The Green Kangaroo - Unique Wedding Invitations and Stationery

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!

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!

Now that our holiday shopping is almost done, we’re all feeling a little light in the pocketbook! So we thought it would be appropriate to highlight one of our Frugal Collection wedding invitations this month. Brides on a budget LOVE this collection that offers wedding invitations with a custom, designer look but with the option of a few less frills to keep the cost down.

The Circles & Dots Invitation, shown here in Aqua and Lime ink, is all about fun, contemporary, clean styling. We love the detail of the single-letter monogram and the bold use of color. This bride chose a post card style for her reply card, which is a hot trend!

All of our Frugal Collection invitations include:

• A choice among paper colors, fonts, and two ink colors,

• One matching accessory/reception card, printed on 1 side,

• Matching reply card and envelope (or reply post card), with return address printed on the front in black ink,

• Inner / outer envelope set, with return address printed on the outer envelope in black ink,

• One proof of each item ordered.

Dogwood Wedding Invitation shown in Thyme ink on White paper.

One of the most exciting moments for a bride-to-be is checking the mailbox and receiving the first guest reply card. Despite all prior planning and activity, this is an event that signals the wedding day is right around the corner!

But once the responses are counted, rarely does a bride want to recycle these small treasures that often feature funny notes or sweet sentiments from guests. Rather than relegating your reply cards to a box in the attic, get creative with ways to preserve and display these fun tokens that will provide happy memories long after the wedding day is done.

Crafty brides might incorporate the cards into a wedding scrapbook. Or take the idea a step further and visit a bookmaking site to turn your reply cards into a one-of-a-kind coffee table book. And speaking of coffee tables, mod podge-ing the reply cards to the top of a reclaimed tabletop and covering with a piece of glass will create an eclectic furniture piece for the newlywed abode.

The possibilities are limitless! How have you gotten creative with your reply cards and other wedding memorabilia?

If you’re looking for a whole lot of inspiration for the look, feel, style, and COLORS of your wedding, look no further than The Perfect Palette blog. This online gem is a treasure trove of design ideas to be sure. But it also gives brides a super simple starting point for thinking about their own wedding style based solely on the colors you like. It’s a great way to get the gears spinning and gives those of us who don’t live, eat, and breathe wedding style a basic touchstone for figuring out how to create a one-of-a-kind event from scratch.

We love the author’s thoughtful examination of the meanings behind an array of beautiful colors with incredibly helpful links to palettes pairing those basics with every color combination you can imagine! Oh, how I wish this tool was around when I got married …

Drum roll please! TGK designs are now available on OneWed!

We love the trend of creating a unique, personalized website to be your “online concierge” for your guests. Face it, these online tools make it much easier for busy brides to stay connected with friends and family throughout the crazy wedding planning process. Aunt Rosie can check your site for detailed updates on the plans, to triple-check the name of the hotel, and to scan through photos of you and your honey, (and maybe check out pics of the future in-laws!).

These days, brides have tons of choices for FREE wedding websites and TGK just partnered with OneWed, which offers more than 70 unique designs. They also have piles of helpful tools to make the design process super simple for those of us who aren’t techies. The photo above shows the first set to “go live” on their site. You’ll find more TGK-exclusive designs unveiled on OneWed, in the coming weeks. Go check ‘em out, and let us know if you select a TGK-designed site motif. We’d love to feature YOUR wedding Web site in a future blog!

Pocket invitations have become one of the top trends in wedding stationery. And with good reason! The tidy pocket design neatly and stylishly holds all of the elements of your wedding invitation package, keeping those maps, reception cards, reply cards, and envelopes organized and orderly so that guests don’t misplace key information.

Our Claudia Pocket is perhaps our most popular pocket style. Brides love the no fuss, streamlined look of this piece, which features the invitation on one side and the pocket for accessory items on the reverse. Simple, and beautiful!

Shown above in tropical pink and black ink on white paper with a black matte pocket, the Claudia – just like all of our designs – can be customized with any combination of motifs, papers, inks, fonts, or embellishments you can dream up! Here’s the same invitation, customized in a whole new way: The Claudia Pocket in chocolate and marigold on a chocolate matte pocket with our sunflower motif.

