Mariah Carey is planning for a busy few months ahead - she wants to start a family with new husband Nick Cannon because it's the next step of married life.

The couple wed in a sunset ceremony at Carey's home in the Bahamas last Wednesday and 39-year-old Carey isn't wasting any time baby-planning with her 27-year-old beau.

She tells the New York Daily News, "It's part of the whole purpose of getting married. I'd just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could."

Carey unveiled a new tattoo on her neck bearing her married name to chatshow queen Oprah Winfrey on April 14th, and admits only those who knew of her new inking were aware of their plans to wed.

She adds, "I don't think anyone realised what we already knew, that we were going to get married."

And rapper/actor Cannon reveals he was lost for words when the time came to say 'I do'.

Cannon says of the surprise ceremony, "I haven't been shy in years, but I was speechless. I was elated, but I was thinking, 'Don't pass out.'"