Elizabeth Smart has finally gotten her happy ending. The Utah woman who was kidnapped at 14 years old and made headlines around the world when she was found nine months later has married.
Smart tied the knot with fellow Mormon, Matthew Gilmour. The two fled Salt Lake City, opting for a beautiful ceremony in Hawaii.
The two were set to exchange vows in early summer 2012 but in a spontaneous move, exchanged them Saturday—Smart, 24, and Gilmour, 22, announced their engagement last month and made plans to wed in the early summer.
Reports say the move was thanks to intense media surrounding their engagement last month.
The marriage was confirmed by a family spokesman, who said she married Matthew Gilmour on Oahu’s North Shore.
According to the Associated Press, the couple wed at the Laie Hawaii Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a small group of family present.
AP also reported that Chris Thomas, spokesman for the family, said the group then celebrated at a private reception and luau, adding, “The bride and groom were beaming as they left the LDS Temple.”
Smart first met Gilmour, who’s from Scotland, while doing missionary work in Paris, France. According to Reuters, she met Gilmour while she was serving a religious mission in Europe for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Smart made headlines across the globe when she was abducted at 14 years old while in her bedroom as her sister looked on. In 2002, Smart was kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell, a street preacher, who reportedly repeatedly raped her with his wife, Wanda Barzee.
Her kidnapping was covered by media and the search for her was extensive, according to Reuters, though Smart was finally spotted by passers-by in Salt Lake City in 2003.
Mitchell was ultimately convicted of the kidnapping in 2010 and sentenced to life in prison. Barzee was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
