‘The Young and the Restless’ star Camryn Grimes marries Brock Powell (Wedding Exclusive)

‘Young and the Restless’ star Camryn Grimes is getting married!

The 35-year-old actress and voice actor Brock Powell tied the knot on Saturday, November 8, at the Columns Hotel in New Orleans. The “intimate” celebration featured a local pianist, a lively street parade and a tarot card reader.

“Travel is very important to both of us,” the couple tells PEOPLE. “We wanted our friends and family to feel like they were on an adventure with us. Spend a few days exploring new places, eating great food, and enjoying all that New Orleans has to offer. And at the end, throw a great party and thank them for their support and love.”

Grimes and Powell wanted their wedding to feel like “a vacation with your closest people.” Approximately 75 guests were invited, including the bride’s uncle, actor Scott Grimes, actor Robert Palmer Watkins, actress Hayley Erin, voice actor Eric Bauza, and Phineas and Ferb author Dan Povenmire.

The couple ultimately decided on New Orleans because it is “a place where different passions and loves intersect.” Their venue also “really spoke to” them and inspired the sophisticated yet eerie “vibe” of their wedding.

“It’s a little moody, a little funky, but at the same time very classy and historic,” Grimes explains.

Powell added: “When I visited the venue, it had a classic Haunted Mansion feel to it, and as a former Disney tour guide, I instantly fell in love with it.”

Yoko Shimomura’s “Dearly Beloved,” one of Grimes and Powell’s favorite themes from the video game “Kingdom Hearts,” was played during the wedding procession.

The Daytime Emmy Award winner chose an elegant two-piece look from KYHA that she “fell in love with” for her first bridal appointment at En Blanc in Santa Monica, California.

“That’s right!” she remembers. “I’m not a very picky shopper, so as soon as I put it on I knew this was the one for me.”

To celebrate their common Scottish-Irish heritage, the ceremony incorporated the Celtic ritual of hand-cutting, which meant “tying the knot” by tying their hands together to symbolize their union. The bride and groom also exchanged handwritten vows.

The couple said they were most looking forward to “confirming their love in front of their friends, family, and their first son, Bridger, who was born on December 13, 2023.” For Powell, marriage means “a commitment to being the best version of each other and a promise to help the other person realize their dreams.”

The ceremony was hosted by Bill Rogers, who is referred to as the “voice of Disneyland” in park announcements.

“When Cam and I first met, he was helping us with a 2020 holiday surprise so we could bring Disneyland home,” Powell says.

In true New Orleans fashion, a second parade was held after the ceremony. A brass band led the bride and groom and their guests as they danced in the street, handkerchiefs in hand.

With the goal of “good food, good music, (and) good friends,” the celebration continued with a first dance to Stevie Nicks’ “Crystal,” a buffet-style dinner, and freshly baked beignets “with a special wedding flair” from the beignet box. There were also tables dedicated to deceased loved ones so everyone could “celebrate them in spirit.”

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Grimes and Powell joked that their wedding was “a long time coming.” The couple became romantically linked in early 2020 after meeting during the pandemic lockdown in Los Angeles. Two years later, Powell popped the question in an Up-themed proposal on January 7, 2022, Grimes’ 32nd birthday. “Honestly, my mind went blank and all I could say was, ‘Oh my God,’ over and over again…It was so emotional,” Grimes told PEOPLE at the time.

“I knew pretty early on that I wanted to spend my life with this person, and along the way we’ve had to battle through some crazy issues,” she continued after their engagement. “It seems like anything is possible as a team because we choose each other every day.”

The newlyweds’ next chapter will consist of a family trip to New Zealand, followed by a trip to Fiji just for the two of them. Plus lots of pets, travel, and rest. In the near future, Grimes and Powell will also have some work to do, as they plan to co-author a children’s book dedicated to their son, honoring their passion for reading bedtime stories.

“[We]look forward to sharing names and being able to publicly celebrate this partnership every day we are together,” the couple says. “And we build lives and homes together, with intention and wonder.”

Additional credits:
Ring designer: Brilliant Earth
Wedding Planner: Michelle Norwood
Videographer: Elevation Films