Latest news with #proposal
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Rita Ora reveals how she broke convention with Taika Waititi proposal
Rita Ora has spoken candidly of how she proposed to her now-husband Taika Waititi. The "Hot Right Now" singer, 34, and the Jojo Rabbit director, 49, tied the knot in 2022. Ora told Davina McCall 's Begin Again podcast how she filled a hotel room with heart-shaped balloons and a cake because it's what she would have wanted for her proposal, before getting down on one knee. Adding that she wasn't sure if he would say yes, the musician recalled how Waititi "absolutely loved" her breaking convention with her proposal. "I just wanted to lock him down," she added.
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Travel + Leisure
2 days ago
- Travel + Leisure
This Couple Booked a Hotel Stay Worth More Than $10,000 All On Points—Here's How They Did It
David Tibbitts, 33, and Eric Naumann, 35, consider Big Sur to be one of their favorite places in the world. Therefore, it's no surprise that this rugged stretch of California's central coast was the setting for the couple's long-awaited proposal. The San Francisco-based couple, who have been dating since 2015, did something unconventional. While they legally became husbands during the height of the pandemic, Tibbitts and Naumann had skipped all of the traditional norms—like a cute engagement, an actual wedding ceremony, and a honeymoon. 'We purposefully decided to keep our union unromantic for the time being, file the paperwork in time for tax season, and save the romance for a later date when we could enjoy it properly,' Tibbitts said. Fast forward to 2024, and they decided to finally have their 'proposal.' Dramatically situated 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean in the redwoods, the Alila Ventana Big Sur became the ideal place for such an occasion. In fact, Tibbitts and Naumann had stayed at the all-inclusive luxury property before, using Hyatt points (which the pair now call 'Ventana points'). This long weekend escape would be different, though. 'We had a trip to Ventana coming up, and since we had been before, we both knew we were in for a relaxing and romantic getaway.' Here's exactly how they booked the stay and how the surprise engagement went. The destination : Big Sur, California : Big Sur, California The hotel : Alila Ventana Big Sur, a Hyatt Hotel : Alila Ventana Big Sur, a Hyatt Hotel Hotel cost : $10,425 for three nights ($3,475 per night) : $10,425 for three nights ($3,475 per night) Points breakdown : 135,000 World of Hyatt points (45,000 per night) : 135,000 World of Hyatt points (45,000 per night) The total spent: $0 Tibbitts and Naumann were at the Hotel Chelsea lobby bar in New York, a few martinis in, when they peeked at Hyatt's website. 'We were less than one month out [from the trip], so we were lucky to find the availability,' Naumann recalled. To redeem Hyatt points, you need a World of Hyatt account. Conveniently, two of the best loyalty programs in the space—Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Bilt Rewards points—transfer to the Hyatt program instantly, at a one-to-one ratio. To transfer Chase or Bilt points to travel partners, you need to log into your account, navigate to the respective travel portal, and select the option to transfer to Hyatt. For first-timers, you'll also need to enter your World of Hyatt account information. Naumann, who made the points booking, is a World of Hyatt Explorist elite member at the time that they were booking a room. As a result, he received an upgrade to the Big Sur Forest Shower Suite. The Alila Ventana Big Sur is one of the most sought-after hotels in the world of points and miles. Few properties can provide the level of luxury, tranquility, and overall value on a per-point basis. For instance, at $3,475 per night and 45,000 World of Hyatt points redeemed, that's the equivalent of getting over 7 cents in value per point. In addition, the adults-only enclave is all-inclusive: meals, activities, valet parking, tips, and even one alcoholic drink per evening are fully covered. (Yes, even on points.) Because what you get out of it is so great, only a set number of rooms are allocated towards points bookings, which you can book months in advance. David and Eric post engagement and their upgraded Big Sur Forest Shower Suite at Alila Ventana Big Sur. David Tibbitts and Eric Naumann The upgraded suite at Ventana had everything Tibbitts and Naumann needed for a romantic escape, including a wood-burning fireplace, ocean views in the distance, an open-air shower for two, and even a private hot tub on the patio. On the morning of the proposal, Naumann sent Tibbitts off for a massage as a distraction tactic. 