Accompanied by security that
rivaled that of the White House,
a few select guests
from all over the country
attended an unusual wedding
last Saturday.
The event?
The television taping of
The Bachelorette marriage of
"Trista and Ryan," which airs tonight on ABC.
For months, there's been speculation on
where the wedding would take place
and the hundreds of people involved
were all sworn to secrecy.
The gala event finally took place at one of
Palm Springs' leading resorts,
The Lodge at Rancho Mirage,
which was closed to the public for four days
to accommodate the giant TV production.
According to reports, nearly $1 million was lavished
on the wedding, which was attended
by 300 specially invited guests
and the families of both the bride,
Trista Rehn, who lives in Los Angeles
and the groom, Ryan Sutter, a fireman who hails
from Vail, Colo.
Since announcing their wedding plans,
the betrothed pair has appeared on a half-dozen
national magazine covers and the "Oprah" show.
Additionally, their pre-wedding specials
have scored some of reality TV's top ratings.
As a result, the producers
spared no expense in staging the wedding.
The celebrity couple was treated
to a wedding ceremony under
the hotel's famed gazebo
overlooking the Coachella Valley,
a glamorous reception in the stately hotel ballroom
and an overnight stay in a newly redecorated
honeymoon suite, named in honor of local resident,
former Pres. Gerald R. Ford.
The hot design team of Badgley Mischka
created the bride's wedding gown
and Kenneth Cole
did up the men's trendy tuxedos.
Country star Brad Paisley
made a special appearance
as Trista walked down the aisle.
The celebration reunited Brad and Trista,
who not only guest starred
in Paisley's high-spirited video
for the tongue-in-cheek
smash, "Celebrity," but also introduced Paisley's
performance at November's CMA Awards telecast.
Some 30,000 roses from Ecuador were brought to
the location, as was a TV crew of several hundred, 
who had to be fed
and housed for a week.
And for the TV wedding's
gala reception,
the resort's top chef,
Fredric Nail, prepared a lavish dinner,
featuring food from 14 countries
(America, Peru, France, Venezuela, Mexico,
Thailand, Italy, Spain, Japan, Morocco,
India, England,West Indies and Tahiti).
The resort even named drinks
in the couple's honor:
"Trista's Pink Passion"
(the bride has a passion for pink)
and "Ryan's Firestorm"
(in honor of the groom's firefighting occupation).
"This is the biggest thing to hit this area
in a long time," says Herbert Spiegel, managing
director of The Lodge at Rancho Mirage.
"Even though it was under wraps, people were
gossiping for weeks about what was going on up here,
and the phones are flying off the hook for wedding
information and bookings.
"Everyone wants a wedding just like Trista and Ryan."
So what does it take to put on a wedding like this?
Spiegel was kind enough to provide some fast facts:
* 200 pounds of shrimp, lobster and crab
* 2000 pounds of tomatoes
* 1500 pounds of chocolate
* 3000 eggs
* 4300 cups of coffee
* 2800 dinner rolls
* 6400 pounds of ice
* 5300 pieces of silverware
* 3000 wine and champagne glasses
* 5900 assorted serving plates
* 1100 cloth napkins
* 180 bottles of champagne
* 600 bottles of wine
* 12,000 man-hours for planningand execution of weekend events
* 500 employees
Still want a wedding like this?
You're in luck.
The "Trista & Ryan
Wedding Package"
includes the same presidential suite
used by the TV couple,
caviar and Dom Perignon champagne upon arrival,
"Trista & Ryan" commemorative champagne
flutes and a signature wedding album,
a private dinner under the stars at gazebo,
where the pair were married, breakfast
or brunch prepared by a private chef,
use of a Jaguar or Mercedes
and a rose petal turndown service
on the wedding night.
You can also own an authentic
piece of the wedding.
Starting tomorrow (December 11),
ABC will be auctioning off
the Lenox China actually
used in the wedding.
It's all for a good cause,
though, since proceeds from the auction
will go to benefitthe Elizabeth Glaser
Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
So remember, that's tonight,
December 10, at 9pm (est/pst).
After the nuptuials, stay tuned to find out
who will be the next Bachelorette.
