Last June 25, the night gay marriage became law in New York state, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn gave an emotional speech about finally being able to marry her partner of 10 years — a moment she thought would never come.
For the early Democratic front-runner in the mayoral race, who’s leading polls by 20 points, her long-awaited May 19 wedding to Kim Catullo could have been the perfect campaign-publicity fodder.
Quinn toyed with the idea of milking the moment for maximum political value — approving the hundreds of interview requests that poured in, posing for pictures getting fitted for her wedding dress, and becoming the poster couple for gay marriage in New York.
But it was in deference to her shy partner, a working-class Jersey girl turned corporate lawyer, that she chose to keep the ceremony a private, personal affair, sources said. The end result is a wedding that will reflect Catullo’s roots more than Quinn’s political future.
Catullo, 45, the daughter of two factory workers from Newark, might be the city’s first first lady to walk down the aisle in a pants suit.
“I would expect to see Kim Catullo in a designer tuxedo for women,” said Sarah Palin’s former stylist, Lisa A. Kline. “Still in pants but extremely elegant and appropriate.”
The cake will be designed by Catullo’s freshman-year roommate at Rutgers University, baker Lisa Porada of Chocolate Carousel Bakery in Wall, NJ.
“It’s a five-tiered cake, and they’re having chocolate chip layers with chocolate custard and chocolate butter cream,” Porada told The Post. “Kim and Chris chose the flavors.”
Porada’s daughter, Olivia, 18, will sing in front of guests that will include Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Cuomo and Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. And Catullo’s best friend from Seton Hall Law School, Marielle Dugan, has been tapped to perform a reading at the ceremony.
Friends describe Catullo as the more serious and soft-spoken foil to Quinn’s boisterous personality. She is an avid reader — in contrast to Quinn’s preference for vegging in front of the TV.
Catullo grew up the youngest of five kids. She graduated from Mount St. Dominic HS two years behind Whitney Houston, whom she would pass in the school halls.
Her mother, who died of ovarian cancer when she was 17, worked on an assembly line at Harrison Seal Electronics, making airplane engine parts. Like Quinn, whose mother died when she was 16, Catullo was raised by a single World War II veteran. Catullo’s father worked for the Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery in Orange, NJ. Quinn’s father worked as a union electrical engineer.
Catullo always wanted to be a lawyer, and being gay was never an identity she struggled with, according to friends.
“I don’t remember anything official in terms of Kim coming out,” recalled Porada. “That was just always there. It was never an issue.” Quinn, in contrast, has described her coming out at age 25 at the “end of a long process.”
In 2001, Catullo was 34, single, and working as a product-liability lawyer at the white-shoe firm Gibbons in Manhattan, where she still works today.
It was three days after 9/11 when a colleague brought her out for a couple’s dinner at Food Bar in Chelsea, a now-shuttered gay hangout. Her colleague was dating lobbyist Emily Giske, and they set her up with then-Councilwoman Christine Quinn.
“For Kim, having someone to share her life with, that was always something she was looking for,” said Porada. “I remember hearing about Chris very early on after that date.” It was pretty immediate that the two became a serious item.”
The couple now spends weekends barbecuing at their New Jersey beach house, with Catullo’s four nephews and niece. Catullo has also turned Quinn, a Long Island girl, into a hard-core Bruce Springsteen fan.
“Kim and I promised each other years ago that if one got a ticket, we’d always go see Bruce Springsteen together,” said Dugan. “[Quinn] is now the third wheel at our concerts.”
As for Catullo’s political future, friends said she’ll continue to play her role of a decade as the pressure heats up on Quinn.
“Her career is important to her and I’m sure she will pursue her own goals,” said Dugan. “But she’ll help keep Chris grounded and keep perspective there.”