Renee Oteri didn't find love with Juan Pablo Galavis on The Bachelor, but she still got her fairy-tale ending. And it is with the very first boy she ever kissed!
The reality star and fan favorite, who finished fourth on the hit ABC series, married her onetime childhood sweetheart Bracy Maynard on Thursday. The handsome couple made it official less than one month after announcing their engagement.
"...and THAT just happened! I married my best friend of 22 years!," the blushing bride shared on her Instagram account.
The beaming blue-eyed beauty is clad in a white sleeveless lace gown, nude pumps and is clasping a bouquet of pink flowers. The glowing newlyweds opted for a courthouse wedding.
Renee's 8-year-old son Ben served as the best man but it seems like the excitement caught up with him by the end of the special day.
"And our best man is out like a light:)" his proud mama captioned a sweet snapshot of her snoozing son.
Former Bachelorette Desiree Hartsock was at the nuptials and tweeted, "I just witnessed the most romantic elopement ever! Congrats to the newlyweds. You know who you are."
Maynard is an ex-military man and he popped the question while he and Renee were house-hunting in Seattle, according to Wetpaint.com. They've since moved there together with Renee's boy.
Maynard did a bang-up job in the ring department, if we do say so ourselves, giving Renee a roughly 1.25-carat circle-cut diamond ring on a 14-karat white gold pavé-style band covered in smaller diamonds.
Per Wetpaint, they met (and smooched!) when they were 12 and dated long-distance as adults, with Renee living in Massachusetts and Bracy based in Colorado. They broke up in 2010, but obviously they rekindled their middle-school-era flame sometime after Renee's actual time on The Bachelor ended in October and she went back to her Florida hometown.
Renee was still in the mood for love following her experience on the dating show and is now the "happiest girl in the world."
Congrats to the new family!