Creative Planning A Wedding Day Can Be Made Even More Special By Including Surprising Little Details

Weddings are joyous, romantic and momentous events.

On the day of the celebration, a wedding may seem effortless, but anyone who has planned one knows how much time and work goes into every aspect.

I am always impressed by the creativity that brides, grooms and their families put into the planning. (When you pay attention to the fine points, it shows.) The little details are often my favorite part of a wedding. Here are some easy, inexpensive ideas for making the day even more special:

Favors

A small gift (such as the ones described below) is a lovely way to say “thank you” to each guest. Favors can be handed out personally by the bride and groom, placed on the tables or displayed for guests to pick up as they leave. Another nice option is to use the favors to direct guests to their tables: Use ribbon to tie handwritten tags with each guest’s name and table number onto each favor. Arrange them near the entrance of the reception venue.

Sugared almonds

For many people, a wedding wouldn’t be a wedding without these candies. Small glassine envelopes are a new way to present them. Glassine is an inexpensive translucent paper that you can find in the form of envelopes at archival-supply stores. (They are available by mail from American Printing and Envelope Co., telephone: (800) 221-9403.)

Fill an envelope with sugared almonds, trim the top with pinking or scallop shears and fold it down into a flap. Seal with a dot of glue and a fabric flower, or punch holes and lace ribbon through for a bow in front.

For a change from white almonds, look for shiny silver almonds or for pastels to complement your wedding colors.

Candy boxes

Edible favors, such as monogrammed cookies, petit fours, chocolates or a piece of groom’s cake, will surely be appreciated. Talk to your caterer or cake designer about making your favorite treat.

Package them in small white candy boxes and tie with ribbon. A good mail-order source for boxes is a company called Modpac, (800) 666-3722.

Personalized ribbon

Ribbon printed with the names of the bride and groom and the wedding date is a romantic accent. It can be ordered from good stationery stores.

Use printed ribbon to cinch bundles of tulle filled with candies, to trim boutonnieres or to tie favor boxes. Greet guests with a program that’s been rolled up and bound with ribbon.

No more rice

Instead of showering the bride and groom with rice after the ceremony, there are a few new traditions.

Bottles of bubbles are made just for weddings. Glue a small silk flower or other decoration on the top.

Stamp muslin drawstring bags with the couple’s monogram or the words “Just Married” and fill them with birdseed.

Fill paper cones with rose petals: Cut round paper doilies into quarters, roll into a cone shape and secure with clear tape or a pretty sticker. As close as possible to the time of the wedding, remove the petals from fresh, opened roses and fill the cones with them. Stand the cones up in a shallow white box lined with tissue paper.

For an evening wedding, supply each guest with a few sparklers along with a printed matchbook.

Other ideas

Here are some other easy-to-make items that will make the wedding extra special:

Flower basket

Your flower girl will love carrying a basket covered with - what else? - flowers. Fresh roses work well and look beautiful, but silk flowers make the basket a wonderful keepsake. You’ll need about 60 for a basket that’s 5 to 6 inches in diameter, though the number depends on the size of the flowers.

Start with a plain, inexpensive basket. If you wish, line it with a circle of satin or silk that is three times the basket’s diameter. Tuck and hot-glue the fabric into place.

Next, hot-glue the end of a length of seam binding or ribbon at the base of one end of the basket’s handle. Wrap the seam binding snugly around the handle in overlapping layers, covering it completely. Secure with glue at the other end.

Cut off the flower stems. Hot-glue the flowers onto the basket. Position them close together so the basket doesn’t show through. Right before the ceremony, fill the basket with fresh rose petals.

Ring pillow

Honor your young ring bearer with a handmade pillow.

If there is any extra fabric from the bridesmaid’s dresses or the bride’s gown, use that to make a 6-inch-square pillow: Cut out two squares of fabric, pin them with wrong sides together, and sew around edge, leaving a 3-inch gap on one side. Turn the fabric right-side-out and tack a ribbon at its midpoint to the center of one side. (This is to tie the rings to the pillow.)

Stuff the pillow with synthetic stuffing (available at fabrics stores) and stitch up the gap by hand. Or use the same technique with sheer organza, and fill the pillow with dried flower petals.

Guest book

A simple fabric- or paper-covered blank book makes a perfect guest book - and you’ll find it’s less expensive than the standard ones. Embellish it by attaching a wedding invitation, photo or handwritten label to the front cover with ribbon corners: Make two 45-degree folds in a piece of ribbon, forming a point. Slip the point over a corner of the invitation, and glue it in back. Repeat, covering each corner with ribbon, and glue to the front of the book or to the first page.

Long after the wedding is over, a memento like this, filled with signatures and notes from your guests, will keep the event fresh in your mind.

MEMO: Questions should be addressed to Martha Stewart, care of The New York Times Syndication Sales Corp., 122 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10168. Questions may also be sent to Stewart by electronic mail. Her address is: mstewart@marthastewart.com.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Martha Stewart New York Times Syndicate