Even though I have not been a big fan of this season’s The Bachelor, I was a HUGE fan of Bachelorette Trista Rehn back in 2003, so this weekend while in Palm Springs I just had to stalk the hotel where she married Ryan Sutter in their million dollar wedding extravaganza. The nuptials took place on December 10, 2003 and were watched by over 26 million viewers. The ceremony was held at the hotel the Lodge at Rancho Mirage and my boyfriend and I actually stayed there quite a few years ago, long before Trista and Ryan were even a gleam in ABC’s eyes. I had been dying to go back to stalk the hotel ever since the wedding aired on TV and I finally made it there this weekend.

Unfortunately, the Lodge closed back in August of 2006 to undergo an extensive remodel and it has yet to reopen. During the remodel, the property was actually purchased by the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company and it is set to open as the Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage in the fall. Sadly you can’t get very close to the property and there isn’t much to see at this time. But I am definitely planning on doing a little stalking of the Ritz this winter when it reopens. 🙂 I sure hope that the gazebo where Trista and Ryan got married is still there.

Side note: A few years ago I also stalked Jerry Ferris from the third season of The Bachelorette. Jerry was the jilted bachelor who had his heart broken on national TV when Jen Schefft refused his proposal. He was also my celebrity crush of 2005. 🙂 I knew from watching the show that Jerry worked at an art gallery in LA and after doing a bit of stalking, I located it. Jerry could not have been nicer (or cuter) in person and I was absolutely floored to meet him. Unfortunately Jerry’s art gallery closed a few years back, but it used to be located in The Grove shopping center in LA.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage is located at 69-730 Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage. You can visit their website here. The hotel is scheduled to open in late 2008.