January 2004

Dear Readers,

We all want--and maybe need--to feel like Cinderella now and then, don’t we? We got our chance to be Cinderella (and her Prince Charming) this month with the taping of two TV shows for the Fine Living Network.

The excitement started in early January with a call from a producer with the Fine Living Network; they’re beginning a new series and asked us to speak about romantic getaways. A few phone calls (and lots of nervous shuffling through our closets) later, and we were headed to LA.

We stayed at the St. Regis hotel, with a corner room that faced the MGM/Sony Studios and Fox Studios on one side and ABC Studios on the other. You might be familiar with the St. Regis: it was the site of Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro’s recent wedding, now featured in an MTV series. We had some free time the day we arrived so we interviewed the wedding planner at the St. Regis for some tips on planning a hotel wedding (and some info on working with celebrity brides...more on that in some upcoming stories!)

The next morning, we were set to film our two episodes out by the St. Regis pool. We’ve done lots of morning television programs but this was our first time to do an extended, taped show like this. We each spent about two hours in front of the cameras. Thanks to the patience and pointers of the producer and crew, we felt like real stars doing our shoot on an absolutely beautiful LA day. It was exciting...people kept coming by to see what celebrities might be shooting out by the pool! (Sorry for the disappointment...it was just us!)

After our shoot, it was back to work for us. Rebecca from the LA Convention and Visitors Bureau came by and picked us up for a quick tour of some of the most romantic spots in the city, including some spots to get married (more on that soon!)

The next morning, it was time for the two of us to head back home, back to keyboards and deadlines. There was a buzz around the St. Regis as the hotel was preparing for some pre-Golden Globe events. As we stood at the front desk checking out, up pulled a stretch limo. Finally, finally, we thought, we’ll have a celebrity sighting.

We saw the limo driver get out and come in the hotel, stopping to talk to the bellman, who then motioned over to us. The company that arranged our airport transfer had sent a limo! We laughed all the way to the airport.

Cinderella and her Prince Charming are now back at home, hard at work on several stories about our LA adventure as well as the Caribbean Hotel Association Marketplace which we attended earlier this month in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Back with more soon!