The element of surprise: Your mom

Fabulous. Fun. Fiesty. Fierce.

Yep, that's my mom all right.

She's complex and full of surprises.

True to form, for my 30th birthday she conspired with my fiance to come visit all the way from Texas.

Of course, I had no idea (and, let's face it, was impressed and annoyed that they both could be so sneaky!) and we met her in Beaufort for a birthday celebration dinner.

It was then she unveiled her true intentions for the weekend: To get down to some bridal business. She already had made appointments with wedding planners at three possible venues on Hilton Head Island and had been in contact with them for weeks and couldn't wait to get started.

I, however, was less enthused.

The idea of getting up at 9 in the morning on a Saturday sounded appalling -- I didn't care if we were going to tour the Taj Mahal.

Never one to go down without a fight (especially with my mother) I complained that I'd worked late all week. I said that if some place couldn't find any time to fit us in other than 9 a.m., then I wouldn't want to go there anyway. It was ridiculous, I argued over the phone to her.

Finally, after trying to be reasonable, she said, "Fine. Planning your wedding is supposed to be something you look forward to. It should be a great day."

Here's something that shouldn't be a surprise: She was right.

It was a great day because we got to spend it together. I woke up early and didn't complain (much) even though it was rainy and gloomy outside, but that gave us all the more time to pore over bridal magazines and ogle hundreds of wedding dresses online and drool over pictures of decadently decorated cakes.

And we even made some progress. As of now we're setting our sights on The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa. Daniel (my fiance) and I envision a ceremony on the beach and the Westin offers lots of attractive options.

Have you ever attended and/or had your wedding there? Tell me about your experience.

I hope to be pleasantly surprised.