'As an executive assistant at the time, I was familiar with working with hotels for anything one of my executives might need during their stay, but it was exciting to do it for myself for a change,' Naumann said. The plan was to go on a hike, and the property kindly supported the couple in this endeavor: Staff supplied him with a bottle of champagne, recommendations for a hike, and the world's heaviest takeout container full of 'enough charcuterie for a small army,' as Naumann put it. 'We reached a vista at the very end of the hike, and it turns out David had also planned to pop the question, too, but I beat him to it,' Naumann recalled. 'That was our first full day at the hotel, so we had a ton of fun basking in the engagement glow for the remainder of the trip.' That meant ample time to relax in the on-site Japanese baths, share their hopes and dreams for a future wedding, and get used to the feeling of rings around their fingers. 'Our favorite part of the resort is probably the walking path to the restaurant,' Tibbitts said. 'You get to experience the beautiful forest to and from each meal at the Sur House, and it's the perfect time to decompress as you appreciate the beauty of Big Sur.' If you're not seeing availability using points for a hotel like Alila Ventana, check that property's cancellation policy. According to Neumann, you might see availability appear in the days or weeks before the cancellation window closes, as was the case for the couple's stay. Another perk of loyalty programs like Hyatt's is that, once you're in them, you are more likely to receive upgrades like the one Neumann received if there is availability on the property. It's often free to sign up for these programs, too.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Harry and Izzy Judd look back: ‘When I first stayed at the McFly house, everything was done for him by his tour manager or PA'
Born in Essex in 1985, Harry Judd is best known as the drummer in McFly, one of the most successful 00s groups, with tracks such as Obviously and All About You. He has also performed with supergroup McBusted. Judd has three children with his wife, Izzy, a violinist. She hosts the podcast Let's Talk Neurodivergent Kids, available now on all platforms. This was in St Lucia, moments after I proposed to Izzy. We had flown in that afternoon and were jetlagged, but I wanted to get down on one knee straight away. Our lovely waitress came with drinks and took that photo. My expression? Probably relief. I had been so anxious about getting it right. As soon as we got on the sunbeds the next morning, Izzy immediately got a notepad and pen out. She was like: 'Right, so it's you, me, Mum, Dad …' I first met Izzy in Bristol in 2005. McFly were doing a radio show in a church and Izzy was one of the string players. Being only 19, I remember pulling up in our tour bus and saying to the other guys: 'I wonder what the girls in the orchestra will be like?' When we got inside, I shook her hand and instantly thought: 'Ooh, I fancy her.' She had a really kind and pretty face, and that's my thing. The orchestra were coming on tour with us, so I was looking forward to seeing Izzy every day. But shortly after our first meeting, she got the mumps and missed all the rehearsals and the first two weeks of shows. She did eventually join, but little did I know our management had told the musicians they weren't allowed to speak to the band. They'd handled a couple of groups before, and knew to avoid any drama, they should prevent us all from mixing. I would sometimes knock on the girls' dressing room door and ask if anyone wanted a cigarette, but Izzy would hide because she didn't want to get in trouble. On the night of our penultimate show, I got our security guy to go and tell Izzy that I needed a word with her. She thought she had done something wrong! But I just wanted to see her on her own. It was then we had our first kiss – at the St David's Hotel in Cardiff. The tour wrapped the next night and she came back on the bus with the band. After that, she never left. Everyone fancied Danny and Dougie, so it wasn't as if I was bombarded by fans all the time, but thankfully Izzy trusted me instinctively. I remember a couple of people around her saying: 'Be careful.' But I was never that showbiz. We are a band who like home comforts and to keep it real. Izzy was different from anyone I'd ever met – I didn't have to try to be anyone I wasn't. But at first there was a bit of an imbalance between us. Izzy is two years older, plus she's a girl – girls generally have it together more than men. She didn't drink, which caused a few