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Heather and Caroline: Tying the Knot, Choosing the Bling

At a same-sex wedding expo, Heather Matarazzo and Caroline Murphy tell how their romance got started, why tuxes on women are sexy, and why both partners should get to propose.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted September 3, 2008
Heather and Caroline: Tying the Knot, Choosing the Bling

They’re adorable. There’s really no other way to say it. Heather Matarazzo and Caroline Murphy, who recently announced their engagement, were here to do the ribbon-cutting at Same-Sex in the City: The Wedding Show, a wedding expo for the gays that premiered on August 17 in West Hollywood, then makes its way to the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs September 7. Posing for photographers, petite Heather nestled against tall Caroline like a contented cat.

The Palm Springs encore boasts special room rates and other perks to lure Angelenos to the desert. A joint venture of fund-raising and special events company GBK Productions and event design firm Rrivre Works, this event brings together vendors who support us and want our business. Future brides and grooms can shop for rings, cake, clothing, music, and more, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

The WeHo event was in full swing by the time I caught up with Matarazzo and Murphy for an Advocate.com interview. They were happily sampling wedding cake against a perfect gay soundscape: On one side an all-women string quartet played “Anything Goes”; on the other a DJ-for-hire rocked a house beat that shook the Armani tuxes on their mannequins.

In a slightly quieter corner, Heather and Caroline were more than eager to share in their path to the altar, beginning with a little walk down memory lane of the night they first met -- on New Years Eve, 2006.

“I went outside to smoke a cigarette, and she came out, and it was like this very across-the-room, time stopped -- ”

“It was soul-to-soul recognition,” Matarazzo added. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain it, but it’s fun to try. It was like my soul knew before my thinking self realized what was going on.”

Murphy resumed, “And I was looking at [Matarazzo’s recurring character] Stacy Merkin from The L Word. And I was like really upset at some of the choices that that character had made, in terms of upsetting the veterinarian woman. So I was thinking, Damn you, Stacy Merkin! And Heather came up to me and said, ‘Do I know you from somewhere?’ And I said [gruffly], ‘Possible. Not likely.’ And I walked off! And I took a few steps away and went, ‘What did I just do?’”

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Photography by Kathy Hutchins of Hutchins Photo.
Keywords:  California marriage 
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