These days, it’s not at all uncommon for a good portion of the wedding guest list to include out-of-towners who will be traveling some distance to attend your big day. And every good hostess wants to do her best to streamline event logistics for her guests. But we meet lots of brides who fret that including maps, hotel information, and other pertinent details along with the wedding invitation will diminish the beauty and formality of their carefully selected stationery design. Not so! Just take a look at some of these maps we’ve created in the past that perfectly fit into the overall style and special tone of the wedding invitation suite. We think you’ll agree that you don’t have to trade practicality for loveliness!

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.

Reply Card for the Amanda Couture Wedding Invitation

Believe it or not, back in the good old days, wedding invitations did not come accompanied with multiple accessory cards, such as the reply card. In fact, traditional etiquette still dictates that the proper manner in which to respond to a formal invitation is by handwriting your acceptance or regrets on your own formal stationery.

While we do appreciate the mannerliness of this traditional etiquette standard, the advent of the modern reply card has certainly made it easier for brides to ascertain an accurate head count. And if providing a reply card provides a helpful service to your guests, we think that’s the most mannerly thing to do!

But the typical format of this accessory piece often poses questions, especially for couples who haven’t seen a formal reply card until they get married themselves. The gold standard for reply cards is a version of:

M ………………………………………………….

……… Declines with Regret

The “M” provides a prompt for the guest to write either “Mr,” “Mrs,” or “Miss” and then their name and the names of any guests.

Now, at The Green Kangaroo, our customers tend to enjoy making their invitations their own! And we’ve created dozens of variations on the reply card; some falling in line with the “traditional” standard, and many offering entirely new takes on this accessory piece. To give you some inspiration, here are just a few examples of the creative ways some of our customers have approached the reply card:

1. A New Approach to Classic Etiquette

“Please respond by June 7, 2009” … followed by a blank space for guests to fill in with their own personal note.

A nod to the truly traditional handwritten-note approach, but with the modern twist of providing the note card and envelope for the guests!

2. Adapting Modern Manners

........... Will Not Attend

Eliminating the “M” and getting a bit more to the point is another popular style.

3. Getting Creative!

Replacing the staid “Will / Will Not Attend” with more creative language is a new trend that allows the couple to express their individuality.

............ Will be the first one out on the dance floor!

............ Will be missing all the fun

Next week, we’ll be providing you with a few insider-savvy tips and ideas to consider when designing your reply cards!

After featuring our new Preppy Monogram invitation on the blog last week, we started thinking about the questions that crop up when monogramming is considered for wedding stationery. Brides often wonder if it is appropriate (or even bad luck!) to use the new married initial prior to the wedding ceremony. Traditional etiquette considers the use of the bride’s new last name taboo until the vows have been read, but this is one area where we tend to disagree with the traditionalists.

In fact, one of our most frequently requested designs is this watermark monogram, which features a beautiful single initial behind the bolder text of the invite. The use of this design element is quite subtle, yet adds a striking level of sophistication that has made it increasingly popular with brides.

Since the purpose of the wedding is to celebrate the union of the bride and groom, we find it perfectly acceptable to use the couple’s future shared last name as a backdrop to the formal wedding invitation. After all, it IS the groom’s current last name, and the bride’s maiden name will be prominently listed on the invitation as well. We think incorporating the monogram as a design element in the wedding stationery is a lovely way to celebrate the upcoming union!

Of course, if you decide you don’t want to chance a visit from the bad-luck wedding fairies, there are alternative ways to use monogramming! The bride and groom’s first initials can be used alone for pre-wedding printing – and transformed with the addition of the new, shared last name for post-wedding/reception décor. You can check out some of the infinite monogram possibilities here in our monogram style gallery for inspiration – or let us know how you’d like to see your monogram!

Our Facebook fans already know how much we ADORE the Style Me Pretty Web site, which is aptly tagged as “obsessions for brides.” Yes, some of us are obsessed!

And when one of our obsessions takes notice of lil’ ole’ us on their uber-popular bridal blog, we get pretty giddy! You will adore browsing through the photos of this exceptionally elegant wedding at the Biltmore Estate. And yes, we helped Rachel and Dan tie their robin’s egg blue-and-brown color scheme into a to-die-for suite of Josie-themed invitations and table stationery. You can see some gorgeous shots of how they incorporated the stationery as a key décor element – a strategy we naturally adore! Using table stationery within your decoration plans really gives brides a big “bang for the buck” by making items you already have perform double duty. This couple was such a treat to work with – they chose North Carolina for their wedding after all!

Biltmore Wedding Photos courtesy of: Michael Oppenheim Photography

(Special thanks to Barb Bobick for your super sweet comment about TGK on the Style Me Pretty blog!)