Weddings in Adelaide and South Australia!

The entire state of South Australia boasts long, warm summers from December to February and mild temperatures throughout autumn and winter. The state’s capitol Adelaide is the gateway to the Flinders Ranges and Kangaroo Island, and is easily accessible by air. It is also home to a small population of only slightly more than a million people Adelaide is classed as one of the most liveable cities in Australia.

Adelaide City

With its café culture lifestyle and diverse mix of people the city has a modern feel and an amazing variety of cuisine on offer. With the choice of the Hills and Beach within half an hour drive of the ci

ty and state heritage listed parklands surrounding it this wonderful place can make a fabulous destination location for your wedding.

The city prides itself on the many ‘green’ initiatives that they set up in Australia’s most sustainable city; this is therefore the ideal place to hold an ecofriendly wedding.

Bring in some natural elements to your big day, think outside the box, make sure that you pick native flowers that are in season, beeswax or soy candles for your decorations and choose bomboniere gift ideas that your guests can take home and use time and time again to minimise their negative impact on the environment, like coolaz wedding stubby holders a personalised gift that is also a long-lasting product.

Adelaide Hills, Barossa & Clare Valley

With stunning views across the Valleys the Adelaide Hills has so much to offer, known as one of the finest areas for cool-climate grapes there are charming boutique wineries in abundance. The Lane Vineyard, Bridgewater Mill and the Stirling Hotel are amongst the many places that make the Adelaide hills the perfect spot for your wedding or reception venue.

The fresh produce is just one of the things that might pull you towards the Barossa Valley for your wedding venue! You can also follow the butcher, baker & winemaker trails to check out some of the culinary delights on offer in this special place – a great excuse for a trip to SA before the big day!

Looking for a more intimate setting for your wedding ceremony, then head to the Care Valley, there are many cure B&Bs in this area and some stunning locations to get those perfect shots of you in your wedding dress in the South Australia scenery!

Flinders Ranges & The Outback

Perhaps for the more adventurous this will be on the list of possible destinations for your adventure honeymoon! Pack up the camper-trailer and head off into the dusty red desert! Keep your e

yes open for wedge-tailed eagles and lazy lizards along your journey into the wilderness and you will be sure to get some fantastic photographs of the bush backdrop.

Maybe you are a couple that just love the country, if an outback setting for your wedding is more up your street then why not seek somewhere like the Arkaba Station, a wild bush luxury resort on the southern edge of the Finders Range National Park.

Choose for your wedding in the ranges from a ridge top dinner to a woolshed venue, or boutique heritage homestead to a deluxe swag for two and camping under the stars! And with 4WD trips, hot air balloon rides, viewing the local wildlife, mountain biking and many other adventurous activities to keep your guests amused this is the perfect location for your intimate outback destination wedding.

Kangaroo Island

Just a ‘Kangaroos jump’ away from Adelaide this island is a true sanctuary of wildlife and tranquillity with untouched bushland and immaculate beaches, the perfect location for your wedding in South Australia. You can choose from a waterfront location or head to the West of the island to the Wilderness Retreat for an intimate ceremony.

You can also rest assured that your guests will be well fed and watered on this amazing island, due to its location in South Australia a state that is renowned for its produce and preparation, Kangaroo Island is one of the ‘must do’ food and wine experiences in Australia that you and your guests will remember for years to come.

The Murray River

There are two river regions on the Murray in South Australia, known as the ‘Riverland’ and the ‘Murraylands’ both great locations to begin your adventure. Why not experience the romance of this mysterious river aboard a houseboat – you can hire your own for an intimate celebration or take all of your guests on board a serviced boat like the Proud Mary, get married and hold your reception on the Murray!

This is such an amazing place for all of the family, consider it one big waterpark with boat ramps alon

g the way for you to launch your own or hire a boat, jet-ski, water skis or wakeboard. For the more relaxed approach grab your kayak or canoe and drift down stream in the wonderful outdoors!

Planning your wedding in South Australia

So you’ve chosen the state and made your regional choice, now that you have picked the perfect location and venue for your wedding you can start to organise the fun stuff! Whether you are based in South Australia or interstate there are so many resources available to you for your wedding dress choice, decoration ideas and of course your bomboniere personalised gifts – be sure to check out Coolaz’s direct postage service so that if you are travelling you can arrange for your wedding stubby holder gifts to be there when you arrive.

Happy Planning!

Weddings in Perth, WA and Beyond!

