Jason Kennedy and Lauren Scruggs
Victor Hugo Garcia Moreno
10/01/2014 AT 08:50 AM EDT
“It’s a busy time,” says Kennedy, who’s a correspondent for both E! and the Today show. “Things have been pretty stressful.”
Between wedding planning and a recent move, the couple welcomed a much-needed breather.
“I just moved into a house that Lauren and I bought together,” Kennedy, 32, tells PEOPLE. “But she’s not moving in until after we get married. It’s a big deal – it’s our first house that we’re buying together, and that’s really exciting.”
“We’re putting furniture in there and juggling deciding on wedding songs and all that, so we decided to do a little intimate getaway, a pre-honeymoon, if you will,” he says of the five-day vacation at Riviera Maya’s Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita, where the couple were joined by Lauren’s twin sister and her husband.
“It was super quiet there and we layed out, did a lot of spa treatments, got some exercise and ate way too much food!” says Kennedy with a laugh. “It was a perfect decompression before things get really crazy for us.”
Crazy in a good way, that is.
Lauren Scruggs and Jason Kennedy
Victor Hugo Garcia Moreno
“We’re just excited and ready for it to be here,” Scruggs, 26, says about the wedding. “But I’m most excited about actually living in one place, because the transition has been kind of frustrating. I’m just looking forward to being settled together.”
With the planning well underway, it’s the special night surrounded by his close friends (11 groomsmen in total!) and family that can’t come soon enough for Kennedy. “To have them all there with me, some of my mentors, best friends – to celebrate the biggest moment of my life – will be incredible.”
“I’m ready to enjoy our night and celebrate and then make sure Lauren knows I love her!”