The Green Kangaroo - Unique Wedding Invitations and Stationery

Over the weekend, TGK launched our brand new Website. We are so pleased (isn’t it pretty?)! But the main drive behind this change was our desire to make navigating the site even easier for you, our customers.

Among the new features you’ll see are a streamlined navigation system and better visibility of more products at one time. There’s also a super handy search feature within each product section allowing you to quickly narrow down your selections to see exactly what you’re looking for.

We’re still making changes to many of the “back end” functions, so bear with us as we continue “moving in” over the next few weeks. If you come across something that doesn’t work, or doesn’t make sense, we hope you’ll let us know! Feel free to leave a comment here on the blog or send us a message directly through the Website to alert us to the issue. Honorary beta-testers will be rewarded! We look forward to your feedback and to serving you better with our new Website!

We love the free Wedding Websites on WeddingWire so much that we wanted to be sure to let you know when our new designs hit the site! You can now incorporate TGK’s “Josie,” “Floral Decor,” “Bird & Blossom,” “Sunflower,” “Hydrangea,” and “Fall Leaves” motifs into your own free wedding website to create a fully customized, one-of-a-kind Web presence. Just as with our invitations, each Website motif is available in numerous colors so you can make it your own.

Let us know if you choose a TGK WeddingWire Website design – we’d love to feature you here on our blog!

It’s officially bridal show season! And while TGK participates in quite a few shows in our area, we are particularly pumped about this week’s Wedding Secrets event at the gorgeous Brier Creek Country Club here in Raleigh.

The organizers have tapped into a great concept of having the participating vendors do more than just promote their services. They are putting on a full-fledged seminar where brides will get the real inside skinny on the “secrets” for successfully working with wedding vendors – such as getting the most out of every penny in your wedding budget!

So TGK’s design consultant, Lori, is busy putting together her “insiders’” presentation on everything from the latest trends in wedding stationery to tips on questions brides should be asking. Some of the Raleigh area’s most prestigious, seasoned wedding professionals will be in attendance – lucky brides!

If you’re in the NC region, I highly recommend you make plans to attend this event! For online registration information (and hey, a chance to meet the fabulous Lori in person!), visit Brier Creek’s Web site here. Leave us a comment to let us know if you’re planning to attend … there just may be a special prize for blog readers who comment and come to the event!

We were thrilled to learn a few months ago that TGK had been chosen as one of the University of Georgia’s Top 100 “Best Bulldog Businesses.” And at the awards banquet this weekend, we learned that TGK ranks #14 out of those 100 amazing companies, in terms of our rate of growth! Color us green with excitement!

Melissa and Kristen had big plans to travel down to Atlanta to attend the super fancy awards gala, but were sidelined by the snowstorm that hit North Carolina. So I, their intrepid blogger (and fellow UGA alum), braved the nasty Atlanta drizzle to attend in their stead. Oh, what a rough life I lead …

My sweet husband and I were wined and dined at the fancy Intercontinental Hotel among such illustrious alums as the CEO of AFLAC and the founders of numerous innovative corporations, not to mention a few old faces we hadn’t seen in years. (My husband was most impressed by the appearance of UGA Athletic Director Damon Evans, naturally.)

Unfortunately, my bum camera failed to capture any of the Kodak moments, but we will post some of the “official” event photos once we can get our hands on them. Until then, we’ll leave you with this quote from the University’s press release on the event:

“The Green Kangaroo should be congratulated for being among the first selection of Bulldog 100 companies,” said Deborah Dietzler, Executive Director of the UGA Alumni Association. “With more than 400 nominees representing businesses from throughout the United States, it is a true achievement to be selected.”

TGK’s designs are now available through Wedding Wire to customize their free wedding Web sites! Wedding Wire marks the second site that TGK is partnering with in offering brides handy, free, personalized wedding tools. (Our designs are also featured on OneWed.com, another site we love!)

Frankly, we think it’s just plain cool that brides can publish a free wedding Web site that coordinates with their overall wedding and stationery theme. (And the fact that Wedding Wire places The Green Kangaroo’s designs right next to the Martha Stewart Weddings designs has only gone to our heads a teeny little bit. Promise!) Check out the sites and let us know what you think!

Since we do such a large portion of our business online, we really enjoy opportunities to get out of our studio and meet brides and other wedding vendors. And this past New Year’s weekend, we did just that! The Green Kangaroo exhibited at The Wedding Show down the road in Raleigh and, as expected, we had a wonderful time schmoozing with brides-to-be and their contingencies of mothers, maids, and even the occasional groom. Not to mention the amazing group of vendors in attendance, like Southern Bride & Groom Magazine and Katie Hamister Photography. Top notch all the way!

Photo is courtesy of the amazing Christobal Azul of Azul Photography.

Our design team is a multi-talented bunch, and the exhibit booth they have created perfectly captures the TGK style of fun, whimsical sophistication. We thought our blog readers may enjoy a little behind-the-scenes peek at our fancy exhibit space!