issues when it came to partying, and she struggled with separation anxiety, which would put some pressure on our relationship. If I was out, she would call asking, 'When are you coming home?' and I'd be saying, 'You're so boring!' I had all this responsibility at such a young age – I was working all the time, I owned a property, I had a serious girlfriend, and most of my mates were still at uni having fun and being carefree. I wasn't ready to settle yet. So, when I was 23, we broke up for six months. I had been dealing with anxiety myself, and in that time apart, I realised it was time to stop drinking. Mostly it just hit home that I couldn't let this person go. Izzy is really caring. She brings me a cup of tea every morning. We have an unspoken set of jobs around the house, which is pretty much 50-50. I do the garden and bins, I cook and do the dishwasher. But she does more in terms of parenting, because the kids generally want Mummy. I couldn't do what she does as a mother. She is so selfless. Often it's 8.30pm before Izzy and I have had a chance to speak to each other, usually while lying in bed. From my experience of more than 10 years of marriage and having three children, I can see that things go wrong when people don't adjust to the mundane realities of everyday life – the bills, mortgages, tantrums, food shops and school drop-offs. It also helps if you can have a sense of humour about it – Izzy and I are always laughing about the endless lunacy of being a parent. We had a reading from Captain Corelli's Mandolin at our wedding. I always think about the line 'Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground' – a sentiment that, 20 years in, has never been more true. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion I had some suspicion that Harry might propose on holiday, but I didn't think he'd do it the first night. So even though I had loads of lovely dresses with me, I threw on a black vest instead, not thinking it would be a big moment. After the proposal, we ate steak and dauphinoise potatoes, and I had non-alcoholic champagne. It was an out-of-body experience, but my expression is one of contentment. I'd come out of a long relationship when we met, and I'd lost my grandmother a few months before, so I was not in the headspace to fall in love. But … I really fancied him. He was more tactile than anybody I had been with, and we could just talk and talk. He was great with my family, too. My oldest brother, Rupert, was in a car crash when he was 18, and has a serious brain injury. I took Harry to meet him early on in our relationship – it meant a lot that he was able to be relaxed around Rupert. Sometimes those micro moments are more important than any grand gesture of romance. The first morning I stayed over at the McFly house, I woke to the sound of his tour manager banging on the door. That was Harry's alarm. Everything was done for him, either by a tour manager or their lovely PA, Wendy – from cashing cheques to booking Valentine's Day dinners. In spite of that, McFly are the nicest boys. Which has made the strange, inconsistent experience of being in a band easier for Harry. Especially as we definitely don't have a Wendy to help any more! Having children has shaped our relationship completely. When we decided to start trying for a baby, we had a miscarriage, which was so difficult; we really grieved. After that, we ended up doing IVF – which was successful in the end, but also an incredibly lonely experience. A lot of those feelings of isolation are really similar to raising a neurodivergent child. But it's also given us both so much perspective: we are constantly advocating for them, and staying focused on our intuition about what's right for our family. I couldn't have gone through what I've been through without Harry's loyalty and support. Whenever we get a chance, Harry and I go for brunch and then see a matinee musical – we're too knackered to do evenings! Even after all these years, I still find him as interesting as I did when we first met.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Harry and Izzy Judd look back: ‘When I first stayed at the McFly house, everything was done for him by his tour manager or PA'
