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Access Hollywood
updated 5/12/2005 6:02:52 PM ET 2005-05-12T22:02:52

The marriage of 36-year old Renee Zellweger and 37-year old Kenny Chesney Monday at his property in Peter Bay, St. John – U.S. Virgin Islands surprised a lot of people. How did the couple come together so quickly? They met at the “Concert of Hope” tsunami relief event in January.

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While Chesney initially played coy about the relationship — he told a crowd just two weeks ago that he was single — he may not have realized how strongly Renee felt.

The day after that comment, Renee surprised him by showing up at his concert in Jacksonville. And days later, the couple were spotted having lunch in Nashville.

Of course, his flippancy may have just been posturing for the fans. Kenny apparently had his eye on Renee for a long time, writing a song called “You Had Me At Hello,” a take on Renee’s famous line to co-star Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire.”

The indications that a major life change was coming for Renee were sprinkled in her conversations.

Just last year, Renee told Billy Bush of Access Hollywood about her plans to temporarily put her career on the back burner and the brakes on her non-stop, no-time-for-fun life.

Asked what she planned to do during the break, a smiling Renee said, “I am gonna go find out, Billy Bush.”

The bride wore an original ivory Carolina Herrera gown on Monday, similar to those featured in the designer’s preview of her Spring bridal collection. The choice of designer for the wedding dress is not surprising, given Renee’s previous devotion to Herrera’s collection.

The honeymoon already appears underway, but it might be a quick one. Renee cancelled a scheduled appearance Tuesday night at a New York event. But Kenny is still scheduled to perform Thursday night in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In a statement released to Access Hollywood, Chesney said: "I am incredibly happy. I may well be the luckiest man alive ... to be so in love with someone who is so perfect for me, it's just hard to imagine that I'm not going to wake up."

Copyright 2012 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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