The Green Kangaroo - Unique Wedding Invitations and Stationery

In today’s world, properly addressing an invitation is no longer as simple as adding “Mr. and Mrs.” in front of your guests’ names. Many women hold professional titles or elect to keep their maiden name upon marriage. Couples live together without ever getting married. It can be a challenge to know the appropriate manner for addressing many of the guests on your list!

I thought I would share with you a portion of a wonderful article from a business etiquette guru, Lydia Ramsey, who concisely outlines the correct way for addressing nearly every situation I could think of. If you come up with something that isn’t covered here, let us know. We love to get to the bottom of these thorny etiquette issues!

Excerpted from Lydia Ramsey’s Greeting Card Etiquette article published on The Sideroad.

• Always write titles on the envelope. The card or invitation goes to “Mr. John Smith,” not “John Smith.” It is addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith,” instead of “John and Mary Smith.”

• When you address a couple, use titles, rather than professional initials. It’s “Dr. and Mrs. John Smith,” not “John Smith, M.D. and Mrs. Smith.”

• If both the husband and the wife are doctors, you write, “The Doctors Smith.” However, if they use different last names, you address the envelope to “Dr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Brown.” The husband’s name is placed first.

• If the wife is a doctor and the husband is not, you send your invitation to “Mr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Smith.”

• Try to get it all on one line. When the husband has an unusually long name, the wife’s title and name are indented and written on the second line:

The Honorable Jonathon Richardson Staniskowsky and


Mrs. Staniskowsky

• When a couple is not married and share a mutual address, their names are written on separate lines alphabetically and not connected by the word “and.”

Ms. Mary Brown


Mr. John Smith

• When the woman outranks her husband, her name is written first. It’s “Major Mary Smith and Lieutenant John Smith.”

• Note: The man’s name is always written first unless the wife outranks him or if the couple is unmarried and her last name precedes his alphabetically. So much for “Ladies first.”

Photo courtesy of Temecula Winegrowers Association’s Web site.

Many of TGK’s invitation designs have been inspired by brides searching for something entirely unique. Our design team loves nothing more than taking a customer’s vision and transforming it into a custom motif that fully reflects the bride’s personality or the spirit of the event. Such was the case when we created our Vineyard Square Pocket invitation! A couple was planning their wedding at a winery in the gorgeous Temecula region of California and was looking for a wedding invitation that perfectly captured the venue’s rustic style.

Working with the bride’s preference for a pocket-style invitation, our designers incorporated the grape vine and wine bottle motifs, showcased here on the invitation’s RSVP postcard. And the Vineyard Square Pocket was born! We’ve had numerous brides since then use the Vineyard Square Pocket as inspiration for their own wedding invitations.

Wedding venues have sparked quite a few of our invitation designs! Do you have an idea for a one-of-a-kind motif or graphic for your wedding? Most of our customers are surprised to learn that our custom design fees start at just $125. Just give us a call or send us an email to get started. After all, custom wedding invitations are at the heart of what we do best!

Last night, a movie called The Cove was awarded an Oscar for “Best Feature Documentary” film. It’s a gripping examination of a highly secretive annual dolphin massacre that takes place off the coast of Japan. The film was produced by the Oceanic Preservation Society, a non-profit organization founded by filmmakers, photographers, and eco-activists.

As animal lovers ourselves, we were astonished by the movie’s revelations about this horrific industry. So in support of OPS, we are launching a special “blue” March promotion! The Green Kangaroo will donate 5% of all blue sales for the remainder of March to the Oceanic Preservation Society.

Help build our fund by ordering something “blue” – literally! Blue orders contain one or more of the following:

• blue ink

• blue paper

• blue ribbon

• blue embellishments

We’ll feature some of the most lovely blue orders on the blog throughout the month, to provide you with inspiration! Just remember, to qualify for this promotion, orders must be submitted before March 31, 2010.

Dreaming of an elegant coastal wedding this summer? Our Sea Oats motif is the perfect complement! Pictured below in chocolate and turquoise ink on a rich chocolate shimmer pocket paper, this design is sure to set the stage for your seaside wedding.

Accessory options include a direction card with custom map and reply card. (They slip handily into the “clutch” pocket on the reverse of the invitation.)

Complete the look with our sea grass themed Ribbon Wedding Program, Sea Grass Menu, matching table cards and place cards. Shown here in chocolate and latte ink on antique white paper, with blue iris satin ribbon and french blue shimmer layer paper!

*Special thanks to Azul Photography here in Cary, NC for capturing that beautiful shot of our Coastal designs at a recent bridal show!

