Lucy and Rob's 14th wedding anniversary is coming up on the 28 March 2012. The following mention of their anniversary will be one of many to appear in the press. The next day, 29 March is Lucy's birthday - Lucy wanted to get married before she turned 30 so Rob agreed and a day before she turned 30. On 28 March 1998 they were married in Santa Monica in front of family and friends. So Happy Anniversary to Lucy and Rob Tapert!
MARCH 28 Kokomo Tribune, USA
1998 — Actress Lucy Lawless and Robert G. Tapert, in Santa Monica, Calif. The couple got married at the Santa Monica Church. Lawless’ maid of honor was her daughter Daisy. A Rolls Royce whisked the newlyweds to the “Pretty Woman” suite at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a reception attended by nearly 300 guests.
The fans really shined by respecting and being protective of Lucy and Rob's privacy which was amazing to see. We donated to charity as a wedding gift. Lucy and Rob sent a note to all the fans to thank us. (I dug this up from the archive):
8 May 1998 Message from Lucy Lawless & Robert Tapert (aka Mr & Mrs Tapert)
To all our fans on the Internet
Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the goodness many of you have shown us over the past few months. Not only were you supremely protective of our privacy in the lead-up to our wedding, and since, but have given thousands of dollars to the Marine Conservation and Rainforest Protection appeals on our behalf. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!
Privately we were a little torn between Rainforest and Aids/Cancer charities etc but aside from loving trees we feel that our planet's rainforest, will provide not only panaceas for many diseases but ecologically, is the hope for all mankind. Truly the greatest good for the greatest number.
Thank you so much for your many kindnesses. God Bless.
Lucy Lawless and Rob Tapert
PS. There was no quarrel about marine conservation. Rob loves the sea. Rob wants you to know how particularly grateful he is for your help in keeping our wedding private. We are left in no doubt that you guys helped prevent it from becoming a circus. It was the happiest day of our lives.
A look back in the AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Magazine archive found this article (one of many)
Lawfully Wedded
People Weekly
13 April 1998
Actress Lucy Lawless of 'Xena: Warrior Princess' marries
Xena's lovestruck Lucy Lawless makes it legal A high-kicking TV icon finds true love at work
Had it been Xena, Warrior Princess, who got married on March 28 and not Lucy Lawless--the stunner from Down Under who plays the Amazonian butt-kicker on TV--things would have been different. Instead of walking down the aisle, for instance, Xena would have done back flips. She might have let out a deafening war cry rather than just a discreet "I do." And surely she would have run her trusty sword through a caterer or two had they overheated the hors d'oeuvres.
One other thing: Xena wouldn't have gotten all weepy. Yet there was Lawless, 30, sniffling away as she exchanged vows in a Catholic ceremony with Rob Tapert, 43, an executive producer on her hit syndicated series. "There were moments that she had her handkerchief handy," says Renee O'Connor, who plays Xena's gal pal Gabrielle. "Looking at her dress, I don't know where she kept it." Having traded her leather miniskirt for a slinky, hand-beaded, silk-satin ivory gown by Xena costume designer Ngila Dickson, Lawless lit up the Saint Monica Church in Santa Monica. "Lucy looked so radiant," says O'Connor. "She was beaming."
And why not? The 5'10" beauty from Auckland, New Zealand, who's now in her third year as the gladiator-stomping goddess, surrendered her heart with abandon. "This has been the greatest year of my life," she told PEOPLE after the ceremony (and before slipping away to an undisclosed honeymoon hideaway). "Rob is the finest man I've ever known." Divorced from first husband Garth Lawless since 1995 (they have daughter Daisy, 9), Lawless met the never-wed Tapert when she was hired for a spot on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in 1995. Impressed, he and the show's other producers spun her off into her own series; two years later she and Tapert were an item. "I've waited 43 years for this day," he told PEOPLE. "And 43 years for this woman."
Their latest coproduction was a formal yet funky affair for 340, including most of the Xena cast. "We see each other slogging around in the mud all the time," O'Connor says, laughing. "Nobody believed we could clean up as well as we did." The reception at the ritzy Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills had a seafaring theme (Tapert is a fishing aficionado) that included a cake topped with figurines of a mermaid and Poseidon. There was also a surprise Elvis impersonator and obligatory hoofing to a 15-piece band. Taking no chances, Lawless had brought dance instructors to the set a few weeks earlier. "We'd break for lunch," says O'Connor, "then practice our rumba and cha-cha." Even so, "being out there on the dance floor was like going on a bumper-car course."
The smoothest move took place right after the newlyweds finished their first dance to "Beyond the Sea." As guests tapped spoons to their glasses, Tapert "reached over, dipped Lucy and gave her this big kiss," says a friend of the couple's. "The entire room cheered." Xena, Warrior Princess, would have flipped the guy over her shoulder. But Lawless, brimming with joy, merely swooned.
COLOR PHOTO: JOE BUISSINK "I couldn't be happier," gushes Lawless (hand in hand with Tapert after the ceremony). [Lucy Lawless, Rob Tapert and wedding guests]
COLOR PHOTO: PIERRE VINET Lawless (right, as Xena) and Tapert "are a match made in heaven," says a friend. [Lucy Lawless in TV's Xena, Warrior Princess]
COLOR PHOTO: JOE BUISSINK Lawless showed off her bladesmanship as she and Tapert cut their four-tiered cake. [Lucy Lawless and Rob Tapert]
COLOR PHOTO: DAVID ALLOCCA/DMI Nine-year-old Daisy (with Lawless in '97) was her mother's maid of honor. [Daisy Lawless and Lucy Lawless]
Here are some more articles with photos of the happy couple:
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New Zealand Woman's Day - 27 October 1997 Lucy's Love Catch. The Xena star is blissfully happy about her upcoming wedding. NEWLY engaged Lucy Lawless has landed the right man, says a family friend who saw love blossom between the Xena: Warrior Princess star and television producer Rob Tapert.
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People Magazine - 22 June 1998 - Love & Marriage '98: Weddings of the Year 1998 Some waited for decades while others hardly waited at all. But whatever the route--or the robe-- they chose, this year's stars of the altar made the most - Lucy Lawless & Rob Tapert
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Who Weekly - April 20, 1998 (Australia) - Lucy's Wedding Photos LAWFULLY WEDDED Xena’s lovestruck Lucy Lawless makes it legal.
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New Weekly (Australia) - - Article on Lucy's Wedding - April 13, 1998
- Globe Magazine 14 April 1998 Xena Weds! - The Princess Bride. LUCY LAWLESS traded Xena's armor-plated leather skirt and heavy sword for a soft and shimmering off-the-shoulder bridal gown as she married her show's producer Robert Tapert in a fairy-tale ceremony.
- Woman's Day (Australia) - April 13, 1998 - It's Xena, The Princess Bride - Article and Pics of Lucy & Rob's wedding
- New Zealand Herald April 1998 - Lucy says 'I do' to $4m home switch - talks about Lucy's wedding
Click here to find more Lucy Lawless articles in magazines, newspaper and other media in the AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Press Archive