'Survivor's' Morgan McLeod Ties the Knot in Paris

The Survivor: Cagayan contestant shares her wedding album with PEOPLE

Photo: Le Secret d'Audrey

When Morgan McLeod competed on Survivor in late 2013, she had just started seeing a new guy, Kevin Brown.

“Kevin and I had only been dating for a few months when I left for Survivor,” she tells PEOPLE. “We both realized how special we were to one another while I was in the Philippines filming. We had no contact for two months which was absolute torture! Distance really does make the heart grow fonder.”

Things got serious when McLeod returned to the States – and culminated in an intimate Parisian wedding on June 7.

McLeod, 23, had never wanted a big wedding, and even considered the idea of eloping. “We finally decided on a very small but extravagant destination wedding in Paris,” she says. “We had only 12 guests that consisted of our closest friends and family.”

The ceremony took place at the Chapelle expiatoire, a chapel that was built in 1815 and dedicated to Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette. The reception was held at La Maison Champs-Elys es Hotel.

McLeod wore a form fitting, mermaid-style dress with pearl and lace embellishments from Berta Bridal. Brown, a 29-year-old wine and spirits distributor, wore a dark suit.

But there were challenges to getting married in Paris. For one thing, McLeod didn’t speak French. She hired a local wedding planner and florist, Luxe Paris Events, to help with all the details – including all-white flower arrangements that included white roses, peonies and hydrangeas.

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After the ceremony, McLeod and Brown went around Paris for photos at all the landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.

“We are so excited to be Mr. and Mrs. Brown,” McLeod tells PEOPLE. “Our wedding was the perfect start to our life together.”