Couple Matt Jacobi and Nick Caprio celebrated their 12-year love story with a wedding over Memorial Day Weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona.
‘We always wanted to get married. It was always a goal for us,’ Jacobi told GSN. ‘Nick and I both come from big Italian families, and we wanted to celebrate our love just like everyone else.’
This wasn’t their first experience with wedding planning, however.
The pair made headlines last December when they were forced to think outside the box and because parent company Mattel didn’t offer one. They gifted the set to their 8-year-old niece for her birthday.
‘She and her little sister are flower girls in our upcoming May wedding,’ they said at the time to Mattel. ‘We thought it would be special to give her something with a little meaning behind it. Bummer you don’t make a set with two grooms.’
While Mattel still doesn’t have a same-sex wedding set in the Barbie world, Jacobi and Caprio did see a beautiful gay wedding come to life recently — their own.
Matt and Nick with their wedding party | Photo: Leland Gebhardt Photography
The couple married at The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch in front of 160 guests.
‘It is hard to put the entire day into words because there were so many emotions,’ Jacobi said of the big day. ‘We have been together for almost 12 years so there is history and a true love story behind our wedding day.’
Jacobi, however, did identify one emotion that shone through on the day: gratitude.
‘We have gratitude within our hearts for all the support we have in our life and the journey that we have been on as a couple.’
The pair made sure to express their gratitude at the wedding, not just to those who attended to celebrate their love, but to the LGBTI activists who came before them.
The naked rainbow cake – an equality cake was Matt’s only request for the wedding | Photo: Leland Gebhardt Photography
‘We wanted to make it a point during our wedding reception to have everyone raise their glasses to the past LGBTQ advocates, freedom fighters, and leaders that fought for marriage equality,’ Jacobi explained. ‘The ones that stepped up, spoke up, marched, and used their voices to make marriage equality the law of the land.’
One of the twists of Jacobi and Caprio’s wedding was that they didn’t do much planning. Though extensive planning is typically a hallmark of weddings, they decided to let the resort and other professionals surprise them.
‘We decided to ask Juliet Le Fleur, Glamour and Woods, and Southwest Teepee to surprise us because we wanted to experience our wedding day unfold just like our guests,’ Jacobi said.
‘It was just another added element of excitement. Nick and I are both creatives so we believe you have to let artists and people with creative talents do what they do best – create!’
There was one thing Jacobi wouldn’t compromise on, however.
‘The only element I insisted on was the cake – I had to have an equality cake!’
Matt and Nick at Mattel’s Barbie headquarters | Photo: Instagram @mattjacobi
As for the future, Jacobi and Caprio aren’t giving up on seeing a same-sex wedding Barbie set in the future.
The pair recently met with Mattel in Los Angeles and ‘were officially welcomed into the Barbie family with open arms’.
They have two words after the meeting went successfully: ‘Stay tuned!’