Born in Essex in 1985, Harry Judd is best known as the drummer in McFly, one of the most successful 00s groups, with tracks such as Obviously and All About You. He has also performed with supergroup McBusted. Judd has three children with his wife, Izzy, a violinist. She hosts the podcast Let's Talk Neurodivergent Kids, available now on all platforms. This was in St Lucia, moments after I proposed to Izzy. We had flown in that afternoon and were jetlagged, but I wanted to get down on one knee straight away. Our lovely waitress came with drinks and took that photo. My expression? Probably relief. I had been so anxious about getting it right. As soon as we got on the sunbeds the next morning, Izzy immediately got a notepad and pen out. She was like: 'Right, so it's you, me, Mum, Dad …' I first met Izzy in Bristol in 2005. McFly were doing a radio show in a church and Izzy was one of the string players. Being only 19, I remember pulling up in our tour bus and saying to the other guys: 'I wonder what the girls in the orchestra will be like?' When we got inside, I shook her hand and instantly thought: 'Ooh, I fancy her.' She had a really kind and pretty face, and that's my thing. The orchestra were coming on tour with us, so I was looking forward to seeing Izzy every day. But shortly after our first meeting, she got the mumps and missed all the rehearsals and the first two weeks of shows. She did eventually join, but little did I know our management had told the musicians they weren't allowed to speak to the band. They'd handled a couple of groups before, and knew to avoid any drama, they should prevent us all from mixing. I would sometimes knock on the girls' dressing room door and ask if anyone wanted a cigarette, but Izzy would hide because she didn't want to get in trouble. On the night of our penultimate show, I got our security guy to go and tell Izzy that I needed a word with her. She thought she had done something wrong! But I just wanted to see her on her own. It was then we had our first kiss – at the St David's Hotel in Cardiff. The tour wrapped the next night and she came back on the bus with the band. After that, she never left. Everyone fancied Danny and Dougie, so it wasn't as if I was bombarded by fans all the time, but thankfully Izzy trusted me instinctively. I remember a couple of people around her saying: 'Be careful.' But I was never that showbiz. We are a band who like home comforts and to keep it real. Izzy was different from anyone I'd ever met – I didn't have to try to be anyone I wasn't. But at first there was a bit of an imbalance between us. Izzy is two years older, plus she's a girl – girls generally have it together more than men. She didn't drink, which caused a few issues when it came to partying, and she struggled with separation anxiety, which would put some pressure on our relationship. If I was out, she would call asking, 'When are you coming home?' and I'd be saying, 'You're so boring!' I had all this responsibility at such a young age – I was working all the time, I owned a property, I had a serious girlfriend, and most of my mates were still at uni having fun and being carefree. I wasn't ready to settle yet. So, when I was 23, we broke up for six months. I had been dealing with anxiety myself, and in that time apart, I realised it was time to stop drinking. Mostly it just hit home that I couldn't let this person go. Izzy is really caring. She brings me a cup of tea every morning. We have an unspoken set of jobs around the house, which is pretty much 50-50. I do the garden and bins, I cook and do the dishwasher. But she does more in terms of parenting, because the kids generally want Mummy. I couldn't do what she does as a mother. She is so selfless. Often it's 8.30pm before Izzy and I have had a chance to speak to each other, usually while lying in bed. From my experience of more than 10 years of marriage and having three children, I can see that things go wrong when people don't adjust to the mundane realities of everyday life – the bills, mortgages, tantrums, food shops and school drop-offs. It also helps if you can have a sense of humour about it – Izzy and I are always laughing about the endless lunacy of being a parent. We had a reading from Captain Corelli's Mandolin at our wedding. I always think about the line 'Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground' – a sentiment that, 20 years in, has never been more true. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion I had some suspicion that Harry might propose on holiday, but I didn't think he'd do it the first night. So even though I had loads of lovely dresses with me, I threw on a black vest instead, not thinking it would be a big moment. After the proposal, we ate steak and dauphinoise potatoes, and I had non-alcoholic champagne. It was an out-of-body experience, but my expression is one of contentment. I'd come out of a long relationship when we met, and I'd lost my grandmother a few months before, so I was not in the headspace to fall in love. But … I really fancied him. He was more tactile than anybody I had been with, and we could just talk and talk. He was great with my family, too. My