Vanessa Minnillo: Nick Lachey's 'Got My Back'

Vanessa Minnillo hasn't chosen her wedding cake and isn't dishing on the kind of dress she wants. But she is sure about one thing ahead of her marriage to Nick Lachey.

"The best part is that you know someone has your back, no matter what," Minnillo, 30, told PEOPLE at a youth-mentoring event in Silver Spring, Md., recently. "It's not that I didn't know that before – I kind of teetered on it – but now I know for sure that no matter what, this guy's got my back."

She added: "There's nothing we can't work out, and there's nothing we can't talk through. There's no obstacle we can't overcome, and that's a beautiful, comforting thought."

Not wanting to tip off Lachey, 37, about her bridal look, Minnillo demurred when asked about her gown. But when it comes to the cake, she admitted she loves "all flavors" and "might have to do different layers and different flavors."

And will her beloved Yorkiepoo, Wookie, be the ring bearer? "If he is, it's going to take a lot of training and discipline, because right now he's just too shy," she said. "He'd panic down the aisle and probably run off with the rings. Maybe I should get started on that, right?"

Credit: PEOPLE (Arnesa A. Howell)

Vanessa: Nick Wants A "Tailgate" Wedding

Some brides-to-be love planning their big day, but Vanessa Minnillo's walk down the aisle has her flashing back to high school.

"I always feel irresponsible, like I'm unprepared for my test at school," the actress tells Rachael Ray on her show airing next Monday. "We have nothing yet, except for the wedding planner."

Still, Minnillo, 30, isn't about to turn over the reins to hubby-to-be Nick Lachey, 37, a notorious fan of Cincinnati sports teams.

"If I let Nick plan the wedding it'll be around some sporting event," she said. "We'll have a big old tailgate party with Miller Light! We'll have University of Cincinnati Bearcats running around!"

Wedding aesthetics aside, Minnillo tells Ray that she was "floored" when the Sing Off host finally got down on one-knee and proposed in November after four years of dating.

"Since we've been together for so long every time he asked me to do something romantic, I thought it might be the moment," she says. "So even if I didn't want to, he'd be like 'Baby let's go watch the sunset,' I'm like, 'okay.' Just in case it was. Nothing. 'Baby let's go take a hike.' Nothing. This went on for like a year! But I don't think you're ever prepared for the moment."

One moment, Minillo's really not ready for? Having kids.

"Let's do it one chapter at a time, why rush?" she says. "We have the rest of our lives. If you have children, once they're there, they're there. You can't say, 'I don't think I want to deal with you today.' No, they're there!"

Credit: Us Magazine