Pentatonix's Scott Hoying Marries Fiancé Mark Manio in Romantic Seaside Wedding: 'Luckiest Man on Earth' (Exclusive) (2024)

Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying has found his happily ever after with husband Mark Manio.

The happy couple tied the knot on Friday in an intimate, star-studded black tie ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara, California after six years of dating.

"I feel like all of our life experiences and choices, and ups and downs, have led us to each other and this is the moment where the people we love most get to see us truly make the leap," Hoying tells PEOPLE. "I knew pretty early on that Mark was my dream man and I genuinely feel like the luckiest man on earth to get to marry him."

Hoying, 31, and Manio, 32, say that in planning their wedding, they wanted a "timeless, unique experience," and felt drawn to Santa Barbara after previously celebrating Manio's birthday in the seaside locale.

"Mark and I both have a deep love for the beach and the ocean and some of our favorite, romantic, lifelong memories together are by the beach," says Hoying, who popped the question in the Bahamas in April 2022.

For their ceremony, the couple opted for all-white florals, and exchanged handwritten vows beneath a baby’s breath archway, with singer and friend Christina Perri acting as their officiant.

On hand as the grooms walked down a mirrored floor aisle was musician Kina Grannis, who sang "Can't Help Falling in Love," just as she did in a pivotal scene in the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians.

"That's our favorite love song of all time from our favorite scene of our favorite movie," Hoying says. "We've had countless nights over the years of dancing in each other’s arms to this beautiful song. Sometimes we turn the movie on just to watch that specific scene, so it's truly our dream scenario for the wedding processional and we are so grateful to have Kina lend her gorgeous talents to our big day."

Both Hoying and Manio wore custom, off-white wedding tuxedos created by R. Swiader, and later changed into custom reception outfits better suited for the dance floor. The reception wear was the same color as the ceremony tuxes, just redesigned as a short-sleeved button-up. Hoying says he and Manio went for looks that were "different but cohesive," and were thrilled by the "gorgeous silk material" thanks to its shimmery quality.

When it came to the reception, it was all about music for the couple, who curated their own playlist to ensure that guests were able to "dance the night away."

Hoying even surprised Manio with a performance of his new song "Four," which the baritone singer wrote for the model after their engagement last year. The track will be featured on Hoying’s new EP Parallel, which is set for release on July 28.

"The song is one of my favorite songs I have ever written, as it is a love letter I dedicated to Mark after we had dated for four years, and I can barely sing it without crying," he says.

For their first dance, the couple asked Loren Allred to perform "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman, as Hoying says they had the song "on repeat when we were first falling in love."

Guests including Colton Haynes, Adam Rippon, Brittany Broski, Randy Jackson, Betty Who and of course, Hoying's Pentatonix group mates noshed on braised beef short-rib with parsnip mousseline and wilted rainbow chard, seared free-range chicken breast with porcini mushroom risotto and vegetable lasagna. The couple also incorporated some of Manio's favorite Filipino dishes into the lineup, including lumpia and lechon, plus bao buns, crab cakes, chicken kebabs and mango mochi.

For dessert, they served a chocolate buttermilk cake designed in the shape of wings, and also included a donut and dessert wall.

Though they went with an all-white theme for the ceremony, the reception was the opposite — twinkling lights and chandeliers illuminated all-black floors and draping, while white and cream florals throughout the ballroom offered a warm touch. The tables, just like the aisle, were also mirrored, as Hoying says they "wanted the space to feel like we were dancing among the stars."

"We wanted a big, epic wedding because our families are very close-knit, passionate and supportive of our love, which we think is so special," he explains. "We wanted this to be an event that celebrates not only us, but our entire families on both sides—a moment we could cherish forever. "We really wanted it to be grandiose and like nothing else we’ve ever experienced, just like our love for each other."

The entire wedding weekend, planned with Orange Blossom Special Events, was filled with surprises for guests, starting with a welcome dinner and drinks that featured an upright piano primed for karaoke. The big day itself included an audio guestbook for friends and family to leave messages on an old rotary phone, and there was also a tattoo artist and a photo booth that splashed guests on the cover of a magazine. The three-day event — into which their puppy Mozart was also incorporated — concluded with a farewell brunch on a bluff overlooking the ocean.

"My family absolutely adores Mark, and his family are the most wonderful, fun, warm people in the whole world," says Hoying. "We are so fortunate and lucky to have these incredible support systems in our lives!"

The big day was a long time coming for the pair, who first met in Los Angeles in 2017 at a friend's birthday party. Hoying, who appeared with Pentatonix on The Masked Singer earlier this year, arrived late at the get-together because he was coming from a music video shoot, and immediately set his sights on Manio.

"We talked the whole night and really it off," he recalls. "We started hanging every single day, and I remember being blown away at how warm, wholesome and sweet Mark was. It was such a refreshing energy that I couldn’t get enough of. People always say that six years later, we still haven’t lost our 'honeymoon phase,' and we couldn't agree more."

Manio, too, is full of praise for his husband, calling Hoying "passionate, brave, inspiring, hard-working… and caring, tender and deeply honest and sincere."

"He is truly one-of-a-kind," says Manio. "He leads through life with such a unique, electrifying presence. And of course, he is the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on. He lights up my life in every single way."

With their wedding now behind them, Hoying says the couple will head to Punta Mita, Mexico for their honeymoon — and that they already "talk every day about starting a big ol' family."

"Getting married to each other means everything. I think we, like so many queer people growing up, wonder if they’ll ever even come out, and if they'll ever find love, and for some of us, if gay marriage would ever be legal. The fact that all of those obstacles ended up working out in the end is a really beautiful thing and only makes us cherish each other more," he says.

He continues: "What I love about Mark is that he is the most loving, gentle, genuinely kind ray of sunshine that you’ll ever meet—always! It's like a superpower. He just loves life, loves people, loves every single part of me. I just know he is going to be the most amazing father in the world to our children."