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Matt Damon, Luciana Barroso Renew Wedding Vows: All the Details on Couple's Heartfelt Message to Guests, Spoken Vows, Reception Menu

Get exclusive intel on what went down at the duo's special day in Saint Lucia

By Marcus Mulick, Alexis L. Loinaz Apr 15, 2013 1:02 PMTags
Luciana Bozan Barroso, Matt Damon, St. Lucia, Wedding RenewalJames Devaney/WireImage.com

Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, pulled out all the stops to renew their wedding vows in front of their loved ones this past weekend.

The couple—having rented out, as E! News exclusively learned, an entire luxury hotel in Saint Lucia for a reported $600,000—treated guests to a lavish feast Saturday as they shared an intimate message with attendees, who received invitations printed with a heartfelt letter chronicling Damon and Barroso's romance.

E! News has all the exclusive details of what went down, as well as insider intel on the vows that the couple made to each other at the ceremony.

In his message, which was printed on the wedding invitation, Damon recalled meeting his ladylove in 2003 at a bar in Miami's South Beach, where she was working, as the flustered actor "tried to think of something cool to say." He also recounted how the couple "made a pact that we'd have a big celebration down the road" after quietly tying the knot at Miami's City Hall.

Meanwhile, in her message, Barroso recounted how—not knowing who Damon was when they first met—she thought "he actually looked a little like that guy from the silly Will Smith movie about golf, only pudgier." (She was, of course, referring to their 2000 movie The Legend of Bagger Vance.) Yet, she chides, "that dorky guy ended up being the love of my life," and she endearingly quips that "it's about time that guy put a ring on my finger in front of all of you."

E! News has also exclusively obtained the vows that the two spoke to each other at the ceremony, which was officiated by Jimmy Kimmel—a hush-hush surprise that the couple managed to keep from their guests until the very last moment.

As he spoke to his wife, Damon reportedly promised, among other things, "to keep my sense of humor through everything and anything life throws at us…to defend you in public and correct you in private, to hold the handheld shower when you're rinsing the dye out of your hair even though you say I don't do it right, to always respect your views even when we disagree—like about the fact that there's a right way and a wrong way to hold a handheld shower…to make a fool out of myself in front of you—but not too often…to be the dad our four beautiful children deserve, to be your best friend."

The couple apparently spared no effort in scoping out the perfect location for their special day.

"Matt Damon visited Saint Lucia earlier in the year looking for that perfect location to renew his vows," Charlma Charles, owner of Saint Lucia vacation tour company Discover Soufriere, tells E! News exclusively.

Soufrière fit the bill—a locale Charles describes as "a haven of tranquility" that's "perfect for any destination wedding [and] for romantics," with "picturesque beaches, rainforests, old churches, botanical gardens, historic forts and plantations."

Looks like it's also a destination that offers some pretty sumptuous cuisine.

E! News has obtained the dinner menu that was prepared at the reception, and adult guests dined on global offerings that included toothsome Chilean salmon sashimi, slow-roasted pork, grilled heart of rib eye, seared halibut and banana clafouti.

Children, meanwhile, chowed down on some tossed salad, breaded fish and chicken and penne pasta.

All told, it was a one-of-a-kind weekend for the happy couple—and their fortunate guests—to savor.

—Additional reporting by Senta Scarborough