Jonathan Bennett Says He Lived His ‘Hallmark Movie Fantasy’ During Wedding to Jaymes Vaughan (Exclusive)

The ‘Mean Girls’ actor and TV host tied the knot in March 2022

Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan’s wedding day on March 19, 2022 . PHOTO: TODD DANFORTH PHOTOGRAPHY

Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan are reminiscing about their wedding day on March 19, 2022, when they both said “I do” at the altar.

In an interview with PEOPLE as the official host of the Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration in partnership with KAY Jewelers, the Mean Girls actor says while he pretty much “blacked out” during the ceremony, it’s his slow dance with Vaughan, a co-host of the celebration, at their reception that will always be his favorite memory of the day.

Bennett, 42, recalls how he and Vaughan waltzed around the room to “Our Song,” an original record that Vaughan wrote, sang and recorded for their engagement. At the time of the proposal, Bennett shared footage of the emotional moment exclusively with PEOPLE, saying the proposal was a complete surprise.

Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan’s wedding on March 19, 2022. TODD DANFORTH PHOTOGRAPHY

“My adrenaline was pumping so hard, but being at the reception and getting to dance our first dance to ‘Our Song’ was unforgettable,” Bennett says.

“We got to slow dance to the song and I got to hear my husband sing it. Then there were fireworks and all of our friends and family were around us,” he continues. “It was a moment that looked like a Hallmark movie that I’m in. So it was like for the first time I was living my actual Hallmark movie fantasy.”

Vaughan, 40, says watching Bennett — who has starred in The Christmas House, Wedding of a Lifetime and other movies for the channel — live out his real-life Hallmark dream during the dance made him emotional.

“It was really special because I go on set and see him at a lot of his movies. Now it felt like I got to live in one,” Vaughan, a TV show host, adds. “There was a point in the wedding where I grabbed him and was like, ‘Baby, this feels like I’m on one of your sets, but this is real.’ ”

Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan’s reception on March 19, 2022. TODD DANFORTH PHOTOGRAPHY

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Vaughan adds that while he loved sharing the first dance with Bennett his favorite wedding memory was hearing his husband’s vows. He explains that going into the wedding his friends convinced him that Bennett’s vows were going to be silly and funny, so they convinced him to let Bennett give his vows first.

“He started with singing a couple of lines from ‘For Good’ from Wicked, which is his favorite musical, and I was like, ‘Oh, these are sweet and this is how Jonathan’s expressing himself. My baby is doing exactly what I expected. I love it,’ ” Vaughan says.

“But then he went into these the most gorgeous vows that I’ve ever heard,” he continues. “I was an absolute wreck. I had no idea, to be honest, that he was capable of writing something like that, although I should have known based on some of the Hallmark movies he’s created, but I didn’t know he had those words in him.”

Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan’s wedding reception on March 19, 2022. TODD DANFORTH PHOTOGRAPHY

After hearing Bennett’s words Vaughan says he was a wreck. So much so, that when it came time for him to give his vows, he could barely speak.

“I didn’t think I was going to be that emotional, but his words made me so emotional,” he recalls.

Vaughan adds, “Looking back, that surprise on the day where you’re professing your love for each other in front of everyone that is going to hold you accountable, to have him say those words and be surprised was really special and sticks out in my head still to this day.”