General Hospital Star Kate Mansi Marries Producer Matt McInnis in Surprise ‘Secret Garden’ Wedding (Exclusive)

“We wanted that eruption of joy, that moment where love just takes over the room,” the soap opera star tells PEOPLE

General Hospital star Kate Mansi is married!

Mansi, 37, put her acting skills to work at the Los Angeles restaurant Redbird on Saturday, May 31. She and producer Matt McInnis fooled their 115 guests when they invited them to what everyone thought was an engagement party. In reality, it was their surprise wedding!

“Our biggest goal — and hurdle — was to maintain the surprise,” Mansi exclusively tells PEOPLE. “We wanted that eruption of joy, that moment where love just takes over the room.”

The couple achieved their goal because “the energy shifted” instantly when “Let’s Get Married” by Bleachers began playing.

“The element of discovery was everything,” Mansi says, later noting that, “The relief when the secret was out was unforgettable.”

The bride and groom specifically chose their “elegant” venue because it allowed for a hidden ceremony space. Mansi notes that “it was essential” their friends and family “couldn’t see anything upon arrival that would give it away.” No one suspected anything when they entered the “understated” and “cozy” lounge, which was set with candlelight and minimal, grounding flowers from High Noon Floral.

“We approached the aesthetic with the idea that each space would tell its own story — building in intimacy, drama and intention as the night unfolded,” the couple shares. “Every environment had a distinct energy and color palette, but the design remained cohesive throughout, always in conversation with the natural architecture of each space.”

Champagne was passed as guests followed a candlelit path down the stairs to the garden, where an arched mirror “set the tone perfectly” by displaying a Mary Oliver quote McInnis and Mansi sent to each other early in their relationship: “I did think, let’s go about this slowly… But bless us, we didn’t.”

“The ceremony space felt like a secret garden — romantic, intimate and understated, with only white and green florals and soft, rich texture,” Mansi says.

After the big reveal, McInnis, 41, changed out of his “decoy” look — a deep green suit that was a quiet reference to how he’s always described his relationship with Mansi as “evergreen.”

He then walked out to the stripped-down, acoustic version of “Let’s Get Married” wearing Saint Laurent cufflinks and another custom-fit suit designed by Mansi’s childhood friend, Ian Firestone, who works at Malibu Clothes in Beverly Hills.

“My gift to him that day was a vintage Joe Cocker record and a lily-of-the-valley brooch from The Met — a tribute to his love of New York and the bloom of our wedding month,” Mansi shares. “I love that brooches are replacing boutonnieres for men — it’s a detail that feels timeless.”

As another surprise for McInnis, Mansi’s friend, Giovanni Mazza, played an original violin arrangement of Taylor Swift’s “Lover” as she walked down the aisle. The couple resonate with the song’s romantic lyrics, which they heard together when McInnis took Mansi to an Eras Tour concert when they first started dating.

Before the ceremony, The Days of Our Lives alum slipped out of her backless two-piece “decoy” set from Cult Gaia, which was paired with burnt orange Saint Laurent mules as a subtle nod to McInnis’ favorite baseball team, the New York Mets. Accompanied by her father, Mansi walked down the aisle in Manolo Blahnik shoes and a Newhite wedding dress from her friend Christy Doxtator (née Baird) at LOHO Bride.

“It was the dress I had always dreamed of walking down the aisle to,” says Mansi, who accessorized with custom earrings.

“I’ve never met a braver human being than Katie,” McInnis tells PEOPLE. “She inspires me. She makes everyone around her better by nurturing qualities in them which even they may not see at first. Her ability to love with her whole heart and wide eyes is the greatest gift a person could ever receive.”

The “deeply personal” ceremony was officiated by one of the groom’s closest friends, Thomas Dekker, who detailed how the couple define “I got you.”

“We also believe you can’t truly care for someone else without first committing to care for yourself. That idea hit me during my friend Kate Alvarado’s ‘The Class’ — the importance of showing up for yourself first,” Mansi explains. “So in the ceremony, we put a hand on our own hearts and said, ‘I got you,’ then did the same to each other.”

“We invited our community to join us in that vow — to support us and each other,” she adds.

In a “beautifully full circle moment,” the bride surprised her brother-in-law, Tad Safran, by calling him up to read a Kurt Vonnegut passage that he incorporated in his own wedding to Mansi’s sister.

Following their exchange of a mix of handwritten and traditional vows, the couple shared a kiss and walked down the aisle together as Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me” played. Their guests — including Britt Robertson, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Shelley Hennig and Alley Mills — waved custom silk Miniatti scarves from Spain.

Afterward, Mansi and McInnis “carved out intentional time — both alone and together.”

“I took five quiet minutes to myself before the ceremony to meditate and take it all in,” the actress says, revealing that “we slipped away, just the two of us for a moment. No cameras, no guests — just us. On such a whirlwind day, if you don’t make space for stillness, it won’t happen. The world can wait.”