Former ‘Idol’ Star Marries in Nashville With Help From Celebrity Friends

As season 10 “American Idol” star Pia Toscano walked down the aisle to marry music executive Carmen Educate on November 24, 2024, guests got a special surprise. Her dear friend and season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee Foster appeared with her husband, legendary music producer David Foster, to sing “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

That special moment was one of many Brides magazine captured as Toscano, a beloved “Idol” contestant whose 2011 elimination is still remembered by fans as one of the show’s most shocking voting results, married in Nashville one year after getting engaged in Cabo San Lucas.

Pia Toscano & Carmen Educate Wanted an ‘Intimate’ & ‘Timeless’ Wedding

Mary Kate Steele / BRIDES

Since her days on “American Idol,” Toscano has released multiple albums and traveled the world, regularly touring with Andrea Bocelli and Foster, whom she credits with connecting her and Educate.

“They are so dear to us,” she told Brides of the Fosters, whose wedding song can be heard in a video from the day Toscano posted on social media. “And had it not been for David, I would’ve never met Carmen. Both he and Katharine are a big part of our story.”

Toscano, once a wedding singer, told Brides that attending so many weddings informed how she wanted her own nuptials to look and feel she described as “an intimate, timeless, romantic evening with our closest friends and family.”

“I had the opportunity to perform at and attend a ton of weddings,” she said. “I really wanted ours to feel different — like nothing we had ever been to.”

Surrounded by 106 family members and friends, including Educate’s five children from a previous relationship, the couple exchanged handwritten vows at the luxurious Hotel Hermitage.

“Writing and reciting our own vows was incredibly important to us,” Toscano told Brides “For me, I could write a book about how amazing Carmen is. I wanted to have a special moment dedicated to Carmen’s kids, because they are absolutely the greatest gift he has given me, and I wanted them to know that.”

Pia Toscano Has to Postpone Honeymoon Due to Upcoming Tours

The day after her wedding, tickets went on sale for Toscano’s “Brave” tour in Latin America. In December, she’ll also hit the road in the U.S. for Bocelli’s 30th Anniversary tour.

All that touring means the newly married couple will have to postpone their honeymoon until 2025, Toscano told Brides.

“We have to wait until next year for our honeymoon, as I go right out on tour with Andrea Bocelli next week,” she said.

“Planning is never easy when it comes to mine and Carmen’s work schedules,” she added, noting that the hotel staff at the Hermitage was “so attentive and gracious in working with our ever-changing schedules to accommodate our needs.”