The Green Kangaroo - Unique Wedding Invitations and Stationery

TGK’s Fall Leaves Motif on Programs, Table Cards, and Place Cards

Getting married in September or October? Then it’s time to hop to it and order your wedding day stationery! Wedding day stationery encompasses any printed items that will be used on the actual day of your wedding, such as your ceremony programs. But your options don’t end there! Depending on the type of event you are planning, these wedding day stationery items not only contribute to the overall beauty and style of your event, but can also serve as helpful cues for your guests.

~ Table Numbers

~ Place Cards

~ Menus

~ Favor Tags

~ Buffet / Food Labels

~ And labels for other items, such as the basket holding flower petals for guests to toss upon your departure, or marking the guest book and gift tables.

Coordinating your wedding day stationery with your wedding invitations and other design elements is a spectacular, budget-friendly trick for creating a cohesive, stylish event. So if you’re getting married this fall, shoot this “to-do” to the top of your list!

Lucky duck that I am, last weekend I got to attend my cousin’s oh-so-elegant beach-side wedding at the glorious Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Though the ceremony and reception site were decidedly formal, the beachy setting–and the couple’s laid-back style–called for casual, personal touches.

Upon entering the reception hall, we were invited to don a pair of flip flops, conveniently grouped by color and size in crisp white baskets. This display set the stage for an afternoon of dancing, merry making, and strolling the beachside lawn.

Guests choosing to wander outdoors to take in the coastal scene were met with baskets filled with straw fans and retro, 80’s style sunglasses.

The guests appreciated these funky and functional touches that doubled as wedding favors.

And check out this beautiful bride (my new cousin Tricia!) who pulled these fun ideas together and simply glowed radiance throughout the weekend!

As we’ve mentioned, Kristen and Melissa are frequently featured on the awesome Wedding Aces blog as experts in the wedding stationery realm. But did you know there are “Aces” on that blog with excellent advice, ideas, and inspiration on all subjects relating to weddings? We got such a giggle from this article, posted by Ace Chris Garrow, that we had to share it with our TGK blog readers!

Photo courtesy of Light Touch Professional Photography

He writes of an inspired couple that wanted to inject a little non-conformist fun into their wedding by providing guests with kitchsy temporary tattoos to commemorate the day. Not sure if I’d do this at my wedding or not … but it’s a super fun idea! What do you think? Check out Chris’ full article here on the Wedding Aces site.

One of our favorite “green wedding” trends is the smart idea of creating one-of-a-kind centerpieces out of several small potted plants that serve double-duty as favors for your wedding guests. We love the endless possibilities for customizing this trend to suit your individual wedding style! Here are some tips on working this idea to complement the tone of your wedding day.

1) Select a plant with meaning. “Floriography” is a time-honored tradition of associating flowers with nuanced meanings. When selecting the plants you’ll present to your guests, it can be fun to consider the message that flower will send.

A quick Internet search will turn up dozens of articles and “plant dictionaries” to help you decipher the language of flowers. Some appropriate wedding choices are the herb rosemary (for remembrance), pansies or violets (that tell friends they are in your thoughts), spearmint (for warm feelings), and bellflowers (for gratitude).

Use meaningful plants alone or in combinations to convey just the right tone. (Tip: Be sure to clue your guests in to the plants’ meanings! See #3 below…)

2) Perennials vs. Annuals. While any botanical gift can be considered “sustainable,” choosing a perennial plant (one that comes back year after year rather than dying after a single season) will truly give guests a memento to remember your wedding. Every time the plant blooms in the years to come, close friends will remember that flower in relationship to your blessed day.

3) Personalize it! Whether you select inexpensive, earthy terracotta pots or eclectic vintage tins to contain the floral gifts, add a personalized tag for a little pizzazz! Incorporate your new married monogram and the wedding date on one side. And don’t forget to provide guests with simple instructions for transplanting the favor at home.

Greetings from lovely Hilton Head Island! Yes, TGK’s intrepid blogger is making the most of my online status by blogging via the beach this week! And with the gorgeous weather, I am finding all sorts of inspiration for those upcoming summer weddings.

I love the idea of providing guests with flip flops for your beach wedding! This photo of the galvanized buckets with various standard flop sizes posted on coordinated stationery placards came from the Knot’s Wedding Obsessions blog. Place these buckets at the top of the boardwalk so guests can slip into easy beach shoes for a waterside ceremony or reception. And even if you’re not having a beachside wedding, any outdoor summer wedding would benefit from this fun, casual nod for guests to kick off their shoes, relax, and boogie on the dance floor! Best of all, they make a great take-home favor.

Oriental Trading has basic white flip flops for $4 a pair, but I’d hunt around at Wal-Mart and Old Navy for a deal. If your wedding isn’t until next summer, wait until the end of the season and see if you can find a real steal!

How to know what sizes to order? Ask your guests on the wedding reply card, of course! Chicken or fish? Size 7 or 11? Or to make it simpler, order a range of standard sizes with a few larger and smaller sizes thrown in for good measure. Flip flops are pretty forgiving! And are one of those small details that make weddings unforgettable.