Weddings in Perth, WA and Beyond!
Australia's North West from Exmouth to Broome and beyond! The Northern winter or dry season is April-Sept and boasts long days of blue skies and beautiful sunshine, some would say this is the perfect WA weather! However many European visitors will wait for the summer wet season where the temperatures are in the mid-30s and you can experience a balmy combination of heat, humidity and sunshine!
Below the Tropic of Capricorn in the south the weather is far less dramatic that the tropical north, with Perth enjoying more sunny days in a year than any other capitol city in the country! Because of this beautiful weather Western Australia has built up a reputation for fine food and world famous wine regions, and overall needs no explanation as to why it would be the perfect place for you to organise your destination wedding. Whether you are from Western Australia, based interstate or abroad there are so many advantages to getting married in Perth or the surrounding state, the internet is a wonderful place and you can do a little research to find out about Perth and WA to choose the perfect wedding venue and location for your big day!

The Coral Coast
Experience the whitest sand and the bluest ocean that plays host to some of the most breathtaking and exotic marine life in the world! You can find Ningaloo Reef, the world heritage listed site that is awesome for fishing and diving, this coast is also one of the few places that you can swim with a whale shark... be sure to extend your wedding in WA into a honeymoon... what an amazing thing to do after your big day!
With a wide selection of fabulous wedding venues and accommodation options to suit your personalities and number of guests you will be sure to have plenty of choice for your Coral Coast wedding!

North West Australia
Australia's North West is home to the world-famous Kimberley, a true desert wilderness that offers an amazing outback adventure for those 4WD junkies! Be sure to stop off at the Bungle Bungle Range, the Karijiini National Park and Lake Argyle on your tour of this region!
Maybe you will choose The Billi Resort or Cable Beach Club in the north west near the town of Broome. These beautiful venues offer an outstanding ceremony and reception setting for your celebration.

South West Australia
When you hear the name Margaret River the first thing that springs to mind is top-class wineries and the scrumptious local produce! The perfect location for a wedding this wine region boasts spectacular views and idyllic settings for your ceremony and reception venue!
This region is also great for family holidays, with the Southern Forests towering in the Valley of Giants for some tree-top adventures! A great place to spend some time with the family after the excitement of your wedding.

Perth
Perth is the gateway to the west with direct flights to Perth airport making it easily accessible from all around Australia. You can also arrive in the western capital via rail, taking the Indian pacific service that spans the entire country from sea to sea, you can hop on at Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide and the whole journey would take 3 days... might be the way to travel back after your wedding, a short honeymoon journey for the newly-weds!
Alternatively, if you are getting married in the summer months you can get on board a coastal cruise as part of your honeymoon, much of WA including Perth, Broome and Esperance will feature on a world cruise itinerary.

Once you arrive in Perth this relaxed city spends most of its time with sunny blue skies and has so much to offer, with an exciting and young vibe you will be able to find something to suit you and all of your guests and create a truly unique experience for your wedding in Perth, WA.

You can choose from a beach or garden wedding and from an extensive list of venues from the Northbridge Hotel to the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club . You can also take the trip over to Rottnest Island, an increasingly popular destination for weddings there is a Chapel or Catholic Church as well as a selection of beautiful outdoor locations for your ceremony. The Rottnest Island Lodge and Aristos Waterfront venues can cater for all your reception needs.

Maybe you will venture inland to the Swan Valley where you will encounter the oldest wine region in Western Australia, also a fabulous location for a wedding in WA.
Whichever location you choose for your wedding in the west you can be assured that you and your guests will experience a wealth of fantastic scenery, blue skies and hours of sunshine! This alone can give you inspiration for your wedding stubby holders, you could include a photograph of where you are getting married, your favourite beach location or simply your names and the date to match your wedding colours. Here are some of our location designs and suggestions below:

Engagement Shoot Ideas For Your Save the Dates and Wedding Invitations!

A modern way of gathering some fantastic ideas for your Save the Dates and Wedding Invitations is to have an Engagement Shoot! Not only can this help you get some super images for your stationery and bomboniere gift ideas but will also give you a chance to meet your wedding photographer and make sure that you are going to be able to work together to create some amazing photographs to take home from your big day!

When trying to find out about wedding photography, the best place to start is by taking a look at the photographer's photos and portfolio, this will be a great way to gather some ideas and see what styles you like.
When arranging your engagement photo shoot specifically for your wedding stationery try to think about the impression you would like to make, will you take the fun approach to let people know that you will be having a more casual style wedding, perhaps you will have some outdoor shots to represent the location you may be getting married, such as a garden or beach wedding or you could go for some traditional portraits that can be used for other events and be framed for display or as gifts for family.

