Montel Williams Marries

Talk show host Montel Williams and his fiancée, Tara Fowler, wed before an intimate gathering of friends and family Saturday afternoon Bermuda, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

“I am ecstatic! Unbelievable,” Montel told PEOPLE immediately following the ceremony.

The bride wore an off-white custom-made Badgley Mischka gown, a borrowed set of chandelier diamond earrings from Tallarico in Beverly Hills and carried a bouquet of red roses created by Julie Mulligan, celebrity designer for 1-800-Flowers.com. The groom wore a gray suit with periwinkle-blue pinstripes – to match the bridesmaids periwinkle dresses.

The laid-back seaside wedding also included a V.I.P. ring-bearer: The couple s 1-year-old black toy poodle, Mr. Max, wearing a harness with a ring-pillow on his back.

Among the 60 guests were both the bride s and groom s parents and siblings. And Williams 18-year-old daughter Maressa (from his first marriage) served as one of Fowler s bridesmaids.

Williams, 51, proposed to Fowler, 36, a former American Airlines flight attendant, on July 12, 2006, in front of both of their families at Manhattan s Tavern on the Green restaurant.

A key to any successful marriage is that you ve got to have friends, you ve got to have family to support that union, Williams told PEOPLE the night before the wedding. And from day one we ve had family and friends together that support this.

The Night Before the Wedding

On Friday night, the couple treated all of their guests to a cruise around the island on a 100-ft. yacht. Instead of it just being our day, we wanted everyone to enjoy it, the new bride told PEOPLE that night. Her wish certainly came true, as guests gathered on the beach for a cocktail hour before the ceremony even started. We just wanted it to be really laid-back, and fun! Nothing stuffy.

This is the third marriage for Williams, who has four children – two from each of his previous marriages. It is the first for Fowler.

Look for full coverage of Montel & Tara s wedding in the next issue of PEOPLE, on stands this Friday.

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