General Hospital Star Kate Mansi Marries Producer Matt McInnis in Surprise ‘Secret Garden’ Wedding

“My gift to him that day was a vintage Joe Cocker record and a lily-of-the-valley brooch from The Met — a tribute to his love of New York and the bloom of our wedding month,” Mansi shares. “I love that brooches are replacing boutonnieres for men — it’s a detail that feels timeless.”

As another surprise for McInnis, Mansi’s friend, Giovanni Mazza, played an original violin arrangement of Taylor Swift’s “Lover” as she walked down the aisle. The couple resonate with the song’s romantic lyrics, which they heard together when McInnis took Mansi to an Eras Tour concert when they first started dating.

Before the ceremony, The Days of Our Lives alum slipped out of her backless two-piece “decoy” set from Cult Gaia, which was paired with burnt orange Saint Laurent mules as a subtle nod to McInnis’ favorite baseball team, the New York Mets. Accompanied by her father, Mansi walked down the aisle in Manolo Blahnik shoes and a Newhite wedding dress from her friend Christy Doxtator (née Baird) at LOHO Bride.

“It was the dress I had always dreamed of walking down the aisle to,” says Mansi, who accessorized with custom earrings.

“I’ve never met a braver human being than Katie,” McInnis tells PEOPLE. “She inspires me. She makes everyone around her better by nurturing qualities in them which even they may not see at first. Her ability to love with her whole heart and wide eyes is the greatest gift a person could ever receive.”

The “deeply personal” ceremony was officiated by one of the groom’s closest friends, Thomas Dekker, who detailed how the couple define “I got you.”

“We also believe you can’t truly care for someone else without first committing to care for yourself. That idea hit me during my friend Kate Alvarado’s ‘The Class’ — the importance of showing up for yourself first,” Mansi explains. “So in the ceremony, we put a hand on our own hearts and said, ‘I got you,’ then did the same to each other.”

“We invited our community to join us in that vow — to support us and each other,” she adds.

In a “beautifully full circle moment,” the bride surprised her brother-in-law, Tad Safran, by calling him up to read a Kurt Vonnegut passage that he incorporated in his own wedding to Mansi’s sister.

Following their exchange of a mix of handwritten and traditional vows, the couple shared a kiss and walked down the aisle together as Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me” played. Their guests — including Britt Robertson, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Shelley Hennig and Alley Mills — waved custom silk Miniatti scarves from Spain.

Afterward, Mansi and McInnis “carved out intentional time — both alone and together.”

“I took five quiet minutes to myself before the ceremony to meditate and take it all in,” the actress says, revealing that “we slipped away, just the two of us for a moment. No cameras, no guests — just us. On such a whirlwind day, if you don’t make space for stillness, it won’t happen. The world can wait.”

From there, the evening opened up into “a dramatic, open-air dinner.”

“The final space was all about contrast: warm tones against the cool black metal and marble of the room, high-impact minimalism with single stem, deep burgundy anthurium, and a bold but refined atmosphere. We wanted each transition to feel like turning a page in a great love story,” the couple says.

At the reception, Mansi wore a vintage cocktail dress from her great grandmother. The bride and groom had their first dance to Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help from My Friends” before dancing with their parents.

The surprise celebration was planned by Carly Rae Weddings.

“The entire evening was meant to mirror our relationship: unexpected, full of humor, moving to its own rhythm, and rooted in deep connection,” Mansi says.

Mansi and McInnis met at Henning’s birthday party a few years ago. The next day, McInnis asked Mansi to go out with him “in nine months” because that’s when he’d be back from filming in South Africa. The soap opera star “thought he was insane” but thanks to his persistence gave him a chance when he was in town for a week. Sparks flew, so Mansi eventually visited McInnis in Africa and “just knew” he was the one.

“What struck me most was seeing him at work: how he treated everyone, from his driver to the cast, with the same warmth, respect and infectious energy he’s known for,” Mansi recalls. “I remember a quiet moment on safari when I turned to him and said, ‘Buckle up, this is gonna go fast.’ And it did — but with such ease and certainty.”

She continues, “Anytime I expressed hesitation about the distance, Matt would say, ‘We’re an international 24/7 operation — one of us is always up, thinking about the other. It’s a constant exchange of energy.’ “

On July 3, 2024, McInnis proposed with the “beautiful” poem “To the Love of My Life” by Michaela Angemeer.

McInnis will soon travel to London to work on a new project with Amazon MGM Studios. Meanwhile, Mansi continues to play Kristina Davis on General Hospital while studying directing and preparing for her first film. “So we’re back to our 24/7 international operation, just like we started!” Mansi says.

The couple shares: “Marriage to us is building [life] brick by brick with a partner who’s truly all in.”