We’ll keep you posted on other wedding shows we’ll be visiting throughout the season. Who knows? We may even have some special prizes for blog readers who stop by our booth at the next event!

Just before Thanksgiving, The Green Kangaroo was named to the University of Georgia’s inaugural 100 Fastest Growing Bulldog Businesses list! TGK co-founder, Melissa Windley, and her husband are proud alumni of the University of Georgia, making this tremendous honor doubly sweet for our in-house Bulldawg!

TGK was selected out of more than 400 companies nominated from across the U.S. and had to meet a specific set of criteria to even be considered for this distinction. Though we think we’re proudest of the recognition that our company operates in “a manner consistent with UGA’s ‘Pillars of the Arch’ character statement” reflecting wisdom, justice, and moderation.

We find out at a fancy awards banquet in January just where TGK falls in the ranking. For now, Melissa’s got everyone in the office learning how to call the dawgs in celebration of this honor!

Melissa and Kristen, creating a one-of-a-kind MSW magazine cover at the event’s photo stand.

If you follow The Green Kangaroo on Facebook or Twitter, you already know that our Head Kangaroos, Kristen and Melissa, traveled to New York City earlier this week to attend the 15th anniversary celebration of the venerable Martha Stewart Weddings. K somehow convinced M that they should tear themselves away from the rigors of the TGK studio, all in the name of “industry research and networking” (wink wink!) at New York’s inestimable Plaza Hotel.

It was an exciting chance to rub elbows with some of the most well known names in the wedding biz and there were many celebrity sightings to be sure. But the best part of the evening was surely soaking in the ambiance that only a Martha Stewart event can provide!

Guests were greeted with an impressive display of banners featuring some of the magazine’s most popular covers from over the years. As they ventured through the party, they were serenaded by three different bands ranging from jazz and electric violins to good old rock and roll.

The dessert buffet was like something out of a candy-coated dream! Carrying out the pale pink-and-gold color scheme was a delectable selection of bite-sized snacks including ice cream sandwiches, pink-and-gold candy bars, and even itty-bitty pumpkin donuts! The savory buffet featured miniature grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque cups with pizza dipping straws. K&M loved the inventiveness of the food displays.

Guests had plenty of seating options as the event designers brought in these cushy white sofas and ottomans with matching low tables, supplied by the lovely ladies at Taylor Creative Inc. Bringing in seating beyond standard-issue venue tables and chairs is a fun solution for brides looking to create a hip, modern feel at their reception venue! K&M lounged like VIPs!

If you want to see even more photos of some of the event’s amazing scenes, check out the MSW Bride’s Guide blog and photo gallery.

Wedding Aces is a fabulous new online community dedicated to – you guessed it! – everything about weddings! It’s made up of some of the best vendors in the industry who provide scads of valuable advice, information, and ideas relating to their particular specialty. TGK’s inimitable owners, Kristen and Melissa, were recently asked to join the team as the “stationery and invitations” Aces, and TGK is supremely honored to be a member of such an elite cadre of wedding professionals! (You can read their introductory entry here. We are so proud!)

One of the coolest features about the site is that brides can write in specific questions to be answered by the Aces themselves and other members of the community. The site is updated constantly with new material from the panel of Aces and it’s super-easy to browse with its simple category-style organization.

We think you’ll love this exceptional resource for wedding planning! Please visit the site and let them know how happy you are to have Kristen and Melissa as contributors. And let us know if you have questions that you’d like to see them answer on the site – or here on the blog!

Calling all Fans & Followers!

The Green Kangaroo is now on Facebook and Twitter and we’re preparing a special promotion, just for those of you who become a TGK fan or follower! (Just click on one of the links or images to the left and become a fan/follower.) We’ll post the details on how to receive a special discount just on Facebook and Twitter on August 17th, so be sure to sign up before then. We’ll be planning additional special promotions and discounts for our followers down the road, and you can keep up with what’s happening at TGK. We’ll see you there!

Kristen, Melissa “O”, and I had tons of fun at the National Stationery Show in NYC this year. We walked the show in search of unique wedding favors and other cool items to complement our collection of wedding invitations. We even had our “mug” shots taken while checking out some custom coffee mugs. And because Melissa “O” has quite the sweet tooth and kept stopping at all the booths with candy, we were introduced to Oh, Sugar! – and we will soon be creating cookie & candy filled wedding favor bags to match our custom invitation designs. Yummy!

We stayed at the Affinia Hotel, which was (thankfully) conveniently located next door to Dunkin Donuts and only four blocks from the Javits Center (where the show is held). And . . . since no trip to New York is complete without a fine dining experience, we opted for dinner at Bobby Flay’s famous Mesa Grill – everything was delightful, especially the Chocolate + Dulce De Leche Layer Cake with Tres Leches Icecream! I am looking forward to our next trip already!