By RICK EGUSQUIZA
Ellen is making Portia a June
bride!
Talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres is getting ready to
marry longtime partner Portia
de Rossi in an intimate summer
wedding — and The ENQUIRER has all
the details.
"Ellen's never been happier — she's
got her dream job as a TV talk show
host, an ever-growing audience and
industry-wide respect," a close friend told
The ENQUIRER.
"And she's had one of the most
gorgeous women in Hollywood by her
side for almost two years now."
Now that her life is moving in a
positive direction, Ellen, 48, has
decided that the time is right to have
a commitment ceremony to formalize
her relationship with 33-year-old
Portia. Since gay marriage is not legal in
California, the wedding will be symbolic
and not legally binding.
The festivities will take place in June
in a beautiful new home near Oprah
Winfrey's
palatial spread in Montecito, the wealthy community
next to Santa Barbara.
Although Ellen and Portia have
been blissfully happy at their current
residence — a 140-acre ranch home in
the wine country above Santa Barbara
— they instantly fell in love with the
intimate Spanish-style villa built by
famed architect G.W. Smith, and knew
right away it would be the perfect
backdrop for their ceremony.
"They're going to have a late afternoon
outdoor wedding, possibly catered by
Portia's favorite hotel, the San Ysidro
Ranch," revealed the friend.
Portia, who has taken on the
"housewife" role since her TV series
"Arrested Development" was canceled,
is handling most of the wedding
arrangements — but the wine and music
will be Ellen's responsibility.
Ellen has become a wine connoisseur
while living in the vineyard-rich
Santa Ynez Valley, and she's picking her
favorite local reds and whites for the
wedding feast, said the friend.
And Ellen, who has become close friends with Elton John lyricist Bernie
Taupin recently, is hoping to have Elton
perform a few piano numbers at the reception.
She's also enlisting the help of her
show's DJ, Jonny Abrahams, to spin tunes
for the guests.
The couple has been together since
meeting at a VH1 awards show in
December 2004. At the time, both were
in relationships with other women, but
immediately dumped their significant
others to be together.
In recent years, Ellen has kept her
personal life out of the Hollywood
spotlight and plans to keep the guest
list small, says the friend — just family,
key staffers from Ellen's show, a few
of Portia's pals from "Arrested Development"
and some close show business
friends.
"Ellen and Portia have settled into
a comfortable and loving domestic
situation — staying in L.A. during the
week while Ellen shoots the show and
heading up to their home near Santa
Barbara on the weekends," added the
friend.
"The commitment ceremony is the
next logical step."