Phillip Phillips ties the knot

ALBANY — Almost a year after announcing their engagement on Facebook, Phillip Phillips and long-time girlfriend Hannah Blackwell officially tied the knot Saturday evening at a private ceremony in Phillips’ hometown of Albany.

According to various news outlets, the American Idol Season 11 winner and platinum recording artist and his girlfriend of nearly seven years exchanged vows at Albany’s Resora Plantation in front of roughly 250 close friends and family.

“I’m so excited,” Phillips told People magazine. “What I like most about her is she’s my best friend and I can tell her anything. I just love her.”

Phillips reportedly wore a Billy Reid tuxedo, while Blackwell wore a Hayley Paige gown. Following the ceremony, where they exchanged hand-written vows, the couple enjoyed a Southern-style reception.

The couple, who announced their engagement in a Facebook post on Dec. 26, 2014, first met an event for Albany charity organization Mission Change, which is run by Phillips’ sister, LaDonna Urick.

Phillips burst onto the national stage in 2012 when he not only won season 11 of the popular television show American Idol, but also released his debut album “The World from the Side of the Moon,” which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Phillips followed up that success in 2014 when he released his second effort “Behind the Light,” which debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard charts and spawned the hit single “Raging Fire.”