Paul Wesley details 'spontaneous' wedding planned the 'night before'

Paul Wesley and Natalie Kuckenburg planned their wedding in less than a day.

The Vampire Diaries star tied the knot with the model in a civil ceremony at the Santa Barbara courthouse earlier this month, joined only by their dog. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet of the Star Trek: Strange New World Season 4 premiere on July 23, Wesley detailed how the “spontaneous” wedding came to be.

“I just got married. Eloped,” confirmed the 44-year-old actor, who portrays James T. Kirk on the Paramount+ series.

“We were planning a big wedding, and then we were like, ‘Let’s just get legally married,’” he continued. “And we were waiting for a cancellation at the Santa Barbara courthouse because it’s such a beautiful courthouse. But it was booked out for three months. We found a cancellation the night before.”

Wesley credited his “amazing” new wife Natalie for finding the perfect dress the day of the wedding, while everything else, including hiring a photographer, was arranged a day in advance.

“Because it was so spontaneous, it made it more special,” he added. “It’s just us and our dog. It was amazing.”

In pictures of the courthouse wedding shared on July 13, the newlyweds looked stunning as they posed with their beloved pet dog, Greg.

Wesley, 43, and Kuckenburg, 26, got engaged last summer after first being romantically linked in 2022.