Oh Baby!

Cookies are a perfect complement to the dessert table and make for memorable favors. You provide Dessert Gallery, dessertgallery.com, the image, and they do the rest. Our favorites: your embarrassing-yet-adorable baby photos. The Gallery can also work with you to create your design, whether it's a monogram or other logo, $1.95 each (minimum order of two dozen per image).

Moods of Marriage

Inspired by her recent nuptials, the Venezuelan-born, Southwest-bred 47-year-old designer Katy Briscoe has added a versatile line of stackable wedding bands to her collection of memorable yellow-gold pieces accented with bright, bold stones such as garnet and turquoise. "I have always loved yellow gold because of its rich, sumptuous nature," she says. "There is an earthly purity to it." And the new collection follows suit. The yellow-gold bands range in width from three to 14 millimeters, some lined with diamonds, all suited to match your every style. "I like to change bands, depending on my mood," notes Briscoe. Available at Saks Fifth Avenue, The Galleria, 713-662-9886, katybriscoe.com.

Dress Up a Basic Ballroom

Most ballrooms limit the design ideas to reception tables, because they have restrictions on hanging or attaching elements to walls. You may also find that columns or dividing walls restrict the space. Wedding coordinator Rebekah Johnson of Bergner and Johnson Design suggests thinking up. For a recent wedding at the Lakeside Country Club she used the ballroom's chandeliers as a starting point. Masses of ribbon from the center chandelier ran out to the four surrounding chandeliers, where she attached floral spheres to each. "This softened the ceiling, added floral elements high in the room, and made the dance floor a real focal point," she says. For visually distracting columns, Rebekah suggests a creative disguise. She covered rods, which held votives, with wild-vine smilax and hung them from the light scones at the top of each column. These easy fixes could be modified to fit just about any color scheme and will work with all but the most minimal of wedding-decor designs.

Bouquet Accents

"To incorporate 'something old' into the ceremony, pin your grandmother's brooch to your bridal bouquet," says Jo Ann Woodward of Schwartz & Woodward, a Houston wedding consulting firm. Or, for "something new," buy your own bouquet accent, like this gold brooch with inlaid crystals and pearls (inset), $22, from Francesca's Collections, francescascollection.net.

Ice, Nice!

"The martini bar is always a hit," says wedding consultant Bobbi Asarch, who helped create this bar  at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston. The ice carving was six-feet wide and two-feet deep, with carved out spots for liquor bottles and pitchers of premixed, flavored martinis.

Mix it Up

You love that spontaneous, photojournalistic style, but also want posed pictures? Look for a photographer who shoots both ways. It's best to take formal shots either before or after the ceremony, when you, your family and the wedding party will be looking your best. Also, keep these sessions short and sweet. Terry Blackburn, of Terry Blackburn Photography, agrees: "After 15 minutes of taking posed photos, you can tell when people are tired and want to get to the reception." At the reception, everyone can relax and have fun, which makes for an atmosphere full of wonderful photo ops. Candid, unexpected moments are what most photojournalistic wedding photographers hope capture—beautifully and artistically. "I want the bride to be spending time with her guests," Blackburn notes. "Later, when they're looking over their wedding album, I want each couple to say, 'That's the wedding I remember!'" And of course, those few traditional, posed photographs will remind you of how splendid you all looked before you partied the night away.

Micropavé

We love the idea of being able to get an antique look without having to rummage estate sales. So naturally we're fans of micropavé, which features small stones, sometimes less than one millimeter, set closely together. Plus, with the advancement of technology that allows for more accurate precision, the micropavé style has become a more financially accessible option. Houston best sellers: Vera Wang wedding bands: Platinum band, $1,900; 18K yellow gold band, $1,800; 18K pink gold band, $1,800; available at Bailey Banks and Biddle, baileybanksbiddle.com.

Crafty Invites

Brides are flocking to Invitation Solutions, 713-864-5573, invitationsolutions.com, for its custom-created invitation sets. "Brides can get exactly what they are envisioning and be more involved in the design process," says owner Kristen Rubin Adcock. Her best-selling trends: Ribbons and pockets. The simple accent of a ribbon adds color and character. Custom-designed "Robin McAninch" (far left), $887 for 100 invitation sets (includes map and return address printing). Old-world luxurious, yet completely utilitarian, pockets can hold all your invite-set details. Custom-designed "Delena Dow," $1,047 for 100 (includes map and return address printing).

Welcome Baskets, Houston style

Choose a specialized, wedding-party gift basket to say thank you (when you won’t have time to say it yourself). The "Beer Bash-Ket," (far left) is filled with chipotle queso, tortilla chips and imported beer, $69.99. "The Perfect Spa," is decked with body butters, lotions, masks and a loofah, $89.99. Available at Central Market, centralmarket.com, 713-386-1700.

The More, the Merrier

For Katie Harris Patterson, a 26-year-old speech pathologist at an elementary school, a bridal party of 19 was just enough to have the people she loved closest to her at her ceremony. The breakdown: nine bridesmaids, three junior bridesmaids, two flower girls and five house-party attendants (an honor usually given to more recent friends of the bride who are assigned to pass out programs and attend to the ceremony guest book).