`My Best Valentine's Day' - celebrity narratives - Brief Article

Ebony, Feb, 2001

IT is the day for love and for lovers. Valentine's Day is when a man romances his woman with flowers, champagne, limousine rides, diamonds and candlelit dinners. It is when women put on their fanciest (or skimpiest) lingerie and plan something very special for the special man in her life. On the following pages, celebrities share with EBONY readers the Valentine's Day that stands out in their minds and hearts as the best and most special. Most involved a romantic meal and quality time with the love of their life. Steve Harvey remembers it as the day he proposed to this wife. Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band returned to the romantic beach in Mexico where he had proposed and married his wife the following year. Kelly Price recalls the surprise exotic vacation her husband planned. These anecdotes touch the heart and inspire others to remember their special love on this special day.

Patti LaBelle: "One Valentine's Day I did a show and my Valentine decorated my dressing room while I was performing. After the show was over, I came back to the room to find candles and rose petals everywhere, and a catered dinner for two. I love gifts that are thoughtful."

Steve Harvey: "My best Valentine's was the second Valentine's Day my wife Mary [above lounging at home with Steve] and I spent together. That was when I gave Mary her first engagement ring. She was working for Fashion Fair in a mall outside Dallas, and I stopped by her job and took her to lunch. She was totally surprised when I gave her the ring and asked her to marry me. We'd been seeing each other for about two years then, and I wanted to get a commitment that she'd be my lady. I gave her another ring [a 3.5 K diamond solitaire] before we got married. On her last birthday, I upgraded that to a 10.75 K diamond ring."

Kelly Price: "My most memorable Valentine's Day was Valentine's 2000. I'd just finished recording Mirror, Mirror and was plane-hopping between Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta. I got home February 13th late at night and decided that my husband and I should exchange gifts at midnight only to find out Jeff [with Kelly below] had forgotten Valentine's Day. I was devastated! He'd never missed one Valentine's Day since I was 18 years old. Rather than rush to make up for things, Jeff planned our own Valentine's Day, exclusive for Kelly and Jeff. On March 14th I was ambushed with roses everywhere and cards that read "Happy Valentine's Day! I love you and I'll never forget again." I was then whisked away to a private villa overlooking the water in Puerto Rico for six days and five nights of sheer heaven. It was the most time we've ever spent alone."

Kirk Franklin: "It was Valentine's Day 1998. I was traveling quite a lot as well as getting pulled in all sort of directions and could not wait to get home. When I walked through the door, my wife [Tammy, shown above with him] and kids had transformed our home into a place of peace. Candles were everywhere and jazz was playing throughout the house. They had also prepared a candlelit dinner for which my kids hand-made the menus and were dressed up like little servers. Being home with my family helped me to completely relax because all they want me to be is husband and daddy. Needless to say, I resumed the rest of the evening alone with my wife."

Chante Moore: "A bath with bubbles and floating gardenias. Candles all around. Marvin Gaye on the stereo. A plate of fresh melon. Pellegrino water with gas. A soft pillow behind me. And the man of my dreams awaiting me."

Shaggy: "My girl surprised me and took me into the city [New York]. We took a horse and carriage ride around Central Park and ended up at The Waldorf Astoria in a suite overlooking the park. We had a candlelit dinner with champagne. She laid rose petals down and we fogged up the mirrors!"

Charlie Wilson: "My wife Mahin, who was my girlfriend at the time, and I went to Rosarito Beach in Mexico on Valentine's Day. It is a very romantic place. We had a candlelit dinner and a mariachi trio serenaded us. We later went down to the beach for a walk. With the moonlight spotlighting us, I asked her to marry me. She cried and said `yes.' We kissed and made love at that very spot! It was a special moment. The next year we returned and got married on that very same spot on the beach. We had marked it with rocks and buried them in the sand on the beach."

Vesta: "I had been working pretty hard in the recording studio. I got home about 7:30 or 8 p.m. My sweetie, who was very sexy and handsome, had a candlelit dinner ready. He had prepared wonderful grilled lamb chops with mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach, salad--the whole works. He served champagne with dinner--Dom Perignon. He told me he had drawn up a bath, and after we ate dinner, he helped me into the bath and bathed me himself. I was sipping mimosa from a champagne flute while in the bath. At some point he left the room and came back with nothing on but a big red bow tied around his neck. Then he gave me the rest of my Valentine's gift. Holidays are special to me. I've had some really nice things to happen on Valentine's Day. I'm a very romantic person. I'm a severe romantic."