Ballroom bride! Carrie Ann Inaba’s wedding plans are underway — and she’s making sure that everything is a perfect 10.
“I’m reading all of the books first to make sure I don’t miss any details,” the Dancing With the Stars judge, 49, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “What’s really fun is that Robb and I are doing it together and I like that. I like that we talk about every single step of the way. It’s almost like that’s the wedding – the process of planning – it’s the process itself that brings you closer together so that’s really exciting.”
![Robb Derringer Carrie Ann Inaba](/wp-content/uploads/robb-derringer-carrie-ann-inaba-4f86380c-0099-4506-b92e-0d6eb79e9609.jpg?w=460&quality=86&strip=all)
Inaba and actor Robb Derringer, 50, began dating last year. Although they’ve yet to reveal their wedding date, the pair will said “I do” in Hawaii.
“My dream wedding would be outdoors – on the beach, for sure. Robb and I both want the ocean and nature to be involved, because we’re both very close to the ocean. He’s not from Hawaii but he’s the most Hawaiian non-Hawaiian person I’ve ever met,” Inaba says. “We both know we want to live there one day and its one of the areas we bond in the most.”
She adds: “Robb is such a supportive partner. I’m very grateful and I’m very lucky.”
Inaba says Derringer visits her on the DWTS set “all the time,” but she’s keeping tight-tipped on if some of her coworkers will be getting an RSVP.
“As far as who I’d invite to the wedding — well, we’re going to have our wedding be very, very, very intimate,” she explains. “We want it to be a circle around us. So, as many people as can fit in that circle around us.”
Inaba and Derringer got engaged in December 2016 when the General Hospital alum proposed with an oval-cut diamond and 18-karat rose gold band.
“When you finally meet the one you’re going to spend the rest of your life with it changes your perspective a lot, and suddenly it’s no longer about what’s right or wrong, it’s about being compassionate, and patient, and supportive,” Inaba tells Us. “What I love is that love stretches you and grows you and that can be uncomfortable, but that’s the best part of it. Whatever makes you feel uncomfortable is usually totally worth going through, and once you get to the other side, it’s going to be beautiful. And that’s one thing that is proven over and over again with Robb is we grow each other, stretch each other, don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable.”
Season 25 of Dancing With the Stars premieres Monday, September 18, on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
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