James Van Der Beek Hitched

Former Dawson's Creek star weds longtime gal-pal in outdoor ceremony in Malibu Saturday

By Lia Haberman Jul 07, 2003 8:45 PMTags

Joey Potter, who needs ya?

James Van Der Beek may not have gotten the girl on Dawson's Creek but his real-life wedding to actress Heather McComb proves he's no slouch in the romance department.

Van Der Beek and longtime gal-pal McComb were married Saturday at an outdoor ceremony in Malibu, his publicist confirmed Monday.

The nuptials were attended by 120 family members and friends, including some familiar Creek faces Michelle Williams (Jen), Meredith Monroe (Andie), Busy Philipps (Audrey), Hal Oszan (Todd) and Mary-Margaret Humes (Dawson's mom, Gail). Other celebs on the guest list included Soleil Moon Frye, Teri Polo, Essence Atkins and Eric Balfour.

The camera-ready couple's wedding was a family affair, held under an archway dressed with jasmine, honeysuckle and lilac roses. Van Der Beek's uncle, a recently licensed minister, officiated. The groom's brother, Jared, served as best man, while the bride's sister, Jennifer, was the maid of honor.

Guests later partied under an open-air tent, munching on filet mignon, French fries and mint-chip ice cream cones plus his-and-hers wedding cakes: a triple-berry concoction for the bride and a toffee-fudge cake for the groom.

According to his publicist, the newly minted couple left for their honeymoon Sunday. The lovebirds' location was not released.

Van Der Beek and McComb announced their engagement in February 2002, the same time Creek costar Kerr Smith confirmed his engagement to actress Harmoni Everett.

Van Der Beek and McComb reportedly met close to five years ago when her sister Jennifer, also an actress, guest-starred on an episode of the Creek. They've been dating for at least three years.

The teen pinup, who's starred in lite flicks such as Varsity Blues and The Rules of Attraction, is currently shooting Standing Still, about an alcoholic actor who reconnects with some old college buddies at a friend's wedding, and is hitting the board this summer in an off-Broadway production of Lanford Wilson's play Rain Dance.

Meanwhile, the missus, who's best known for playing Julia's roommate Maggie in Party of Five and was in the HBO movie If These Walls Could Talk 2, starred in this year's All the Real Girls, which bowed in January at Sundance.