Shopping Fun!!

LAST CHANCE HOLIDAY PORTRAIT MINI MARATHON

Please join us for this LAST CHANCE HOLIDAY PORTRAIT MINI MARATHON.

Saturday NOV 13th. We will be set up in the COURTYARD of Liga Photography's Winter Park studio. We are taking appointments and accepting Walk in's that day, From 9am to 4pm.

For 175 + tax you can get a 20 minute mini portrait session, 2 5 X 7's AND 15% off any PAPER COUTURE PRODUCTS (holiday cards and all other products, and Custom Framing or Ordering you do that day.   We will have ONSITE ordering  that day so clients, can see there images after the shoot, and order any holiday gifts, cards, etc. to take advantage of the 15% off offer.

The 2u Collection Invitations were in Susan Southerland's Segment Today!!!

Some of you probably saw this morning, One of our Favorite Wedding Planners-- Susan Southerland on WOFL FOX's Good Day! We are excited that she took invitations from The 2u Collection's portfolio to share with the viewing area!! Check out the video of the segment!  To read more about the invitations, read this previously posted blog on the wedding!

Mamma Mia and Paper Couture Give-Away!!

As many of you know, we recently started a new venture Paper Couture Stationery! As part of our promotion for this launch we are sponsoring many give-aways with our favorite vendors, bloggers, and brides!  


One of our Colleagues Amanda Keefer writes the most amazing blogs for modern moms.
The Mamma Mia Blog wanted to share with her readers this fun contest for $50.00 in Paper Couture Product!  Be sure to check it out, and don't forget to congratulate the winner!!


Jenny Neal of North Hollywood, CA


Congrats Jenny, we are happy to share this exciting new venture with you!

Congrats to our Dear Friend Lee!

This past Wednesday the 29th, we at The 2uCollection and Liga Photography got to celebrate the 10 year Anniversary of our dear friends at Lee Forrest Design and The Historic Dubsdread Ballroom. Lee Forrest and Cathie Ashby threw an AMAZING bash at the Historic Dubsdread Ballroom. The theme of "The Night the Looking Glass Shattered" transformed the Dubsdread Ballroom into a Wonderland filled with Ice Sculptures, The White Rabbit, Mad Hatters, and even a Giant Caterpillar!  (see above, Abby and I with one of the Guests of Honor!)

We were excited to celebrate 10 years of Luxurious Floral Decor and Historic Dubsdread Events. We wish them lots of luck in another 10 years of fabulous services!!

The 2u Collection & Paper Couture's Jennifer and Heather making the rabbit even LATER!

Liga Photography & Paper Couture's Abby Liga and Jerusha hanging with 

Tali from Solutions Bridal!

Amy Morelli and Cristy Nielson give John some Lovin'

The Full Team

Jerusha, Heather, Abby, Jennifer and Amy

Great Holiday GiveAway!

HOLIDAY STATIONARY GIVE AWAY!

We are so excited about this!! We are joining forces with The District for this great Holiday Deal!! If you don't know the work of Liga Photography Studios, please visit now!

Paper Couture is finally here!

After a lot of hard work and collaboration between The 2u Collection and Liga Photography our Paper Couture website is up and running. While this is only a beta test site we want to invite all of our top clients and vendors to visit and provide us with feedback! The site’s promotional campaign will officially launch on January 1, 2011. We want this venture to reflect the time and effort that went into creating both the website and the products!! Check out our company information and images below, and be sure to visit our store, 

If you find something you like, please use this 10% off coupon code!  LEBPC59

Paper Couture Stationery features the finest custom stationery for the discerning budget. And everything is limited edition, meaning every 6 months we will retire the designs and all new designs will take their places for that custom feeling.

• Everyday Stationery

• Baby and Engagement Announcements

• Greeting, Thank You and Save-the-Date Cards

• Wedding, Shower, Birthday Party and • Girls Night Out Invitations

• Much More!

Lawton's Printer, The Liga District and 2u Collection Successful Collaboration!

Most of you know that I handle the marketing & branding for Liga Photography and their Commercial/Portrait Division The Liga District.  Last year, we embarked on a fun project. Developing the brand and identity for The Liga District. I did the design and art direction, of course amazing photography by The Liga District, and we called on Kim of Lawton's Printer for the printing & production!! So we created a Launch Campaign, and as you see by the images it turned out great!!  It is Soft Touch Aqueous Coating with Spot UV.  It is one of the favorite pieces I have in my bag of experience, and I've very proud of it. Join me in congratulating Lawton's.. Among Many awards they received that night, the campaign I created for The Liga District won Best in Show for a Campaign.

See the press release below!