The best type of engagement photography is that which captures the personalities of the couple and can come from their own inspirations and ideas, many brides these days are enlisting in the help of pinterest so that they can create pin boards of lovely images that they like or ideas that trigger their senses! The internet is a wonderful place and it is great that you can now ‘pin’ stuff somewhere and have a point of reference to show your photographer the style of wedding pictures that you like.
You might get your creative flare or dress style from a particular era, perhaps you are a fan of retro colours and patterns or maybe you are thinking of a particular movie like lady and the tramp sharing spaghetti or Mr & Mrs Smith black cocktail dress & tuxedo shoot.
We found some great shots that we liked where couples had written their wedding date or save the date on the bottom of their shoes, an awesome and unique idea for your photographs!!

Many couples these days are choosing to send Save the Dates as a notice for guests to mark their calendars before they have even chosen their ceremony or reception venue! Your wording for a save the date can be less formal than that of your wedding invitations, however this can depend on the personalities of the bride and groom of course, you can be as formal or as free as you so desire, it is your wedding day after all...!
The text can be simple with the words Save the Date, the bride and groom names and the date of the planned wedding or you can also add quirky captions or more information, we really like these
- Bride & Groom - Finally tying the knot!
- He stole my heart, so I'm stealing his surname! Make sure you're there to see it!
- Bride & Groom are getting married!!! Not sure where but this is when...
- Mark your calendars, it's happening, formal invite to follow!
- Eat, Drink and Be Married!
There are some really different ideas you can put together yourselves without photography too, you could consider a crossword puzzle or scrabble style element with a twist of vintage! These ideas can be used for your invites, stationery and wedding bomboniere gift ideas!

The Coolaz design team would be only too happy to help you design a unique save the date or wedding invitation magnet along with your gift style stubby holders for all of your guests - you can even double these up as place cards and print an individual guest name on each one!

Happy Planning!

Band Names, Logos and Ideas for Promotional Merchandise!

If you and your mates are starting a band the first thing to consider is the sheer statement that you will make with the name that you choose and how you will be represented by your logo design! Perhaps you have some ideas or are a fan of a particular icon, style or image and can create a name based around that? Maybe there is a certain phrase or meaning of a name that will spark some interest or failing that you can always hop onto a name generator website - I tried this out today and got some pretty Cool-az results for our potential company band ... my top five:
Coolaz Nation And The Fixed Sign
Coolaz Impulse
Coolaz Skank And The Dump
Cranking Coolaz And The Grenades
Coolaz Of Aftermath - for our death metal band :)
For all music artists the name they choose will be very important, not only will this represent who they are and what they're about but it will also be how they are recognised and will form a link to their music and the basis of their celebrity status! This should all be brought to the table when designing a band's logo or merch design, take the Rolling Stones iconic lips and tongue or Jamiroqui's indian buffalo hat silhouette - these designs certainly hold their own in the music industry, no need for text, slogans or even the band's name, whenever you see these logos you know exactly who they belong too.

Then there are those designs that cleverly use the band name as a hook for their entire logo, it is amazing how a single font like Bootle font used in The Beatles logo or Squealer font for ACDC can be so familiar and how the arrow symbol with custom font for The Who go hand in hand, all recognised by music buffs all over the world...!

These logos and symbols will be plastered all over the bands promotional merchandise including rock clothes, printed tees, band shirts, CD covers and gifts like pens, mugs and promotional stubby holders! All great ideas to help raise some extra funds for the band's next gig or to buy the drinks for the after party!

Stubby holders are a true Australian product that most bands and artists will consider purchasing as part of their merchandise for sale to their fans. Generally the bog-standard type of stubby holder can be a little drab and sometimes unexciting as band merchandise, however, when you add a little bit of a Coolaz twist and make the most of the neat tools available you can create the ultimate in merch with a fantastic Coolaz drink holder that will be sure to be high in demand!
With youtube taking the world by storm and the rise in social media you really should make the most of this when designing your merchandise, you can engage your fans by printing QR codes that link direct to your facebook page or online videos posted to youtube or your gig guide printed in an online music mag. You can also make these promotional codes unique, ideal for competitions, exclusive tickets and giveaways or simply for pushing your fans to a particular part of your website, myspace or facebook page!

