Rodney (RT) & I met 11 years ago; he was my boss at a Relax the Back store. We had a lot in common—he was the only other person I had ever met who went to as many concerts as me! Once, before we knew we “liked each other”, I saw him at a Rick Springfield (RS) concert. I thought, “What kind of guy would go to a RS concert without a girl forcing him?” I think that was the day I knew I liked him. (For those of you who don’t know—I have been a RS fanatic since I was 11). About six months later, after a work meeting, we got some dinner at a Mexican place called “CozyMels”—it’s where we first confessed we liked each other. Our first official date was a RS and John Waite (JW) concert in 1999. I rediscovered JW; and “When I See You Smile”, a song he did in the 90’s, would become “Our Song”. JW was playing live in the area quite a bit and RT & I got to meet him one night. We found out he was promoting a new record. The brother of a good friend of mine was a popular radio personality, so he was able to have JW on his show to promote. We got to go down to the station and spend some time with JW—he is a gracious and humble guy, who was so thankful. I joked with him that he could play at our wedding some day! (By the way—we were not even close to being engaged then). On August 1, 2002, my 33rd birthday (RT’s lucky number is 33); RT surprised me with the MOST romantic proposal EVER, on the beach in Laguna. I never saw it coming. (There is another great story there that we can tell another time.) Now, RT’s dream is a big romantic wedding, I on the other hand had the Justice of the peace in mind. So, we waited. And waited. And then waited some more. Fast forward 6 years. It’s late April 2008 and I am anxiously awaiting my Indy 500 tickets in the mail, I get an envelope that I just know has the tickets. I rip it open to find a postcard for the “RS & Friends Cruise, featuring JW”. At first I am annoyed—but then, in a flash—I have an “AH-ha” moment, the light-bulb-goes-on, bells-ringing-in-your-head kind of thing. “This is it—this is where we’ll get married”. RT called it “Kismet”—meant to be. You see, I have said over and over, JW will play at my Wedding—now that we have him stuck on the ship—my chances really increased! We in touch w/ his people and are waiting for an answer. We’ll keep you posted. So much that brought us together in the beginning, is what brought us to today. And our future. By the way… the ship sails to Cozumel. Remember our restaurant? I think it’s always been our Destiny. Oh—and did I mention, that just happens to be the name of the Ship. I guess some things are just meant to be.
We will be married on November 13, 2008 in the Port of Miami, on the Carnival Cruise Ship "Destiny"
Friends and family who may not want to Cruise, can join us at the ceremony on the ship and then leave the ship before it sails.
We look forward to having John Waite (we hope!) perform live at our reception, which will be held directly after the ceremony.
Please know that we don’t expect any of you to fly to Miami and attend this wedding or go on the cruise as well—but PLEASE know you are certainly invited to share this MONUMENTAL day with us--It has been almost 6 years since we got engaged on August 1, 2002. And it’s been 10 years since we went on that first date to “cozymels” in August of 1998. But please know, we would be overwhelmed and honored if any of you could attend.
We will mail out an announcement card soon with all the wedding details.
Update June 2008: We have been getting questions about where/if we are registered. In addition to the Registry link through Carnival Honeymoons at the top of this Web page, we have also registered at Williams Sonoma -- www.williams-sonoma.com
Thanks for al the well-wishes and love! We are thrilled to be able to share our joy with our friends and family.
Rodney and I have booked our Cruise with Rose Tours, so that we can be a part of a special Rick Springfield package they are offering. (http://www.rosetours.com/springfield) we will be able to see both Rick and John Waite play several concerts and will have a few opportunites to meet & greet with them as well.
For anyone who might want to go on the regular part of the cruise, just go to carnival.com and search for our cruise using the filters "caribbean" "Nov. 2008" "Miami" "4-5 day", then look for the Nov. 13 cruise on the ship Destiny. The cruise goes to Key West, FL & Cozumel, Mexico. We are flying into Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 12. Miami airport is also an option, but was more pricey from Phoenix.
Once we select a hotel near the Miami port, we will post it here.
UPDATE: We will be staying at the Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel , very near the Port. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/miabb-miami-marriott-biscayne-bay/
There is also a Holiday Inn very near the Port that is recommended.
We are so thrilled to FINALLY be able to share that we are getting married!! We are super excited and can hardly wait! Contact us at 623-266-1270 or email tracibaker@cox.net or rodney.thompson@cox.net .
