Wedding season is in full swing and while bridesmaids’ gifts are all the rage, let’s not forget about the guys. Rather than opting for the usual flask, give these unique groomsmen gifts a try.

Shaving kit

This Jon Hart waterproof canvas bag holds all the groomsman’s “grooming” needs. Cost: $75. Monogram is additional $8. Available at Lewis Gifts, 5807 Youree Dr., Shreveport.

Catchall

Perfect for holding keys and any loose change, the catchall is ideal for the man with everything in his pockets. Cost: $59. Monogram is additional $8. Available at The Village Washstand, 38 Pierremont Common, 6505 Line Ave., Shreveport.

Winestein and Corkcicle

For the man who likes to drink wine but prefers a beer stein, it’s a wine glass inside a beer mug. Cost: $19.99. Also, keep wine chilled after opening with the Corkcicle. All you have to do is place the Corkcicle in the freezer and once frozen, insert inside wine bottle. Cost: $22.95. Both available at The Enchanted Garden, 2429 Line Ave., Shreveport.

Chelsea travel alarm clock

Make sure you rise on time wherever you are with this travel alarm clock. Holds a 1.75 by 1.75 inch picture. Cost: $26.50. Available at Lewis Gifts.

Hand-stitched beer belt

For the beer lover, this needlepoint belt is hand-stitched with designs of different beer cans. Made by Smathers and Branson. Cost: $165. Available at The Village Washstand.

Firewire

These flexible grilling skewers make marinating and grilling kabobs easier than ever. The tip remains cool when left outside of the grill. 100 percent stainless steel. Pack of two. Cost: $9.99. Available at The Enchanted Garden.

Weber’s Magnetic Money Clip

Made of leather, this money clip features a premium buck critter concho and two strong magnets to hold cash. Cost: $23. Available at Lewis Gifts.

Kings Pad

Personalize this leather Kings Pad with initials or even the date of the wedding. By Jon Hart. Cost: $49. Monogram is additional $8. Available at The Village Washstand.

Mustache mania

For the groom looking to give a gift with a little laughter, check out these mustache-themed items. A six-pack of reusable Stache Straw clip-ons are $9.99. Musk scented mustache soap, including 20 mustache shaped soap leaves, are $6.50. The Handlebar, mustache corkscrew and bottle opener are $12.95. Fingerstache temporary tattoos come in 19 designs including the Professor, 8th Grade Bully and the El Bandito, priced at $6.99. All available at The Enchanted Garden.

Cuff links by Smathers and Branson

A classic groomsmen gift with a little added flare, these cuff links come in a variety of designs from animals to shamrocks. Cost: $55. Available at The Village Washstand.

Connect with Devin White on Twitter @DevinAWhite.

View full sizeTed Crow/Plain Dealer

There’s a new formula for happily ever afters.

Love + economic reality = leaner weddings.

While it’s tough to get a realistic figure on what couples spend on weddings — organizations stocked with wedding planners and pros quote figures of up to $27,000 — a American Express survey released in April found evidence couples are trimming expenses.

A third of married couples surveyed said they simplified ceremonies overall to cut costs, and a quarter nixed hiring a wedding planner.

“I cringe when I hear how some people spend over $20,000 on their wedding and struggling to pay their bills. Not us!” said Tina Marie Darrisaw, who works at Cuyahoga Community College.

Darrisaw threw a wedding for a sleek $5,000.

She shopped stores like Target, Michael’s and Pat Catan’s for inexpensive decorations and turned to the deli at Giant Eagle to feed guests at the reception.

When it was time to buy a wedding dress, she headed to the clearance rack at David’s Bridal and snagged one for $109, she said.

She held the price for bridesmaids’ dresses under $100 and found $60 tuxes for the groomsmen. “I didn’t want to break anybody’s budget,” she said.

When the Plain Dealer asked readers for budget wedding advice, Northeast Ohioans said they’d found plenty of creative ways to cut costs without sacrificing charm.

Be yourself

Diana Everett insists weddings that reflect the personality of the bride and groom are more memorable than those that involve large outlays of cash. At one blue-grass wedding she attended, the bride and groom said their vows outdoors, under a stand of trees.

“The wedding party and the bride and groom changed into their bib overalls, the blue grass music began, and we all danced until dawn. The tables were covered with red-and-white-checked table cloths, and the centerpieces were wildflowers in mason jars,” she says. “Beyond charming.”

Roger Rhoads and his fiancee are having a Lego-themed wedding in December. Their sheet cake will be decorated with candy Legos. Attendants are wearing Lego tie clasps or earrings. And in lieu of flowers, the couple plans on filling cheap glass bowls with second-hand Legos for guests to play with.

Other ways to keep it personal:

• Go for understated elegance. A librarian can help you track down books with cost-saving ideas.

• Whittle the guest list. Fewer guests mean fewer invitations to buy and mail, fewer faces to feed and smaller venues to rent.

Aim out of the park

When Louise and Ric Goodwin married last month, a second wedding for each, the Parma couple chose to hold the ceremony at Malabar Farms, a state park near Mansfield. “We are an older couple and wanted a memorable ceremony, not a fancy wedding,” Louise Goodwin said.

They were at the historic farm’s “Big House” less than an hour (the maximum allowed) and then whisked their guests to the lodge at nearby Mohican State Park for breakfast.

