Jennifer Hudson Swept Up in Wedding Fever

When Jennifer Hudson steps out in $1 million in Neil Lane jewels during the Gem Awards at NYC’s Cipriani 42nd Street, she has a special man on hand: her fiancé (and father of her 17-month-old son David) David Otunga.

Lucky for the Oscar winner, 29, David knows his place. He holds her gold clutch as she poses for photos with fans – and he gamely snaps pix when asked. He’s a helper; he stands back and lets her do her thing.

This will come in handy when Jennifer weds the man who asked for her hand in 2008.

“Everything is already set,” she tells me. “We already have our wedding bands and everything made, and Neil Lane made them.”

And, she’s chosen her dress.

“I designed it myself. I did. It has its own show. It is a show, so it has to have its own moment with special lighting and everything, and theme music. Oh, I am so serious.”

She adds, “It’s white. That’s the color, in keeping with tradition. Baby came first, but hey.”

For Jennifer, making choices is the most difficult part of planning the wedding.

“Oh my God, it’s so hard, and then the bride has to make all the decisions, and that’s a lot of pressure. It’s like ‘I don’t know what I want!’”

Hm, will it be a big or small wedding?

“See, I mean, I’m not sure. One minute I wanted this huge, grand wedding, and now I’m like ‘I don’t know that I want it so big.’ I have to make up my mind again. We’ll have to wait and see, but I know I’ll be wearing Neil Lane.”

Although the American Idol finalist gets cagey when asked whether she’ll marry this year, she is certain that her son will be part of the big day.

“He will look just like his father in his tux. So cute. I’ll have both my Davids. Maybe he’ll walk Mommy down the aisle. That would be so cute!”

Like the great couples, Tom and Katie, Nicole and Keith … she towers over him. But what he lacks in stature he makes up in other ways.

“We’re two big, giant kids, and we have the best time together,” she tells me. “We call it our Punk and Punky adventures. laughs That’s how we are. I think we complement each other well. He’s a genius, he’s super smart, and I think he’s the perfect man for me.”

Hm, what kind of adventures?

“That’s the thing – you never know. We’ll just get up, and then there’s the day, and we’ll have no idea what’s going to happen, but we end up not like on this winding, never-ending journey, like ‘OK, what are we doing? What’s happening today?’ but it’s like we’re friends first, and we enjoy each other’s company, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s us together. These adventures are random, he snatches me out of bed, like ‘let’s go!’ It’s like ‘ohh! Where are we going?’ It’s like we’re on the David roller coaster. laughs”

And when they leave together just before dessert is served, David helps her with her coat.

Here are two more pix:

Pick up the OK! on newsstands now for more coverage of the Jewelry Information Center’s Gem Awards, where Jennifer honored Neil Lane with the Gem Award for Style. The cover line is “New Teen Mom Jenelle: Losing Her Baby Forever.”