Kimberly J. Brown and Daniel Kountz are married!
The former Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge costars tied the knot on Friday, April 19, at the Spanish Hills Club in Camarillo, Calif., surrounded by 92 loved ones.
The couple — who planned their nuptials with the help of Kaylen Davidson of Sara Judith Events — tells PEOPLE they were immediately drawn to the stunning scenery of the private club.
“You get married over the mountains,” says Brown, 39, of the location. “It was just so beautiful when we first went there. It was the first venue we saw, but we quickly found ourselves comparing every other venue against it.”
Their overall vision for the wedding was “understated elegance,” so they let the natural beauty of the venue shine, focusing on a soft color palette of white and blush pink, with black accents for a modern touch.
Their ceremony was held outside, and the pair exchanged vows under a wooden arbor decorated with flowers. Tipsy Tulips Designs oversaw the arrangements, with blooms provided by Petal Driven. Rustic Yard Events handled the rentals, and linens were supplied by Party Mosiac. More Than Words created all of the couple’s stationery products.
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“We both love nature, so we definitely wanted to have the ceremony outside amongst the trees, and it overlooked a valley and all of that beautifulness before we went inside and we partied it up,” says Kountz, 45.
The couple’s close friend Ashley Crenshaw officiated the ceremony. “She’s known me for a long time and known Daniel, so it’s a fun, personal touch,” says Brown, whose bridal party included her sister as matron of honor, and Kountz’s sister and actress Lacey Chabert as bridesmaids.
Other celebrity guests included Ali Fedotowsky, Ashley Jones, Missi Pyle, Amy Davidson and actress Judith Hoag, who played Brown’s mom in Halloweentown.
Brown walked down the aisle to “I Choose You” by Sara Bareilles, which was performed by Briana Cuoco, whose sister is actress Kaley Cuoco. She wore a Stella York dress from Lili Bridals.
“The beautiful layers of tulle over the ballgown style skirt just really felt like a wedding gown on,” Brown says of her dress. “I was also so comfortable in it, which was really important to me. I wanted a veil that was in between floor length and shoulder length so Lili Bridals custom made the gorgeous one I wore. The sparkly detail of the crystals, beads, and pearls lining the edge was my favorite!”
When the dancing kicked off, she swapped her Badgley Mischka heels for Betsey Johnson sparkly sneakers. Violet Artistry handled her wedding-day glam.
Kountz and his groomsmen sported SuitShop suits, ties and shoes.
Music was a top priority for the couple’s event. They hired an “awesome” DJ, Tyler Varnell, who is also a saxophonist. “He can play it solo but also play it over the songs playing,” Brown explains. “He came out for a saxophone solo for our first dance, and played some live music during the ceremony.”
They performed their first dance as husband and wife to “You Are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne. “It’s an amazing song,” Kountz says. “We love it.”
They also prioritized the food, including having lots of tasty snack options for guests at their reception. “We did a flatbread station and some fun things that were the kind of things we saw as options and thought, ‘Oh, well, gosh, I’d love to sneak over for a slice of pizza during the cocktail reception.’ ”
Guests also dined on New York strip and chicken napoli. For a late-night snack, they had a french fries bar featuring various fries, onion rings and dipping sauces.
“Having a delicious cake was non-negotiable,” Kountz adds. They chose a gluten-free vanilla bean cake with a cinnamon cream cheese crunch filling and vanilla buttercream frosting, created by Sugar Lab Bake Shop.
All of the event’s special moments were captured by The Big Affair photography and Luma House videography.
As they look back on their special day, the newlyweds tell PEOPLE their wedding was “a dream come true.”
“We are so grateful that our family and friends came, and some of them traveled farther than others. It was just a fun celebration day and kind of surreal having all of our family members in one place like that, meeting each other, hanging out, laughing,” Brown says.
The pair first met while working on Halloweentown II, in the 2001 Disney Channel film before sparking a romance years later. Brown recalls that she and Kountz “got along great” on set, but says there were “never any romantic discussions, thoughts or feelings at that time.”
“We were strictly professional,” adds Kountz.
After filming wrapped, the two remained friends, mostly keeping in touch via social media. They reconnected again in 2016 when Brown contacted her former costar about a project she was working on.
“I was shooting some comedy sketches for my YouTube channel and thought, ‘Some of the fans might recognize it and think it’s cool,’ ” she tells PEOPLE. “So I reached out to him, and we worked on the sketches but also started catching feelings, I guess, as the kids say.”
Kountz remembers being blown away by Brown when he saw her again after all those years.
“We met up at a bar, and I was waiting there for a little Kimberly J. Brown to come in and in walks a beautiful, well-put-together full-grown woman. I was like, ‘Oh, well, hello there. I believe we’ve both grown up a little bit,’ ” he recalls. “Then that was pretty much it for me. I was smitten.”
Brown says the spark between them developed “naturally and gradually.”
“The more conversations and catching up and the more we got to talking and everything, there was such an ease to it and everything. I remember thinking in the back of my head, ‘Oh, what’s happening here? There’s something happening here,’ ” she explains, noting that their shared history and friendship offered a great foundation for building a romantic relationship.
The two got engaged in June 26, 2022, which was the anniversary of them officially becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Kountz popped the question following a day spent enjoying an outing on the swan pedal boats at Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles. Just as the sun began to set, he took Brown to the Griffith Observatory, the site of their very first date.
“We went up literally right in front of the observatory where we had hung out on our first official date. He proposed right in the same spot, and it was really just the perfect evening,” Brown says.
Now, Kountz is excited to call Brown his wife. “I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s my wife. That’s my wife there. Here’s this ring right here. I thee wed.’ I’m very excited about that,” he tells PEOPLE of Brown, whom he describes as “the best friend and wife someone could have.”
He adds, “[I love] her determination when she has an idea — she acts on it and does it and takes care of it. She’s like a force of nature, I’ll say that.”
Brown says she fell in love with Kountz’s heart and patient, caring nature. “He always holds space for me, no matter what. That kind of unconditional love and caring still astounds me,” she notes. “He is my favorite person to sit on the couch with at the end of the day and just chat about things. We just genuinely love spending time together.”
As they settle into married life, Brown is looking forward to lots of travel and new adventures with her husband by her side. “We both just love exploring and learning about other parts of the world, and I haven’t gotten to do that as much in the beginning part of my life as I would like. So I think that’s going to become a thing we do together and go visit different countries and places,” she says.
“I can’t wait to explore the world with [Kimberly]. It’s going to be awesome,” Kountz adds.