Vince Adamus of Highland Heights said that when he and his wife Vickie married 18 years ago this month, they chose to wed at Chicago’s city parks. They splurged on a caterer who grilled outdoors and a rental tent and chairs just in case it rained. Guests were warned to wear “picnic casual.”

“We had all sorts of picnic games for people including volleyball, water guns, softball, kites,” he recalled. “It was a fantastic event and everyone had a blast.” In addition to spending very little, he said, “the stress was minimal.”

Other ways to save on venues:

• Try off-peak seasons, days and times. (Check with caterers on this, too.) Ask venues if they offer packages that might help you trim other costs.

• Look for offbeat venues. A bed-and-breakfast might serve as a place for the ceremony, reception and hotel if your guest list is small.

• Host the reception at the church or temple where the ceremony is held.

Tap your creativity

Barbara Berry, who has catered weddings for friends, said making centerpieces can save couples a mint. For one friend, she weighted the bases of long-stemmed roses cut in different lengths and then sank them in tall water-filled vases, three roses per vase. “We added four votive candles around the vase and it was very elegant, yet fairly inexpensive,” she said.

Other suggestions:

• Use helium balloons or other decorative items in lieu of flower centerpieces.

• Borrow from friends. Some brides buy or borrow decorations from recently married friends. Venues may have decorations available, too.

• Go for a minimalist look. If the place is pretty enough, Everett said, you may be able to get by with just a single floral arrangement.

Put your reception on a diet

When Judie Amsel and her husband married, a second wedding for both, they planned a small wedding – but their friends had other plans.

“So many people told us they wanted to be there that we realized we had to adjust,” she said. They switched to mid-day ceremony, which let them skip serving a meal, and hired a caterer to stage an ice cream social.

Early-risers could try a morning ceremony followed by a brunch or light lunch.

Other ways cut costs for food and drink:

• Substitute hearty appetizers for a meal, which could save you money on centerpieces and table rentals, too.

• Downsize the bar. Instead of mixed drinks, offer beer and wine.

• Order a small wedding cake and supplement with sheet cakes.

Give attendants a break

In April, Wendy Matthews’ daughter, Megan, was planning a 2013 wedding cruise. But when Megan’s fiance, Dominic Howard, learned he was being deployed to Afghanistan right after his graduation from Ohio State University, the couple moved the date up to this month.

Matthews tracked down dresses at a department store (in her case, Nordstrom’s) that offered free shipping, so bridesmaids could get any alterations without traveling to Ohio for fittings.

Other good ways to be kind to attendants’ wallets:

• Consider swapping suits for tuxes.

•Get rid of the matchy-match bridesmaids. Pick a dress color and length and let each bridesmaid use the guidelines to find a flattering dress she likes and can afford.

• Pare down the attendants list. You don’t need a posse. The fewer people you have, the more you’ll save on the rehearsal dinner and wedding-day transportation.

Coronation Street, ITV1, Monday, 7.30pm

THEY say what goes around comes around, and it’s true for Coronation Street’s Rita Sullivan. In 1977, two months before the Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee, Rita married Len Fairclough.

And now, 35 years on, Rita is about to tie the knot once more – circumstances permitting. Actress Barbara Knox, who plays Rita, rarely gives interviews but is so excited about the storyline she’s happy to give viewers a taste of what’s in store when she weds Dennis Tanner (Philip Lowrie).

“It’s fantastic actually, you know,” she beams. “Both for me as an actress, and for people in real life, to see characters getting married at this age. It’s a very good story for older people.”

Knox, who turns 79 this year, thinks soaps often pander to young people, and she’s glad Coronation Street is an exception.

“Everything’s for kids. Even television’s for kids, and I just thought this is so brilliant! Whoever thought it up, it’s wonderful for all of us – invigorating and different and lovely. I hope you will enjoy it.”

Nothing ever goes to plan with Corrie weddings and the latest is no exception. Dennis left the Street in 1968 but, when he returned in 2011, he and Rita were soon flirting like teenagers again. They now plan to marry 48 years after they first met.

However, loan shark Rick Neelan (Greg Wood), who paved the way for the demise of barmaid Tina McIntyre’s father Joe, has other ideas – and kidnaps Rita.

Not since she was trapped in the tram-wrecked Kabin has TV’s favourite newsagent been in so much peril. It’s nice to see Rita has finally got the right man.

“At last!” agrees Knox, who proceeds to show me a series of ring boxes. “Having played this part for over 40 years, I’ve had several engagement rings,” the Oldham-born actress explains, showing each in turn, from Len’s to the one from Ted Sullivan. Her latest used to belong to Dennis’ mum, Elsie Tanner.

“They have no value,” explains Knox. “I kept them because I feel the guardian of the character.”

She was hands-on with Rita’s wedding, from her hat and shoes to the flowers, suits, top hats, and the dress. She’s is careful not to give too much away, but Rita gets to the altar in a very unusual way.

“After being nabbed and thrown about a bit, the dress survives simply because of ’a certain element’,” she says.

When Rick threatens to throw Rita into a canal, you might imagine a stunt person would step in, but Knox was having none of it. “That is me!” she exclaims. “That was very scary, the manhandling. It was right at the edge of this water. Ooh, it was awful.”

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