I’ve dreamed of my wedding day ever since I was a little girl. I always wanted the big, lavish Cinderella wedding fairy tale. Just so you know, that fantasy came complete with a big, poofy wedding dress, hundreds of guests, an amazing reception with dinner and dancing and, of course, a tiara.

My vision of my fairy tale wedding changed little as I grew older. Honestly, this is the wedding I imagined for myself until just about a year or so ago. But as I’ve seen my friends get married, and witnessed the headaches, frustrations and just plain nasty things that can come with planning a big wedding, I’ve had a change of heart.

I’m as surprised as anyone to say that the big wedding I always thought I’d wanted has given way to a smaller, simpler ceremony.

One of the things that changed my mind was the upcoming wedding of my friends Kate and Sam. They’re getting married in Vegas — no, not by Elvis — and can only invite about 60 people, including the 12-person wedding party.

At first this idea horrified me. How could a wedding with so few people be fun? But then, as time went on, I began to see the benefits. Kate and Sam’s wedding will be attended only by the people they really love and who really love them. They’ll have plenty of time to spend with everyone, instead of having to spend hours of their big day going around and making small talk to hundreds of guests they barely know.

The second thing that changed my mind about big weddings (and this might sound silly) was a marathon of “Platinum Weddings” on the WE channel. In one afternoon, I saw brides spend anywhere from $450,000 to $750,00 on their weddings. I also saw the enormous amount of stress the brides were under because of all the details they had to take care of, and the amount of pressure that comes with planning a “perfect” ceremony. They didn’t look like they were having any fun.

And that’s when I decided that a big ceremony was not for me. Because if anything, I want my wedding day to be fun. And the smaller it is, the more relaxed you are and the more fun everyone has.

And I have a feeling that when I meet the right guy, I won’t care if we get married in the backyard and have a potluck barbecue for a reception. Just as long as he’s there.