I know that it doesn't make sense that he couldn't find her, but given that she was shut in and pushed into servitude the past 4 years, it kind of makes sense. His people might've been looking for a young woman who was out and about/on the run. (The first thing I thought of was Maleficent's weird imps who searched for a baby for 16 years... So maybe not that inept, but the whole thing of looking in the wrong places.)
Why is this dude getting married anyway? Just so he can and fend off all the women throwing themselves at him like every other ML?