New York, Jul 3 (IANS): Actor Alec Baldwin exchanged vows with fiancee Hilaria Thomas and later shared their wedding joy with fans by opening up about their first meeting.

Details of the couple's big day were kept secret right up until the ceremony, but the newlyweds marked the occasion by running an announcement in the New York Times Sunday detailing their first date and courtship.

In the writeup, Thomas says she met Baldwin at restaurant here Feburary last year, when he walked up to her and handed over his business card.

"I was standing near the door with my friends when he walked up and took my hand and said, 'I must know you'... And then he gave me his card," contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.

Baldwin admits his pick-up line was none too clever, but was pleased when she agreed to go out to dinner with him a few days later and they ended their first date with a handshake.

"I have dated a lot of people since my divorce (from first wife Kim Basinger) and have thought a lot about what I wanted and what I wanted to do. I thought about it too much, I suppose. I was not really ready to take that chance and to act until I met Hilaria. I was ready. While she was in no hurry, she was very mature and clear about what she wanted, to be married someday," he said.