New Years Eve 2000, SF: Where Deb and Craig got engaged
Deb and Craig knew that they were destined for each other. And on New Year's Eve 2000 (Craig's birthday), he asked her to marry him in front of many of their friends. Deb invited their friends over for a birthday celebration for Craig. Friends, balloons, food, champagne, and a huge cake were ordered. It would be the perfect time for Craig to make his move. His plan was that when the birthday cake came out, he would use his "speech time" after blowing out the candles to propose. Everyone would be listening and his starting to talk wouldn't seem too out of the ordinary (the perfect surprise). The plan went a little awry. The friends, balloons, food and champagne did come out...especially the champagne. Everyone was having such a good time that no one remembered to bring out the cake. People were ready to leave the party, but Craig didn't make his move yet. So he tried to get everyone's attention and managed to get on his knee. He told Deb how wonderful she is, how life really started the day they met and asked her to marry me. Half way through the mini-speech, people realized what I was doing (after all, this was not expected by anyone) and were so excited. Deb was shocked (in a good way) and completely surprised!
Believe it or not, Deb and Craig's fifth date was a week in Costa Rica. Their first date went well (but we guess you already figured that one out) and by the third, Deb half-jokingly asked Craig to join her on a trip she was taking to Costa Rica the next week. He said yes and their fourth date was spent shopping for Craig's clothes for the trip. They had a blast in Costa Rica and while they were head-over-heals for each other before they left on the trip, spending an amazing week together clinched the deal (or as Craig rhetorically asked during the trip "there's no going back, is there?"). One of the highpoints of the trip was dinner and drinks at a place called the Monkey Bar. After the trip Deb and Craig separately told their mutual friend that they were going to get married some day.
Deb and Craig happened to be on the same flight and Craig was running late (as usual). As they walked down the jetway not knowing each other, Deb commented on how early this flight was. Craig was a little bummed about how late he arrived at the airport and how the airline made him check his bags, so his only reply to Deb was a grumpy groan. When he finally got to my seat, however, he realized that he missed a perfect opportunity to be engaging (no pun intended) with Deb and stewed throughout the flight. When they landed, Deb was nowhere in sight. Something else was also nowhere in sight...the bags. Their bags were delayed over an hour. Halfway through the wait, Deb came up to Craig and asked if he knew where the bags were. Craig said, "well, if you didn't jinx us on the way down, they'd be here by now." Luckily, Deb laughed and they started talking.
OK, it wasnÕt just Deb and Craig; there were maybe 20 people on this island that Deb found for their trip to Belize. Craig grew up watching Gilligan's Island (yes, he still tunes in) and this was his time to put all those coconut and palm tree experiments to work. Luckily, the island provided us with food and shelter. Deb didn't seem to mind Craig calling her "Ginger" or "Maryann" every now and then (once he called her "Mrs. Howell"...just once) as she spend a lot of time under water chasing fish, sharks and manta rays. It was an amazing week on an island that was only a couple of acres big, but the living on sand got to Deb and Craig as they swore off beach trips for a while. However, the call of the ocean is strong and soon overpowered them again as they planned to go to Bali for their honeymoon (and switched to Hawaii).
Why Las Vegas? Good question. It all started a week or so after Deb and Craig got engaged. Craig was on a business trip to Las Vegas and joked one day with Deb about looking at wedding chapels while he was there. Couldn't you see those two getting hitched at the drive thru window of the "Chapel of Love" on Las Vegas Blvd (yes it exists)? At first, they laughed about it, but thought that hosting everyone in Las Vegas would be a great excuse to get all their friends and family together for a fun weekend. A few weeks later, Deb and Craig went to Las Vegas to scout locations. They visited over twenty locations and "saw it all," from the set of a special effects show (where Craig would have to slay a dragon in order for Merlin to marry them) to the top of the Eiffel Tower (not much room for the guests). Fortunately they found the place we are all at right now. Immediately they knew it was right. And to cinch the deal: the very next day half of Hollywood was coming to film a movie there (AmericaÕs Sweethearts). One can only hope our wedding video grosses $100 million too.
After meeting on a jetway at SFO, Deb and Craig found out that they were working at the same trade show that week. Craig decided to play it cool (for the first time) and told Deb that they should just meet at the show the next day. The next day came and right when the show opened, Craig couldn't wait and found Deb. She was working at her company's booth and just started to chat away with him. After a while Craig realized that he should give Deb a break to work a bit and (again playing it cool) told Deb that she should just stop by his booth sometime. After all, Craig knew where she was going to be for the rest of the show. Deb did stop by, but no one gave Craig the message. After a day of not seeing Deb, Craig got a bit anxious (so much for Mr. Cool) and went back to Deb's booth. Unfortunately she was nowhere to be found (and she felt that it was Craig who didn't return her message). They left the show not seeing each other again. The one thing Craig knew was where Deb worked and as luck would have it, Craig had a friend who worked there (who happened to be Deb's friend as well). Craig begged his friend for Deb's number and was able to call Deb up. Deb and Craig laughed about how cool Craig tried to be, how it totally backfired and planned for a real date at the Empire Tap Room.
Deb and Craig scrambled a bit recently to move their honeymoon from Bali and Thailand to Hawaii (donÕt worry Bali and Thailand, they'll be there in 2002). Craig was struggling a bit trying to learn the local languages; so going to Hawaii will provide Craig with a mental break as well (Aloha means "hello", "good bye" and "I love you"...enough said). Deb might have to add the phrase "mai tai" to her vocabulary as well. Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands and is nicknamed the Garden Isle. The island has played a supporting role in over forty Hollywood films, including South Pacific and Jurassic Park. Its 550 square miles are rich in natural history and Deb and Craig hope to add to that history with tales of their honeymoon that the local will be telling for year to come. Rumor has it that Deb is an experienced hula dancer and everyone knows Craig looks great in a coconut bikini.