With full colour digital printing you can give your merchandise a vibrant and modern look, take advantage of the fact that you can include photographs of your band rocking out on stage or crowd surfing! With the protective matt laminate on the surface of the coolers they can be written on with a permanent marker pen making a fantastic signable fan memento! Plus with them coming to you flat they are ideal for transporting when you have limited room on your tour bus.
Perhaps you could even take a leaf out of Eddie Vedder's book and print a different design for each venue you play, like he did with posters for his solo tour around Australia in 2011, a great way to give your fans a truely unique keepsake from your tour or individual gig!
We fully understand the pressures of touring and have developed a fast turnaround service that will help you if you need more band merchandise quickly. So if you sell out fast you can just give us a shout, we'll not only make them super fast for you but will also ship direct to your next venue so that you can pick them up when you arrive!

Email your logo and ideas to coolaz@coolaz.com.au for a quote and more information about Coolaz promotional stubby holders!
Rock on!

Ideas for a Wedding in Australia at Christmas!

The Perfect Gift this Christmas ...

The festive season is nearly upon us and what better time of year to bring your family and friends together than at Christmas! If this is a once a year event for you, where everyone comes to one place to enjoy some great food, have a few drinks and celebrate til the early hours then why not throw in a wedding for good measure!

Christmas wedding in the sun...

There are so many fantastic venues and receptions for whatever style of Christmas wedding you choose and with December being the height of summer you will find some beautiful weather all across Australia. But make sure that you plan ahead … because Australia is so large the weather can vary dramatically from place to place, with the tropical regions in the far north offering a wet and dry season – the wet season lasts for about 6 months between Dec-Mar so don’t forget your umbrella if you’re heading up that way.

Be sure to consider some of the more temperate regions of Australia for your destination wedding, these can be found in the southern areas and most parts of the southern east-coast. These areas can be quite changeable with an average of around 30 degrees in the summer months, perfect for a beach wedding or garden ceremony.

For those of you without kids don’t forget that the summer holiday for schools also falls at this time and so places can be very busy and will get booked up quickly – so if you have your heart set on a particular wedding venue or resort then best to get planning well in advance!

Christmas Wedding Dress...

Once you have your venue booked and are prepared for the type of weather you can expect in that particular region then you can start the exciting part of choosing your Wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses (if you are having any). Depending on location you may be heading form somewhere scorching hot so consider light fabrics with a few layers and go for thongs or sandals so that you can be cool and relax into your big day. If you are worried about tropical weather adding some frizz and ruining your wedding hairstyle then it is probably best to avoid North Queensland.

If you are a fair-weather bride and heading for southern parts of Australia then you can go for some slightly heavier materials in your wedding dress and add in a few more layers for the perfect look - you should remember that these temperate areas can also be quite unpredictable so you might want to consider a bolero as a backup option just in case the evening turns cool.

Xmas Wedding Invitations...

So you have your date arranged, your venue booked and have started thinking about your wedding dress. Now you should make a start with inviting some guests! Seasonal wedding invitations would be great for this, use festive green and reds to re-enforce your Christmas wedding theme and be sure to send the wedding invitations and save the dates well in advance as this can be a busy time of year for most! Consider using magnets or stubby holders as a quirky invite that your guests will certainly not throw away!

Festive favors and gift ideas ...

Decorate your wedding ceremony with wreaths and bows that reflect the season's colours and be sure to arrange a wedding cake that doubles up as a Christmas cake, use traditional ingredients so that everyone gets the best of both worlds. If you are having a sit down meal at your reception then include all of the crimbo favourites like roast turkey and cranberry sauce with all the trimmings followed by plum pudding and brandy custard! Don't forget your table decorations and Christmas crackers along with your bonbonniere doubling up as a Christmas gift.

You can design your Coolaz Christmas wedding stubby holders to be a personalised gift for each of your guests, add each individual guest name for a truly unique idea and a special present for sharing their Christmas with you on your special day! Plus they will double up as a place name, the perfect solution for planning your seating arrangements.

Seasonal music and games...

Top the whole event off with some festive wedding songs on your playlist to get everyone in the mood! Maybe even throw in some Christmas games to get some real camaraderie and festive cheer happening around each of the guest tables! You could even include a quiz on your coolers for a bit of extra fun! Top the whole event off with some festive wedding songs on your playlist to get everyone in the mood! Maybe even throw in some Christmas games to get some real camaraderie and festive cheer happening around each of the guest tables!

Check out some of our Christmas Wedding Stubby Holder ideas:

Colour Themes For Your Wedding!

