Groom Gloom? June 29, 2010

So, you’ve thrown rose petals on the ground, got on one knee and finally asked your girl to marry you. While she’s crying, flailing up and down, dangerously close to giving you a concussion, you ask yourself….now what?

Enter Staggered, a site dedicated to the men out there who are just a little bit lost in the whirlwind of wedding planning. This site offers great tips strictly for men including how to write the perfect speech, how to solve that sunburn emergency when you wake up on your lawn after the bachelor party, and tons more. There are contests to win free champagne and other goodies and you can talk to real live husbands who have lived through their wedding planning instead of your best man who is constantly telling you to run away. Check it out!

Staggered offers a unique look on the male’s perspective for wedding invitations. While, some of his points are valid in the April 26 post, I have to disagree on some of his content. The husband-to-be has a strict bottom line of “the wording doesn’t matter. No one will remember your invites. No one ever does.”  

Yes, if you choose a boring white or cream cardstock with plain text and a plain, unlined envelope, no one will remember the custom wedding invitation set that you spent weeks creating by yourself or with a stationer.

Are you really that traditional of a groom? Have you gone the way of mass marketing your wedding so your invitation does not truly represent you and your fiancé? Get the white wedding invitation with white envelope then!

The real question is why spend weeks designing something that people will not remember? If you chose a truly custom Luscious Verde wedding invitation you certainly will be remembered. Always. A Luscious Verde invitation sets the tone of the wedding. Is it going to be a black tie event and a posh downtown hotel?  One held in an airplane hangar? A country barn setting? What about a carnival theme? Only your invitation can let your guests know what kind of fabulous wedding event to expect. You (well, porably not you, but your fiance at least) are spending all of that time, energy and money meticulously planning out the perfect wedding for yourselves and your loved ones.  Sure, elements of white and cream are appropriate, but don’t be shy! Jazz up your invitation set, express your unique personalities and let your wedding invitation set the tone of your sedding ahead of time.

I also enjoyed the earlier April 13 post where the author is calm and collected about his wedding invitations, offering useful advice. But I do I feel that he kind of cracked under the pressure of painstakingly doing his own invitations.  Find a local stationer (preferably one that carries Luscious Verde products) and have them fuss over your set so you can relax!

– Wendy @ L.V.

Those Crazy Aussies… June 22, 2010

Check out this wedding reception where the bride and groom surprised their guests with a Michael Jackson impersonator who also taught a few willing guests a dance routine of Thriller. The scary zombies really make the cake stand out and I love the bride shimming-a-way in back. Thanks toPolka Dot Bride for the photo!

The Kids, They Love Us June 7, 2010

More fun goodness from our friends in the Solon, Ohio, school district. Love it!

Purple Haze May 18, 2010

Purple is everywhere here at Luscious Verde! Everyday, we are bombarded with all things purple. When Pantone announced earlier this year that the hot new color was a nice vibrant teal we were all excited to abandon the purple haze and jump into a Tiffany’s teal frame of design. While teal hasn’t made a full run on purple, we are still excited to see all of the unique creations people come up with. From weddings to Bat Mitzvahs we use our amethyst, beet, orchid, violet, concord and eggplant papers in many ways. The picture shown is a full on purple paradise for the young Bat Mitzvah. Wendy, one of the co-owners, has taken the paper color beet under her wing as her new favorite color. So brace yourself, purple is here to stay. Combine it with our Kiwi paper for a dramatic effect or our new mushroom paper which is a light gray with texture for a more subtle effect.

– Megan @ L.V.

Sight Mag May 11, 2010

As the summer wedding season quickly approaches, I wanted to share a super cute site focused on do-it-yourself projects and inspirations. Nonpareil Magazine was created by two amazingly creative artists. Maddy Hague of Inspired Bride and Kristen Magee of Paper Crave are the masterminds behind several creative websites. I especially love their little tags and the his/her/their cake badges. We always encourage our retailers and end consumers to be creative and think outside of the box with their invitation set. Happily, we’ve custom created everything from a Moulin Rouge-themed Bat Mitzvah to a pair of snow skis for a corporate event. The invitation does set the tone of your wedding, so make it a good one!

– Megan @ L.V.

Yo Momma May 5, 2010

Thanks again to Vickie Kendra, teacher of young-’uns at Solon City Schools, for sending us these pictures of our donated paper in action. If your non-profit is interested in getting some scrap paper love, just give us a shout-out at info@lusciousverde.com.

– Rob @ L.V.

Paper Cuts April 26, 2010

Sometimes I run into something cute/funny/pretty/inspiring and simply lovely and I just have to share it with you. Have you ever flipped through the pages of Real Simple and found yourself staring at the designs made out of paper? The artist, Matthew Sporzynski, is one amazing paper constructionist — I would love that title for myself. I’ve been a bit obsessed with him over the last few years.  He has built a career out of constructing the most beautiful paper scenes. It is definitely on the same level as painting any static image and giving that image tremendous depth. His paper work is intricate down to the ruffled detailing of a bed sheet to the little dusting of cocoa on hot chocolate. It is truly awe-inspiring. We see beautiful paper cuts everyday here at Luscious Verde, but maybe it just never sinks in to how detailed our work is. It’s looking at Matthew’s pages in Real Simple to really reflect on what we do here and the level at which we create.

– Megan @ L.V.

Rock and Roll April 19, 2010

April is the month of rock and roll inductees. Even though the event usually takes place in a much cooler city then Cleveland, we can still take the credit for housing the rock hall. Located downtown, this vast building has layers of goodness. Top-secret performances are always happening for 10 bucks or less. I happened upon the Staple Singers and a Jackson 5 tribute band during a weird rock/gospel/pop/rhythm-and-blues kind of week. This year ABBA gets the big entry key, as well as the Stooges. A shirtless Iggy Pop is never hard to say no to, and Abba is a love ‘em/hate ‘em kind of group. (Although I’m pretty confident that everyone secretly loves ABBA.) Musicians influence design almost as much as designers themselves. Take a look at these two musically inspired invitations.