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Ugly Betty's Ashley Jensen Elopes in California

Monday January 29, 2007 08:25 AM EST

Ugly Betty's Ashley Jensen Elopes in California

Ashley Jensen and Terence Beesley at the SAG Awards

Francis Specker/Landov

Ugly Betty actress Ashley Jensen eloped with her longtime boyfriend, actor and writer Terence Beesley, she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

The pair exchanged vows last Monday in the northern California hideaway of Big Sur.

"It was in a forest," the Scottish-born Jensen, 37, says of her private wedding, where a minister officiated and the couple's dog, Barney, served as ring bearer. "It was about our marriage. We didn't want to be worried about napkins, you know? It was about us."

Jensen, who plays the seamstress Christine on Betty, also said that she and Beesley have "been together for over seven years" and theirs "was a beautiful, beautiful magical wedding. ... It was brilliant."

So who was the first to hear the news? "My mum was the first to know," said Jensen, whose work schedule just happened to fit her bridal calendar.

"I fortunately had an episode off," she said. "I didn't have to go to work, (and) I thought ... let's seize the moment."

By Thursday, however, she was back on the set of the hit ABC sitcom – though she still admits, "I'm the luckiest girl!"

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