How Surprise Newlyweds Daryl Hannah and Neil Young Bonded Over Their Shared 'Passion'

Splash actress Daryl Hannah and musician Neil Young tied the knot in an intimate July ceremony after dating for four years

Published on September 5, 2018 11:00 AM

Daryl Hannah and Neil Young‘s wedding may have been kept quiet, but the union wasn’t unexpected.

Since meeting in 2014, the actress, 57, and the Canadian rocker, 72, have connected over their mutual loves of volunteerism and nature. They even held an anti-Keystone XL pipeline march in Washington, D.C.

“Neil’s biggest passion in life is the environment. Daryl is the exact same,” a source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “They bonded over their activism.”

Hannah and Young tied the knot on his W.G. Ragland boat on July 27 in Sucia Island’s Echo Bay off the coast of Washington. Northwest Sailing Adventures Captain Ron Fugere, joined by his first mate Mari Hauser, spotted the couple while anchored less than a mile away from Young’s schooner.

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“We looked over and saw some activity on deck and thought, gosh, that looks like a wedding!” Fugere says. “We observed a small, intimate gathering.”

For more on Daryl Hannah and Neil Young, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

Fugere made out a woman in a white dress and adds that the sunset ceremony did not last long. “They threw some flower petals and wrapped it up,” he continues.

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The newlyweds celebrated with a larger group on California’s Central Coast the next month. The Splash star and the Grammy winner reportedly held their second wedding at Santa Margarita Ranch in San Luis Obispo, with Joni Mitchell and Young’s former bandmate Stephen Stills among the 100 attendees. Some guests then stayed at the Carlton Hotel in Atascadero.

Though neither Hannah nor Young have confirmed the news yet, she Instagrammed on Aug. 25 — the weekend of their supposed California fête — the lyrics to Young’s “Love and Only.”

Reporting by GILLIAN TELLING