Despite rumors of an early summer wedding, former kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart and her boyfriend of one year, Matthew Gilmour, tied the knot on Saturday in Hawaii.
The couple exchanged vows at the Laie Hawaii Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Mormon temple, on the island of Oahu. The wedding was small and intimate, with only close family and friends in attendance.
The 24-year-old bride wore an Alita Graham gown from Manhattan bridal shop Kleinfeld's, after weeks of "[trying] on just about every dress in Utah," Smart told People. The gown featured lace sleeves, a sweetheart neckline and satin-covered buttons down the back.
The groom, 22, wore a traditional Scottish kilt to honor his heritage and his father, who passed away from cancer in 2008.
After the ceremony, the wedding party moved to the island’s luxury Turtle Bay Resort, where a lunch reception was held. That night, the couple celebrated their nuptials with an evening wedding luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
"They are clearly besotted with each other, and it's a wonderful thing to see," the groom's mother, Kay Gilmour, told People. The newlyweds planned to depart on an "extended honeymoon" following the wedding festivities.
Smart first met Gilmour while both were serving on religious missions in Europe. The couple dated for a year before getting engaged in January, and planned their secret destination wedding in Hawaii just two weeks before the Big Day.
The reason behind the secretive nuptials? According to Chris Thomas, a spokesman for Smart, the bride -- who was kidnapped at age 14 from her Utah home in 2002 and held for nine months -- decided that "the best way to avoid significant distraction was to change her wedding plans and to get married in an unscheduled ceremony outside of Utah."
The nuptials were a surprise to many. Smart's best friend, Katy Lund Burgess, had no idea that the couple would get married so quickly. In fact, she had to book a last-minute flight to arrive just in time for the wedding.
According to People, Smart told guests that her wedding day was one of the happiest in her life: "Matthew, I love you so much," Smart said. "I couldn't be happier. I am so grateful that everyone is here to be with and support us on this beautiful day. I love you so much."