oldest brother, Rupert, was in a car crash when he was 18, and has a serious brain injury. I took Harry to meet him early on in our relationship – it meant a lot that he was able to be relaxed around Rupert. Sometimes those micro moments are more important than any grand gesture of romance. The first morning I stayed over at the McFly house, I woke to the sound of his tour manager banging on the door. That was Harry's alarm. Everything was done for him, either by a tour manager or their lovely PA, Wendy – from cashing cheques to booking Valentine's Day dinners. In spite of that, McFly are the nicest boys. Which has made the strange, inconsistent experience of being in a band easier for Harry. Especially as we definitely don't have a Wendy to help any more! Having children has shaped our relationship completely. When we decided to start trying for a baby, we had a miscarriage, which was so difficult; we really grieved. After that, we ended up doing IVF – which was successful in the end, but also an incredibly lonely experience. A lot of those feelings of isolation are really similar to raising a neurodivergent child. But it's also given us both so much perspective: we are constantly advocating for them, and staying focused on our intuition about what's right for our family. I couldn't have gone through what I've been through without Harry's loyalty and support. Whenever we get a chance, Harry and I go for brunch and then see a matinee musical – we're too knackered to do evenings! Even after all these years, I still find him as interesting as I did when we first met.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Rita Ora reveals she proposed to husband Taika Waititi and even got down on one knee during romantic Palm Springs getaway
Rita Ora has revealed she proposed to her husband, Taika Waititi, during a romantic trip to Palm Springs - turning tradition on its head by getting down on one knee herself. The singer, 34, who married the 49-year-old filmmaker in 2022, shared the story on Davina McCall's Begin Again podcast, explaining how she broke convention and took charge of the proposal. She said: 'I just did the whole thing. We were in a hotel room in Palm Springs, like a really nice, fancy one filled up with balloons and cake, which is my favourite thing in the world. 'I got the bands made, I didn't want anything too flashy. He's like "What the hell is it? Valentine's Day?" I was like "Oh no, if you're gonna say no, I'm gonna have to take my clothes off. She concluded: 'Anyway, I got down on one knee, and Taika absolutely loved it.' Rita and Taika married in a private ceremony on August 4, 2022, in Los Angeles. The couple, who had been friends for years before becoming romantically involved in 2021, planned the wedding in just two weeks to ensure Taika's daughters could attend. The intimate event was attended by only eight people, including Rita's sister, Elena, who walked her down the aisle, and Taika's daughters, Te Kāinga o te Hinekāhu and Matewa Kiritapu. Earlier this year, Rita shared a rare insight into her marriage to Taika while flaunting her jaw-dropping figure in a stunning shoot for Hunger magazine. Crediting their strong friendship as the key component to their romantic relationship, she told the publication: 'Taika and I are basically just best friends and we wanted to just live in that element for ever, I guess.' Elsewhere in the interview, Rita spoke about her latest album You & I and how her marriage to Taika, which she said was a 'big step', helped inspire it. She said: 'I felt like it was really necessary to be an open book… I wanted to introduce people to where I'm at in my life now — like a diary'. 'I think music is all about being as honest as you can be… All you can do is be yourself and hope that there's somebody out there who can connect or relate…' Before Taika, Rita romanced a string of big names, starting back in her pre-fame years. Before either of them shot to superstardom Rita dated Bruno Mars at the age of 18, later saying: 'It was love at first sight.' 'We met in 2009. I was 18 and starting out at Roc Nation. Bruno was unknown back then too. He was a struggling songwriter hired to write songs for me. 'I thought: 'Wow, that's just the world's greatest guy!'' After Bruno, the singer dated reality star Rob Kardashian for two months from October 2012 before ending their brief romance due to her 'hectic work schedule' and their incompatible lifestyles. She then had high-profile relationships with the likes of DJ Calvin Harris, musician Andrew Watt and designer Tommy Hilfiger's son Ricky. Rita has also enjoyed flings with rapper A$AP Rocky, actor Andrew Garfield and rocker Travis Barker.
