Broadway Actors Liana Hunt and Larkin Bogan Are Married — After She Proposed to Him!

Liana Hunt, who starred on Broadway in Newsies and Mamma Mia!, told PEOPLE about her heartfelt proposal to Larkin Bogan and how she surprised him yet again — at their wedding

Photo: Karen Obrist Photography

After 12 years together, Liana Hunt and Larkin Bogan have said "I do."

The Newsies actress, 34, and the Wicked actor, 35, were married Monday — a night off for most of Broadway — at 74Wythe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Much like their relationship, the ceremony was anything but traditional. And it all started with a proposal Bogan could have never imagined.

"Larkin is from the south and is the sweetest romantic ever, and he's dreamt of proposing his whole life, and I know he wanted to get married," Hunt told PEOPLE days before the couple exchanged vows. "I was not sure I ever wanted to get married. I felt really strongly about not wanting to be proposed to. It never sparked joy for me. I didn't really love that it was historically the man's job. I also didn't know that I wanted a wedding if I ever did get married."

She added, "Poor Larkin was very, very patient."

Karen Obrist Photography

Her mind changed around the same time the world changed — when lockdown began in the U.S. in March 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The two went upstate to celebrate their 10th anniversary, and Hunt asked Bogan to be her fiancé.

"The night before our anniversary, I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to do it. It feels really right.' We went for this gorgeous hike, and we spent this beautiful day together, and we were listening to this gorgeous album we love. And I was like, 'Okay, it's now.' So I turned to him, and I proposed to him. Not with any ring or anything, [but] I asked him if he would marry me."

Bogan "was completely shocked," said Hunt. "He was instantly weeping. He was just like, 'Oh my God. Yes.' "

Karen Obrist Photography

He even had a ring on him. "[He] leapt up and was like, 'Okay, so I got you something, but don't freak out. I did get you a ring, but it's not an engagement ring. I didn't even put it in a box.' "

Bogan eventually picked out an official engagement ring and surprised Hunt with it months later. "So he kind of did get his moment, too," she said.

The pair met more than a dozen years ago when they attended New York University together — sharing their first kiss onstage when they played opposite each other in Pippin — but were nothing more than just friends at the time.

After graduation, Hunt went on tour with Mamma Mia!. When she flew back to New York for a week off due to a bout of laryngitis, she and Bogan reconnected. "We ended up going out for dinner and jazz music in Greenwich Village, but I couldn't talk at all," said Hunt. "So he brought me a little dry erase board and a dry erase marker. And we spent the whole night watching jazz music and writing little messages back and forth to each other."

The two had a long-distance relationship for years, even missing each other's Broadway debuts. (Hunt was on tour with Mamma Mia! when Bogan made his Broadway debut in Hair; and when Hunt transferred to the Broadway company of Mamma Mia!, Bogan hit the road to tour with Hair.)

They eventually worked in New York simultaneously. But when Hunt auditioned for Wicked — in which Bogan was then understudying Boq — she was chosen to play Nessarose on the musical's national tour. "We did the same exact show in roles that play opposite of each other on opposite sides of the country for a whole year," she said.

Karen Obrist Photography

Cast members from Wicked, including former Elphaba Christine Dwyer — as well as her husband, Waitress actor Matt DeAngelis — attended the couple's nuptials. Newsies stars Adam Kaplan and Michael Fatica were also in attendance as well as Carey Bertini, who was Hunt's dresser in Mamma Mia!.

Bertini, who got Hunt into her wedding dress costume every night in Mamma Mia!, also put the actress in her actual wedding dress on Monday. Hunt's father, Bill, officiated the ceremony, and Hunt walked down the aisle alone in a gown from Amsale Salon on Madison Avenue. Jason Mitchell Kahn planned the festivities, with photography by Karen Obrist.

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L: Caption . PHOTO: Karen Obrist Photography

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The couple forwent a wedding cake — and Hunt had one more surprise up her sleeve for Bogan: some late-night snacks from chicken-and-biscuit franchise Bojangles.

"His mom always talks about how much he loves the chicken biscuits," said Hunt. "Every time we visit the south, literally the first stop off the airport is Bojangles. His mom has it in the car ready for him."

Coincidentally, Hunt used to babysit for Matthew Bradshaw, managing partner and co-founder of Durational Capital Management — one of Bojangles' shareholders. With his help, Bjoangles was delivered specifically for their Brooklyn rooftop wedding, where guests enjoyed Cajun Chicken Filet Biscuits, Bo-Tato Rounds and their Legendary Iced Tea at the end of the night.

Before the big day, Hunt told PEOPLE, "He has no idea. And also, all of his friends from the south are going to freak out."

Yet again, she added, "Larkin's going to lose his mind!"