Our design team has been busybusybusy cooking up some fabulous new motifs to keep up with what our customers are clamoring for! We had such a tremendous response to our vintage-chic Bliss motif on our holiday cards and Bliss save-the-dates that we decided to incorporate this popular design into a new wedding invitation. And to make this announcement even more exciting, the Bliss wedding invitation has been added to our growing Frugal Collection, which is a favorite with brides on a budget!

Shown here in marigold and chocolate ink on champagne shimmer paper, the Bliss wedding invitation is the perfect blend of old and new, with its classic, flouncy blossom and modern use of color and off-center type.

We are also loving it in turquoise and cherry red ink as shown here …

... and in aqua and chocolate ink, seen here on the accessory card and RSVP postcard, items that are both included with each Bliss wedding invitation! How’s that for “frugal”?

Just in time for summer weddings, TGK’s designers have completely revamped the Hibiscus wedding invitation suite with stunning new artwork!

The Hibiscus wedding invitation in turquoise and cherry red ink, on diamond shimmer paper.

This bold, exotic tropical flower is the perfect theme-setter for elegant summer weddings, bringing to mind hot, bright days and steamy, sultry nights. Summer brides looking for a sophisticated way to incorporate just a splash of color will appreciate the Hibiscus wedding invitation’s clean lines and white background set off by the colorful hibiscus flower border. We also love how the designer incorporated the serene, botanical feel of this motif while letting the invitation’s style showcase summer brightness at its best!

Stay tuned for more new designs featured on the blog! In the meantime, check out a few more customization possibilities for the Hibiscus wedding invitation ... the options are endless!

The Hibiscus wedding invitation shown in lime and aqua ink on heavy white paper.

The invitation’s RSVP postcard shows two possibilities for incorporating chocolate and tropical pink inks.

Just in time for spring and summer weddings, our design team has unveiled their newest creation: The Modern Calla Lily Wedding Invitation suite! Having carried lovely calla lilies in a few weddings myself (my favorite were the sweet miniature variety!), I love seeing these popular wedding flowers gracing a TGK design.

Several brides have recently requested calla lily wedding invitations, telling us that the ones they’d seen elsewhere were somewhat “tired” looking. (Let’s just say that when a bride describes something as looking like it came “out of the eighties,” it’s not exactly a compliment!) We decided to let these beautiful flowers inspire a fresh, modern design with a TGK flair!

The invitation and two accessory pieces are shown above in pewter and marigold ink for a sophisticated, subtle look. For the bride looking for a fresh, spring style with a burst of color, this motif in lipstick and chartreuse ink (shown below) delivers an entirely different option!

TGK is busy, busy! In the coming months we are participating in several bridal shows and we would LOVE for you to come and visit us!

We will be at The Carolina Inn Bridal Fair in Chapel Hill, NC on January 31. Want to drop by? We have a limited number of FREE TICKETS for the first few blog readers who post a comment! Be sure to leave your email address in your comment so we can contact you! (Tickets are first come, first served with a limit of 2 per commenter.)

The Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh, NC will host Wedding Secrets on February 18. This event is “a constructive seminar aimed to educate brides on everything you need to know before you say I DO.” TGK will be one of 10 vendors chosen to share behind-the-scenes tips on what you really need to know when planning your wedding. Be sure to register early for this one!

And on March 4 we will be at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, NC for Cary Magazine’s Elegant Weddings Gala!

We hope to see you at one (or all!) of these wonderful events!

We were super excited to learn this week that The Green Kangaroo has been chosen to receive the Bride’s Choice Award™ 2010 from WeddingWire! What an honor!

From WeddingWire:

“This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, and professionalism. The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means your past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected you to receive this honor.”

Visit TGK on WeddingWire and check out some of our reviews there. There is nothing more gratifying than satisfied customers! We’re blushing!

A big, green, hopping congratulations to Allyson S. who is the winner of last month’s Save-the-Date giveaway contest! Allyson captured the win with her blog comment telling us why she and her fiance are getting married in October:

“October is our favorite time of the year to be in North Carolina for SO many reasons – the colors of the leaves changing, the NC State Fair, apple cider, comfort food, Halloween, and the most amazing and comfortable weather ever! Considering that we are a military family and will be living overseas while we plan our wedding, its so nice to know that we can look forward to our special day, with our families, in our home state, in a beautiful venue and during our favorite time of the year!”

The Grace invitation in black ink, with black satin ribbon, and optional reception card.

Allyson tells us she’s been eyeing our Grace invitation for several months and is using her $300 credit towards this customizable wedding invitation. We can’t wait to see what personal design elements Allyson comes up with in making the elegant Grace invitation her own!

There is a lot going on in the studio this week! First, we have to alert our blog readers to our very limited time offer. Starting today, for 5 days only we’re offering super big, flat discounts on your orders!

