NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace marries longtime love Amanda Carter in intimate ceremony on New Year's Eve
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: Bubba Wallace and Amanda Carter are entering the new year as husband and wife. The NASCAR driver and his long-time love tied the knot in front of 250 guests at the JW Marriott in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, December 31, 2022.
The bride walked down the aisle in a white lace strappy gown by Madam Burcu Couture and shoes by Lola Cruz, while her groom opted for a custom dark red velvet tuxedo and charcoal pants made by Stitched by Mitch. The couple, who got engaged in July 2021, decorated their “intimate and romantic” ceremony with all-white flowers with greenery accents and candles. "Getting married, and starting a new life together, I'm just so excited to have a good one in my corner," Wallace told PEOPLE. "We have so much fun together," he added. The pair reportedly exchanged handwritten vows.
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Carter, on the other hand, descriptively talked about the ceremony, "We wanted the ceremony, (which was held on the hotel's 4th floor) to be formal, and then as soon as you walk down the staircase to the reception, we wanted the whole mood to flip. The flowers are changing from white to vibrant with pinks, purples, reds, with a lot of sparkle and shine in the room. We wanted the reception to feel like a New Year's Eve party."
The menu for the night of celebration included a cocktail hour with an open bar, tuna tartar, duck meatballs, pulled pork spring rolls, blue crab croquettes, and whipped ricotta. The newlyweds wanted the food to be “really fun.” Thus, they had four different tapas-style stations with some of their favorite cuisines, including Italian, Asian stir fry, burgers, and tacos for the main course. "We're not doing a seated dinner with over 200 people," Carter said to the outlet. "We wanted to make sure that we have time to see everybody. And a seated dinner really can take away from being able to talk to everybody."
"We just really wanted it to be a fun atmosphere, not stuffy, even though everyone's going to be dressed up. We wanted a more casual food setting since it's late in the evening. And then at 1 am when the party's over, we have a McDonald's food truck coming to serve chicken nuggets and french fries," Carter added. The couple also came to a compromise over adding sweets to the menu. While Wallace is not a fan of desserts, Carter loves eating sweets. It was only ideal for the couple to skip the traditional wedding cake and instead keep a variety of treats such as custom pretzel walls, cake pops, sugar and chocolate chip cookies, banana pudding shooters, and fruit and almond flavored macarons for the guests.
For their wedding playlist, Wallace and Carter reportedly prepared a list of songs perfect for the occasion on a four-and-a-half-hour car ride. The evening's music included "90s hits, hip hop, and EDM." Wallace explained, "I love dancing. It's got to be the right vibe."
The married couple has planned to celebrate their honeymoon in Bora Bora before Wallace gets back to racing with the commencement of the new NASCAR season in February. "We just have such a good bond. I love the time we spend together. We could sit around together all day every day and we don't get tired of one another," said Carter, adding, "And he's also handsome and charming."