In the hectic days before her wedding a few weeks ago, Amanda Smith graciously visited with me about her plans for the big day. Yesterday, she sent photos of the wedding. Her professional photos are not back yet, except for the one above, so she kindly agreed to let me post photos that a friend took. I think you'll agree, the wedding was gorgeous and so is she! Enjoy.

1. Did you decide to go with a big wedding or a smaller one? Why?

We went with I guess an average size wedding. We have 183 guests for our big day which is in 11 days. The decision was challenging because we wanted everyone we ever met to share in our happiness; however, we did pay for our wedding ourselves so money was definitely the determining factor.

2. What has been the most difficult part of planning a wedding?

Coordinating all of our out of town guests and the logistics to get people to all of the activities has been the most challenging part of my wedding planning experience.

3. What has been your favorite part of planning your wedding?

My favorite part of planning my wedding has been spending time with my mom and my soon to be mother in law. I gave each of them some ownership in planning the day and it’s been great to watch everything come together. They both have helped to reduce the amount of stress that goes into planning such a large affair.

4. How did you make this wedding celebration uniquely yours? (And unusual or interesting touches you chose to go with)?

We are actually doing quite a few things to make our celebration unique to us. We are doing trivia throughout the reception. People can answer a question about us and we have made bags with local goodies that you can only get in the Carolinas. We also have created a poem to have our guest’s hoolahoop for the bride and groom to kiss. Our wedding favors are fuchsia can koozies with our name and a saying on them. The bartender will be placing guest’s drinks in the koozies so they will definitely have one to take home. Our send off will be with sparklers. We also are having BBQ, grilled boneless/skinless chicken breasts, rolls, broccoli cheese casserole, scalloped potatoes, carrots, and then peach cobbler and brownies.

Of course, we will also have a 4 tier wedding cake with each tier hosting a different flavor. Our champagne is pink which compliments our colors of pink and black. Our flowers are gerbera daisies and we are having a large outdoor reception at the Huitt House which is a large historical home in the area.

5. How many attendants do you have? Describe the dresses you've chosen (or would like to choose).

We each have 4 along with 4 ushers and 4 greeters. My fiancé has a large family. As far as the girl’s dresses go. Let’s just say I am a super nice bride. I actually picked their dresses and shoes out at White House Black Market. The girls are wearing simple black strapless cocktail dresses. They love them, I think because they truly can wear them a hundred times over.

6. Any favorite songs you’d like the wedding band to play?

-Our first dance will be to Vince Gill “If you ever have forever in mind”
-Our father/daughter dance will be to “My Girl”
-The mother/son dance will be to “The Man You’ve Become”
-We want a great mix of country, rock, cheesy dances like the electric slide and some booty music later in the evening.

7. If you could go anywhere you wanted to, describe your perfect honeymoon location.

We are going to Charleston, SC for the week. That’s where we went our first vacation and where we want to go where everything took place. We are having a private chartered yacht for Wednesday evening for a sunset cruise on the ocean. We are also parasailing one of the days of our trip. We also have a half day kayaking trip in the ocean as well as some down time to just relax on the beach. We will be doing a ton of eating…Charleston has some of the best food in the country. What we already have planned is the perfect honeymoon.

8. Have you received or requested any unique wedding gifts? What are they?

Not really. We just bought a house so we really just want gift cards to Home Depot, Pottery Barn, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target. We have asked for a Nintendo Wii, some games for the wii, a Hepa Dyson vacume cleaner, and some Rachel Ray pans. Obviously we have asked for more, but those seem to be practical and unique at the same time. If my fiancé had his way, everything would be from Sears.

9. If a millionaire dropped by and offered to pay for the wedding of your dreams, what additions/changes would you make?

We would probably want to do a destination wedding to Italy and have our wedding party and family join us for a month long celebration in an Italian villa. My fiancé is half red neck and half Sicilian.

10. Have you chosen any interesting/different places for wedding photos?

Our engagement pictures were fun and interesting. My fiancé is a Testing Mechanical Engineer for a major race team and so he wanted some of our engagement pictures at the race shop with the race cars…so we did. As far as our wedding day pictures go…not really sure. I have left that up to our photographer. She is fantastic.

11. A wedding is a bride's opportunity to act out a fairy tale for a day. What stands out as the most special part of your wedding?
My entire day is extremely special. I have found the man of my dreams and I am super excited to unite with him as one. Also, my mom and nana never had a wedding so having our entire day with them is amazing! Don’t forget about my wedding dress…it’s BEAUTIFUL! It’s a Mikella couture and is really special to me and my mom surprised me and purchased it for me as a gift.