Lawton Printers Top Honors in Statewide Print Competition

Orlando, Florida, August 8, 2010 - Lawton Printers received awards for all entries at the 2010 annual Florida Print Awards, the printing industry’s largest and most prestigious statewide graphic arts competition. The Printing Association of Florida (PAF) presented the awards to elite Florida-based printing and graphic arts companies during a banquet on August 6, 2010 at the Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando.

With hundreds of entries from printing and graphic firms across the state, Lawton Printers received six Best of Category Awards, four Awards of Excellence and one Judges Awards, plus the prestigious Trophy for Best Process Color Printing and a Trophy for Best of Show Division I.

“Other companies can talk about quality – we know we produce outstanding quality. And it’s reflected in our wins,” said Kimberly Lawton Koon, President. “Our employees work very hard to give each project same attention and care, and winning the overall Best Four Color Process Printing trophy is very gratifying for all of us at Lawton Printers.”

George Ryan, president and CEO of PAF, added “year after year, the quality of the submissions for the Florida Print Awards increases, raising the standard to which they are held. It seems like we say this every year, but the judges remarked how they were, once again, impressed with the entries submitted by PAF members and also said this year’s competition was the toughest yet. Lawton Printers should be very proud of their outstanding accomplishments.”

The Florida Print Awards is the printing industry’s largest statewide graphic arts competition. It recognizes individuals, companies and organizations responsible for the creation or production of print communications. The competition promotes excellence in the industry and recognizes companies and individuals who produce the best in print media.

About Lawton Printers, Inc.

Lawton Printers, founded in 1900, is an award-winning offset and digital printer providing solutions for customer’s high quality marketing and print needs. Lawton combines state-of-the-art technology & equipment with the heritage of 5 generations of excellence.

To learn more about Lawton, please visit www.LawtonPrinters.com. To learn more about Printing Association of Florida, visit www.flprint.org.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the industry as a company that produces top quality, award winning materials,” said  Kimberly Lawton Koon, President. “The entire team at Lawton Printers works on every project as if it were an award-winning piece.”

For more about these awards and Lawton Printers, visit www.LawtonPrinters.com

2u Presents... Guest Blogger!! Susan Southerland!

Tips for Designing Custom Wedding Invitations

By Perfect Wedding Guide National Wedding Expert Susan Southerland

all images by Liga Photography

I am so honored to be posting as a guest blogger on The 2u Collection’s blog.  Amy is such a talented designer and had delighted me on many occasions with her drawings for The Susan Southerland Secret, but recently we were able to collaborate on a much more personal level.  Amy designed my wedding invitations.

I think the design really set the tone for our Colorado wedding.  Thanks to Jeffrey Stoner we added a fun insertion, a DVD narrated by my fiancé and me with photos of us from past Colorado trips.  We enjoyed sharing those memories with our invitees and for those who have never been to Colorado, it got them excited for the trip!

As a wedding planner, I am used to working with couples in creating their look for their wedding; I don’t want to say that I am detached, like a doctor, but helping them actualize their vision is far easier than creating one for myself.  So, today’s tips come directly from lessons I recently learned as a bride,  for those of you who will be creating your own invitation, or working with a designer like Amy to come up with your signature look.

1. Decide on a color scheme for the wedding.  It is much easier to design if you already know the overall look for the wedding.

2. Create an inspiration board for your wedding.  Look for photos of flowers, fonts and other images that convey the look and feel of your wedding.  

3. Share that inspiration board with your designer (and keep it by your side if you are the one doing the design work).  It will help her get a better understanding of your vision and it will help you stay focused.

4. Don’t micromanage your designer (and don’t be too hard on yourself).  If you are working with a designer allow her to be creative and share her ideas with you.  Those ideas can be tweaked and molded until they are perfect.  If you are designing, remember, creativity can come in spurts, so give yourself plenty of time and then relax and let the ideas flow.

5. Keep pen and paper by your bedside.  You never know when an amazing idea will hit you and you don’t want to lose any gems.

6. PROOFREAD.  You don’t want any errors on your invitations.  Make sure to check and re-check your work.  Give a proof to a friend and have her check it as well.

Remember, the invitation sets the tone for the wedding… so give them the attention that they deserve.

For more wedding planning tips, be sure to visit my blog at www.perfectweddingguide.com/wedding-blog.  You can also become a fan on Facebookand follow me on Twitter.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan

Announcing Gracie!

Some of you who know me know this year I took a few week trip to my hometown in Illinois, I had a niece born, so I went to spend some quality family time. Not everyone knows this about me, but I have a degree in Film and Photography, so I took my camera and it was off for some serious family time!  I got to know my niece by doing some new born photography of her. Sometimes she loved it, and others she didn't like so much.. (see the Tutu!)  But here is the creation that came from it. I created these mini accordion baby announcements. They have hardbound covers and close with magnets! They were a huge hit, and something that will be offered by me from now on!  The photography of the product is courtesy of Liga Photography and the Photography of the Beautiful Gracie is by yours truly.

