Bracco and Macli are even more excited for their big day.
“Now that our friends and family had this weekend of bonding time, the wedding is going to be a reunion! I’m super excited for everyone to be together again,” Bracco said. “But more than anything, I’m excited to marry Joey. I’m ready to take the next step in our relationship and begin our journey of life together.”
Bracco and Macli’s bachelor party bash comes after Us exclusively confirmed their engagement in May 2023.
“I had been ready to propose for a while,” Bracco told Us at the time. “I knew Joey was The One right away, so it feels great to finally have a title that catches up to how strongly I feel. Boyfriend just didn’t cut it anymore. We had to upgrade to fiancé.”
The reality TV personality shared some adorable insight into just how soon he knew Macli was The One while celebrating the pair’s four-year anniversary last month.
“I first asked Joey to be my boyfriend on 09/11/20. He said yes, but the next morning, got cold feet and took it back. … To be fair, we had only met two weeks prior so he was valid for feeling that way 😂,” Bracco recalled via Instagram. “When he took it back, I said, ‘That’s fine. But when you’re ready YOU have to be the one to ask ME.’”
Bracco couldn’t stick to his plan though, and asked Macli to be his boyfriend again just nine days later.
“I couldn’t wait. From the moment I met him, I was dying to lock him in,” Bracco wrote. “Luckily for me, when I asked again, he said yes and stuck to it.”