April is here and The Green Kangaroo is ready for Spring! The weather is warming, flowers are blooming and wedding bells are ringing! We’re celebrating the warm up by giving away FREE note cards, place cards or favor tags with any Signature Invitation or Signature Pocket order!

Qualifying invitation orders placed between April 5 and April 30 are eligible for your choice of free matching note cards, place cards or favor tags! Simply make your selection in the “Design Extras” tab when you are customizing your order.

Hurry! This offer expires on April 30, 2010.

exclusions apply – see below

pictured above: Wildflower Bloom Place Cards and Wildflower Bloom Note Cards

One of our favorite harbingers of Spring is when the trees suddenly sport their bitty, bright, lime green buds. This nearly yellow green soon gives way to ever deepening shades of kelly, shamrock, and moss. As you may have guessed, here at The Green Kangaroo, we can wax poetic about shades of green for days! And weddings that incorporate green, whether with the barest hints of color or in bold pops of brightness, embrace the season’s freshness in an impactful, visual way.

Check out our latest inspiration board with a few fabulous ideas for greening up your wedding day.

Clockwise, from top: wedding cake with lime green hydrangeas, Garrison Designs; floral pattern favor boxes, Little Things Favors; The Green Kangaroo’s Cari wedding invitation with modern paisley motif in lime and caribbean blue ink; green empire waist dress from Jenny Yoo (photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings ); handmade mossy ring pillow, Martha Stewart Weddings; pink and green bouquets, Fresh Affairs; green strapless dress from After Six (photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings ).

Ahhh – there’s so much to look forward to in the new year! To provide some inspiration for this year’s weddings, we wanted to share this list that’s been circulating the Internet of the Top 10 Wedding Trends for 2010! (View the full article here on North Carolina wedding planner Erin McLean’s blog.) We’ll be blogging about some of these trends–and a few others!–in the coming weeks. Let us know what trends you’re seeing as you plan your wedding!

1. Focusing on Basics

10. “Fusion” of Still and Video Photography

We were intrigued when our Real Wedding bride, Stacie Reidling, told us about the photo booth she rented for their wedding reception. One of our favorite local DJs, Joe Bunn, has pioneered the photo booth concept in the North Carolina region and tells us that his customers have rave reviews. You can personalize the foto strips with the names of the bride and groom or a graphic design. And guests can either keep the full strip or, to create a special keepsake for the newlyweds, the strips can be split in half with one half being pasted into a scrapbook.

We’ve also seen brides adapt the photo booth concept for a more do-it-yourself feel (check out this Wedding Bee blogger’s super informative post on her photo booth). Keep in mind you have to provide your own photographer and equipment (separate from your event photographer) to effectively pull off the concept on your own, which can get expensive quickly. Most brides tend to opt for renting the booths through their deejays or photographers.

Whichever route you choose, providing props, such as wigs, hats, and funny glasses is a definite must to encourage your guests to let loose with these strictly candid pictures. Another great element is a small chalkboard for guests to use to incorporate messages to the bride and groom into the photos.

Every bride I know looks back at her own wedding album wishing there had been more candid pictures and more photos capturing the guests having a good time. Face it, a photographer simply can’t catch everything and everyone! The photo booth idea gives couples a unique glimpse into the moments of the wedding that they might not have been a part of.

(By the way, if you live in the North Carolina area, definitely give Bunn DJ Company a call! We have seen our share of deejays and Joe consistently delivers high energy, fun events … he rocks!)

Photo courtesy of www.bunndjcompany.com. Thanks, Joe!

Among the wonderful things that come with the summer and fall season – sunshine, bbqs, and vacations – there comes the popularity of weddings at wineries. And I couldn’t be happier!

There is something very romantic about getting married at a winery – not to mention the wonderful abundance of wine that accompanies the event. I was fortunate enough to attend a good friend’s wedding last weekend at Castoro Cellers, a winery in Paso Robles, California and it was everything a wedding in wine country should be. Beautiful vineyard at sunset, delicious pairings with cheese-filled appetizers and a relaxed, rustic atmosphere.

Of course, in the midst of all the wine tasting, I was on the look out for the wedding stationery – programs, menus, place cards, etc. Her invitation was so beautiful (designed by a friend of ours Ilana Dashe who currently works privately on custom invitation designs) that I knew the rest of her paper would be equally spectacular. Her invitation and custom wine monogram was contemporary, yet still held vintage qualities that are perfect for vineyard weddings – such as a cork paper band with a richly-textured deep red pocket. Since they are a very fun and casual couple, they opted for some personality in their invitation by using a mad-libs style reply postcard – which they featured at the wedding as part of their guest book!

The couple also loves music, so it was no surprise that they gave away personalized CD’s as their wedding favors. Instead of using the typical plastic CD cases or printed paper CD jackets, they got creative and incorporated their favor with their program – one side held the CD and the other held their program booklet – complete with the vineyard motif and held together by the cork paper band.

They also carried their monogram and vineyard theme through to the placecards, which were held in wine corks and arranged on a wine barrel.

This wedding was a blast – and I now have a couple bottles of wine to remember it…