(ARA) - The wedding season is in high gear, and with another round of newlyweds just around the corner it is important for everyone involved, from the bride down to the ushers, to get organized.

Denise Dinyon, Lenox gift-giving and etiquette expert, says that although the planning process can be hectic, staying organized and optimistic can make the day enjoyable for each guest, and most importantly, the newlyweds. "Everyone involved in the planning process should stay organized and make the time to speak regularly with the bride and groom to be sure they are fulfilling their duties," Dinyon says. "Sometimes, just by making yourself available to help, the bride and groom-to-be can relax more - allowing them to fully enjoy this memorable start to their future together."

Dinyon offers some additional tips for those playing leading roles in the wedding party.

The Bride and Groom
• When it comes to thank-you notes and bridal party gifts, it is important not only to remember those who attended, but also those who helped celebrate from far away. More than half of U.S. adults (53 percent) reported they always send a gift to weddings they can't attend, according to the Sixth Annual Lenox Gift-Giving and Etiquette Survey. These people should not be forgotten.
• Designate a point person to take care of the minor details on the wedding day so the groom doesn't find himself responsible for tracking down the DJ or rounding up friends for photographs. This person can either be hired help or a trusted friend, but be sure they have a schedule of approximate times that the bride and groom plan to share their first dance, toss the bouquet and cut the cake.
• Provide entertainment to guests and an opportunity to socialize with sometimes unknown seat mates via fun icebreakers. At each table, include an appealing crystal bowl, such as the Lenox Shooting Star Rose Bowl, and fill it with pieces of paper that spark conversation by asking guests such things as how they met the bride and groom, or what their favorite story is about a member of the bridal party.

The Best Man
• Help free the new bride and groom of unnecessary worries on their special day. Hold on to payments for the day's vendors and be sure to disburse the checks to the appropriate people by the end of the reception.

The Maid of Honor
• Streamline the planning process for the bride by creating an easy-to-remember e-mail address that can be sent out to all the wedding guests. This way, questions can be directed toward you, keeping the bride less frazzled.

The Parents of the Bride and Groom
• If you are paying for the expenses of the wedding, be sure to sit down with the bride and groom early to set expectations for costs. It's also important to communicate costs throughout the planning process, but remember, just because you are paying for it does not mean you get to decide every last detail of how the money is spent.

Most important, Dinyon says, no matter how much preparation goes into this magical day, everyone should remember to relax and enjoy the moment. The best gift to give to the bride and groom is to celebrate what brought everyone together in the first place: love.

For more information, ideas and products, visit www.lenox.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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As airline agents, Helen Corral and Chris Peto have multiple opportunities to speak with other couples planning honeymoon getaways. They've found that the bride's attention usually was on the details at hand - the dress, the cake, the processional and, often most pressing, the decorations.

When the couple began discussing decorating concerns with Chris' mother, Maryann Peto of Medina, Ohio, the two women clicked and quickly became business partners who use their artistic skills in beautifying weddings.

Their business, Unique Occasions, has taken off in a way they did not anticipate. Though the partners can provide everything wedding for a reasonable price, they were glad to offer pointers to do-it-yourselfers on a shoestring budget.

Because outdoor summer weddings are so popular, the partners turn their attention to gilding the lily, so to speak. Pick a beautiful setting, then think of ways to make special the wedding accoutrements that must populate that setting.

"The key is to pick a parklike setting or a meticulously kept back yard with acreage so you can focus on that and frame it," Helen said. "Then you don't have to spend so much making it special."

Other tips, cost-savers all, include:

- Don't leave guest chairs undecorated. A simple length of fabric, preferably pastel and airy, tied around the chair back into a bow transforms mundane seating. "I pride myself that our sashes are extra wide to accent the chair cover," Helen added.

- Choose a color theme early and be on the lookout for fabric closeouts you can use for the chair bows. If you find a deal on one spectacular silk flower, add that to the bow.

- In a pinch, sew a short version of a pillowcase to slip over simple metal or plastic chairs

- If you're really on a budget, borrow white pillowcases from all your friends, wash, bleach and dip in starch before ironing to a crispness. Then adorn with bows. They will not rival the custom chair covers Maryann and Helen specialize in, but necessity is the mother of invention.

- Wedding cakes don't have to be multitiered extravaganzas. Spend your limited funds on a two-layer cake decorated to the hilt. Then make it the center of attention by covering two boxes with a white tablecloth and setting the cake atop. Then surround it with your homemade cupcakes or petit fours.

- Skip the expensive wedding mints at each place setting that rarely are eaten. Instead, put them atop cupcakes or petit fours.

- Try to put the guest chairs under some type of canopy, Helen recommended, protected from blazing sun and sudden downpours. Other brides have come up with their own tricks:

- Never buy or rent expensive live or artificial trees. Either buy tall budget palms at a discount or building center. Or do what one resourceful father did - he walked the woods and found fallen branches, then secured them upright in buckets filled with cement. The bride's mother then swathed the branches in white tulle hiding tiny white lights inside it. The effect was ethereal.

- If you are renting a vase of some kind for dinner tables, make sure it is extremely tall and clear glass or plastic. Again, swath in tulle and top with inexpensive artificial flower sprays. After all, who is going to get close enough to the towering confection to know the difference? Just as important, vary the heights of the vases so the effect is visible throughout the room, adding interest.

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