*In today's new issue of People magazine, Nick Cannon explains how he met, fell in love and married Mariah Carey – all within the span of one month.

      It all started in late March when Carey cast him as her love interest in the video for her new single, "Bye Bye."

      "From the first time we sat down to discuss the video at the Beverly Hills Hotel, we connected," Cannon said in the May 19 issue, which features exclusive photos from the wedding. "We had so much in common spiritually, and we laugh at the same things. I didn't have to put on my Mac Daddy suave mode. I was able to be myself with her. We are both eternally 12 years old."

      They began showing up at various events together, sparking talk that a romance may be afoot. Carey kicked the rumors into high gear at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her movie "Tennessee," where she sported a huge diamond on her left ring finger.

Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon

       Next thing you know, the 38-year-old singer and the 27-year-old actor were exchanging vows on April 30 at Carey's Bahamian estate. Were Carey's friends surprised?      

       "Some were, but some weren't," she told People. "One thing (few people) knew was we got tattoos a few weeks earlier. So anyone who saw my (Mrs. Cannon) tattoo wasn't surprised."

      Oprah Winfrey told her audience Wednesday that she saw the "Mrs. Cannon" tattoo when Carey appeared on her show about a week before the wedding, but thought nothing of it.

       Cannon said, "To me rings are special and exciting, but tattoos mean more than anything. They're forever and ever. They professed our love."      

       According to People, a dozen guests attended their sunset wedding, where guests feasted on Maine lobster and Dom Perignon champagne. The bride wore a gown by Nile Cmylo that showed off her curves and faded from off-white to pale pink.      

       "My pastor Clarence Keaton flew in from New York," Carey said. "The whole wedding was really beautiful and sweet. Being there with loved ones under the sky ... it was a spiritual moment."      

       Cannon said he was speechless watching Carey walk down the aisle: "I was elated, but I was thinking, 'Don't pass out.' ... (The pastor) said, 'The eyes are the window to the soul,' then gave us an entire minute to stare into each other's eyes. So I was saying, 'Don't cry.'"      

       The pair said they're already thinking about having kids. "It's part of the whole purpose of getting married," Carey said. "I'd just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could."