From January 13th through 17th:

- Take $150 off your order of $1000 or more (coupon code TGK0110-150 at checkout)

- Take $100 off your order of $750 or more (coupon code TGK0110-100)

- Take $50 off your order of $500 or more (coupon code TGK0110-50)

Hurry, hurry! We know you made “getting organized for the wedding” your top resolution for the new year! This is our way of helping you kick that resolution into gear by getting those wedding stationery orders complete.

Also, be sure to check out Kristen and Melissa’s latest contribution to the Wedding Aces blog! They explore choosing a Cool Wedding Date (10-10-10 will be a popular one for this year!). We’ve done some creative invitations playing up eye-catching dates and would love to hear some of the neat dates our blog readers have chosen!

The Citrus Wedding Invitation’s printed envelopes, from our Frugal Collection.

You’ve figured out the complex nuances of wording your wedding invitation, and you’re ready to submit your order (finally!). And then you’re asked something you haven’t considered: What mailing address would you like printed for the invitation’s return address and for the reply card envelope?

Brides call us frequently for help with this question, wondering what is standard, appropriate, and if using Great Aunt Harriett’s address is (or is not) okay.

Typically, whomever is hosting the wedding is the one sending out the invitations, and therefore the one who’s address should appear as the return address on the envelope. For example, if the bride’s parents are the wedding’s hosts, the bride’s parents’ mailing address would appear as the return address.

However, practically speaking, the return address is used for the postal service to return the invitation if it is undeliverable. So it makes the most sense for the return address to be that of whomever will be handling getting a correct address for the guest and sending out a new invitation. This may be the wedding’s hosts, or may often be the bride herself – or even Great Aunt Harriett! Consider how you plan to manage the mailing of invitations and base your decision on what makes the most sense for you.

For your reply card envelopes (or reply postcards), the thought process is the same. Typically, whomever is hosting the wedding is the one receiving RSVPS, and therefore the one who’s address should appear on the response card envelopes. But again, the RSVP cards should be sent back to whomever will be keeping track of guest responses. Whether this is the bride, the groom, or another family member is entirely up to those planning the wedding!

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!

In today’s hectic and harried world, the simple courtesy of responding to an invitation seems to have, for many, fallen into the “optional” category. Such an oversight may be merely an annoyance when you’re hosting an informal weekend barbeque. But for an event the size and expense of a wedding, you’ll find that getting an accurate headcount is a necessity; both for finalizing your contracts with your vendors as well as for ensuring the smooth progress of the entire event.

Etiquette (which is a fancy word for “common courtesy!”) suggests that it is appropriate to respond to an invitation the day it is received, or at least within a few days. Knowing that few people follow this guideline, most couples opt to put a “reply by” date on their wedding invitation response cards. This strategy not only offers guests a gentle sense of urgency, but also provides the hosts with a clear date for when it is appropriate to begin contacting guests who have not replied. Be sure to set this date a few days ahead of the deadline for providing the caterers and other vendors with your final guest count, to give yourself time to track down those guests you haven’t heard from.

(And yes, it is perfectly appropriate to call or email guests who haven’t responded to your invitation in a timely manner. With a bit of finesse, this contact can be handled politely – and you can secure a more accurate guest count!)

The Abby invitation and reply card, in black ink.

One tip we like to offer our customers is to assign each invited family a number on your personal copy of the guest list. Lightly pencil these corresponding numbers in a tiny back corner of each reply card when mailing the wedding invitations. This way, if a guest returns the reply card, but forgets to write their name on it (this happens more often than you’d think!), you’ll have a sneaky secret for checking whose reply card you’ve received.

Knowing in advance that you’ll spend some time following up with “deadbeat” wedding invitees may help take the sting out of this irritating task. In the meantime, maybe we should start a Facebook campaign to change the general lazy attitude towards RSVPs?

Sure there’s a lot going on around the holidays, but there’s still something enticingly romantic about tying the knot around a significant holiday, such as Christmas or New Year’s. Incorporating your wedding theme into the glamour and giddy excitement already abounding in the air can add just the right touch of magic and whimsy to make your day extra special. As we enter Christmas week, we thought we’d give you a little holiday-inspired inspiration for wintery wedding designs. Ho ho ho!

The Snowflake booklet program with Christmas-y Cherry Red and Lime ink and a Flame Red ribbon.

The Grace Save-the-Date postcard in Black and Pewter ink sets the stage for an elegant New Year’s Eve wedding.

The Meredith wedding invitation shown in Turquoise ink on Champagne Shimmer paper with our Snowflake motif is perfect for an early December wedding in chilly Pennsylvania!