I LOVE COLLABORATION...

So I know you all have heard of Abby Liga of Liga Photography.  

Well, we have some exciting news!

2ucouture.com 

CUSTOM INVITATIONS VS. READY MADE

All photography by Liga Photography, LLC.

We took advantage of the minimum order restrictions by using the same supplies over this brides full event. The above photo is her Wedding Package and the below package is her Bridal Shower Package.  As you can see we utilized the same supplies, while giving each piece it's own unique feel- and creating a cohesive look across all of her wedding related events.

So I am asked all of the time, Why are Custom Invitations More Expensive? Why go with a Custom Invitation over a Ready Made Invitation? I decided to write a blog to address these questions.. Please if you have any other questions you want answered- Comment and I will answer the best I can.

Why choose a Custom Invitation over a Ready Made Invitation?  I have found that the brides that seek me out for Custom Stationery do it because they want to add a Personal yet Unique flare to their wedding. I do my best to get to know my bride and groom and develop stationery for their event that reflects who they are as a couple, in addition to adding to the overall atmosphere and decor of their Wedding. 

This was the beginning, supplies started coming in and the studio became a mess. Glass Vases, and Candles everywhere.

Is a Custom Invitation for You? Do you want to set the tone for your wedding from the moment your guest receive their first communication from you? Do you want something Unique and Different that your guests have never seen before? Do you want your guests to feel your personal touch and love for them throughout the process of your event, from Save the Date, to Thank You Cards?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then a Custom Designed Invitation is for you.

What will a Custom Invitation Cost?  Is a Custom Designed Invitation Right for my Budget?  The Standard Rule is to spend 4% of your wedding budget on Stationery. This will help you figure out if a Custom Designed Invitation is right for you. Custom Designed Invitations usually start around $1,500 for approximately 100 invitations, and can go all the way to 10,000 for a full wedding package. Pricing is really dependent on embellishments and types of materials used.  An invitation with no flare will be more modestly priced than an invitation that has silk fabric, a crystal brooch, etc.

My trusty & talented assistant Heather starting the process of Candle Escort Cards!

Why are Custom Invitation more expensive than Ready- Made invitations?  This question really has no short answer.  Printing in general is an expensive process unless you are printing in bulk. In that industry bulk is 1,000 or more. The more you print the smaller the cost PER PIECE is. When you are only printing 100 of something- you have to pay the same cost to set up that printing press- whether you print 1 or 10,000.  Not to mention there are order minimums on paper, crystals, ribbon, envelopes, etc.  Even if you need only 50 invitations you still have to buy supplies in the MINIMUMS they come in, and you still have to pay for the Printing Press Set Up.  For example you may only need 50 sheets of paper, but they only sell it in Reams of 250. As I mentioned earlier, The cost per goes down when you are printing in large numbers like 1,000 or more. But most weddings don't have a guest list that large. So you are having to divide the Cost of Set Up and Supplies over your small number, making the price point per MUCH higher. And each design is set up on it's own. So if you have a menu and an invitation you are paying for set up of both of those because the artwork and printing plates are different. 

When we get a piece almost to completion, then it goes through quality check (above picture) and then is boxed, counted and prepared for delivery.

Ready Made invitations are printing in the thousands as Templates. The Main design is printed in BULK in the Thousands, Stored and then distributed around the country to different INVITATION VENDORS, who put them in a book. And then brides go in, search through the books and choose the invitation they like. When that order is placed, a smaller less expensive printer is used to print your name and personal information on the DESIGN TEMPLATE. So that the cost is less, they aren't haven't to set up and order supplies everytime an order comes in. They did this initially once in the beginning and printed in BULK. 

After a few all nighters, the Product is ready to go! On to the venue for staging. That is me (top pic) alphabetizing escort candles. And (below) the wonderful Jessy Rivers from E-events with my assistant Heather, lighting and arranging! The guests will arrive at any minute!

To Recap: Custom Designed Invitations are more expensive because you are printing something unique and different in smaller numbers. They usually also include embellishments such as ribbon, crystals, brooches, etc. Which adds hand labor to the process. The above invitations have Lace Accents, and no machine can work lace accents. I always try and tell my brides that it makes more sense to purchase a package if you are going to have something custom. Then you get to take advantage of the supplies. If the paper only comes in Reams of 100 or 250, if you print your invites, thank yous, menus, etc. then you are making use of the supplies you HAVE to buy due to minimums.

And the finished Venue! It all looked beautiful and the guests were WOW'd from the moment the got their mail to the end of the wedding 6 weeks later. As you can see if you 

Custom Designed Invitations in your budget they are well worth it.