Vanessa Minnillo had troubles when shopping for her wedding dress

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo © Yithzak Dalal/Hilton Media Group

Wedding dress shopping is every girl's dream, however, for Vanessa Minnillo it turned out differently then she expected. She says to People Magazine, "Normally this is something you do with your mother, and my birth mother hasn’t been in my life since I was 9. I have been okay with that up until now but for some unexplained reason, it really overtook me. I felt lost, confused and sad. It was very emotional."

Luckily she had her matron of honour, Jennifer Birmingham-Lee, to help her decide. Vanessa, 30, worked with Monique Lhuillier to find the perfect dress, but it was more difficult than that, "This was the hardest decision in the whole wedding planning … probably because I didn’t have the support of Nick. We decided everything together, even his tux. For the first time, I felt a little bit alone." When even Monique Lhuillier and Jennifer couldn't help her decide, she turned to her now-husband for support. Vanessa asked Nick, "What do you want to see me in when you marry me and I become Mrs. Lachey?" Fortunately, Nick had a helpful response ready. He said, "Something traditional with a little modern flair." Then it all became clear, "Literally the next day I went to Monique and tried on my three dresses for the zillionth time. As soon as I put it on, I knew this was it."

Sketch of Vanessa's two-piece dress © Monique Lhuillier

First look: Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo's wedding

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo first walk as husband and wife

In this photo we can see Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo as they are leaving their personal cliff-top chapel on Necker Island as husband and wife. The photo isn't that sharp, but we can see Nick's Dolce & Gabbana suit and Vanessa's gorgeous Monique Lhuiller two-piece wedding dress, especially the hand tufted silk faille skirt and chapel length veil attract attention.

Necker Island, part of the British Virgin Islands, is known for its ridiculously good weather. Nick and Vanessa are said to have arrived last week on Tuesday, in a private jet. The couple had only invited 35 guests, close family and friends only. However, the newlyweds decided to share their wedding with the world in the TLC wedding special Nick and Vanessa's Dream Wedding. A decision they didn't take lightly, "We kind of wrestled with that for a while, for obvious reasons," Nick said according to the Daily Mail, "having done reality TV in the past, I didn't necessarily want to jump right back into it without having thought it through to great lenght, and we did." He added, "Vanessa and my wedding is for us, for the people in our lives who are close to us and mean a lot to us. That's the way we wanted it, and I'm happy we're able to do it that way."

A sneak peek of their TV special has been released.

The TLC special: Vanessa and Nick cut their engagement cake.

Choosing the location was a fairly easy decision for the newlyweds.Nick tells People Magazine, "we love to travel and we love Necker Island. We've vacationed there multiple times, and when we got engaged, we both
immediately thought of the island as the perfect place to have our wedding." Vanessa adds, "we were on a boat, on vacation, passing the island and we both looked at each other and he said, 'Yes!' I was so glad he said what I was thinking. Nick saw it in my eyes."

Necker Island  Courtesy Virgin Gotels Group Ltd.

Necker Island, a private island owned by Virgin Records' Richard Branson, is 74 acres of paradise. Vanessa says, "we used a lot of what the island had. It was timeless, beautiful and romantic."

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are husband and wife!

The Newlyweds

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo tied the knot! The newlyweds were married in front of 35 guests, their reps confirm to People Magazine. The couple's secret wedding took place at a secret tropical island destination.

Vanessa and Nick had their friends and family fly out to the secret destination, without them knowing where they were going. Vanessa says, "Nobody knew where they were going." Nick adds, "Our wedding invitations were in the form of a plane ticket. We told them they were going away and the attire was ‘island chic.’ It was all very vague."

The bride, 30, wore a two-piece Monique Lhuillier gown. The lace corset was embellished with rose and crystal details, and was paired with a hand tufted silk faille skirt. A tailered bow belt at her waist and a chapel length tulle veil completed the look. The groom, 37, wore a Dolce & Gabbana suit.

Nick, host of The Sing-Off, and Vanessa, the new host of Wipeout, will share their wedding with the rest of the world. July 30th, from 9-11 ET/PT, TLC will broadcast Nick and Vanessa's Dream Wedding.

Jessica Simpson, Nick's first wife

Vanessa and Nick met, when she starred in his music video 'What's left of me'. The couple dated for three years, when they went on a short break in 2009. They announced their engagement in November 2010.

This is Vanessa's first marriage. Nick, who used to sing in boyband 98 Degrees, married Jessica Simpson in 2002. They starred in the MTV series Newlyweds together. They announced their split in November 2005, their divorce was finalised in June 2006.