Put your best foot forward with your wedding pans and leap into 2013 knowing what’s hot and what’s not! Colours and trends are forever changing and it is hard to keep up with the fashions or to steer away from them in order to make your wedding day unique and memorable.

It is likely that you will have journeyed from one bridal store to another, collecting ideas for your wedding stationery, bomboniere, accessories and your bridal wear! Wedding colour combinations are of course a matter of preference and each couple will more than likely have a colour scheme that includes tones and shades that reflect their own personalities.

Here are a couple of the latest fashions hitting the wedding industry in 2013 …

Enticing Tangerine and Pink

Get the orange juice flowing with this exciting combination of tangerine and pink! From your wedding flowers to bridesmaid dresses there are so many ways that you can bring this colour into your theme, whether you go for subtle hints and the occasional drop of colour or go all out and make yours a pink and tangerine summer celebration that will certainly brighten everyone’s day!

Choose from orange roses and gerberas and red carnations in your bouquet, or go for a paper flower version in the brightest materials you can get your hands on. Don’t forget to add ribbons to your chairs and even wrap around your guest book, even the smallest detail will make for the perfect orange and pink delight!

Here is our wedding stubby holder suggestion;

Perfectly Pale Pink & Pewter Grey

This match of dusky colours will add a certain element of chic to your wedding. You can carry the theme from your wedding invitations through to your wedding gifts and bonbonierre ideas.

Rest assured that this understated combination will be a hit with any guest and more importantly these shades tend to suit most skin tones and so you shouldn’t have any trouble dressing your bridal party in matching outfits.

Here is our wedding stubby holder suggestion;

Beautiful Blue Willow

The willow pattern is a very well known, elaborate pattern used on ceramic kitchenware, namely dinner plates and bone china cups and saucers.

This theme can be used in several ways to give the desired effect – in winter teamed with some dark and blues this can add a feeling of warmth and on a summers day against a rustic woodland setting this might give a feeling of outdoor picnic, light and bright or can even be matched with a seaside theme for a truly unique wedding idea.

Here is our wedding stubby holder suggestion;

One Day Over the Rainbow

If you can’t settle on a single colour for your theme or even a couple of colours then why not go for a rainbow creation!? You could go for a hint of colour by keeping things plain like Black dresses for bridesmaids and then jazzing them up with funky rainbow accessories! Each girl could represent a different colour and the bride could have her favourite in her bouquet or a bright pair of shoes peeping out from under her wedding gown!

For your bombonierre ideas you could go for some branded products that are personalised with the bride and groom names in as many colours as you fancy, Coolaz stubby holders offer a range of designs for their personalized stubby holders where you can have a mixture of colours and even in dividual guest names to make a truly unique gift idea for all of your guests.

You can also add a splash of colour to your white wedding cakes and incorporate a multi coloured array of invitations, stickers, other stationery and continue each theme throughout all of your wedding decorations.

Here is our wedding stubby holder suggestion;

Happy Planning!

Gift Ideas for this Father's Day

Father's Day in Australia falls on the first Sunday in September, and in the United States and UK falls on the third Sunday in June.

This day is considered very important as it not only acknowledges the contribution of fathers to their individual families and in the community, but is also a day where children can express gratitude, love and respect for their fathers, a great way to build bonds and strengthen relationships.

This day can be celebrated privately with family in the home or at events organised by clubs and societies nationwide, some may take the opportunity to organise special programmes or fetes to encourage and entertain people and to even raise funds for a charity or club. There are so many ways that you can celebrate fatherhood, male parenting and to simply say thank you to a special person this Father's Day! A beautiful breakfast in bed, afternoon tea or BBQ with dad are great ways to pamper your parent and the main thing is to spend some quality time together on this special day! For some there is the difficulty of time and distance adding to the dilemma of finding a unique gift that you can send and for others it is simply a task of creating a personalised keepsake that dad can treasure forever!

Here is some inspiration to help you find the perfect gift this year …

Gift Cards are a great way to say thanks, if your special someone is into DIY then check out some of the deals on at your local warehouse, they will have ideas for the garage, garden and much more.

Is dad a bit of a thrill seeker? Why not browse those experience and day out websites such as redballoon, these guys have days out in abundance from driving a V8 or sports car round a track to a beer & bbq cooking package. They have ideas to suit a range of personalities and budgets.

If you are looking for a personalised gift that is slightly different, then imagine a gift card that is also a stubby holder! The gift that keeps on giving (cold drinks that is!) a Coolaz Gift Card stubby holder will come flat in a bespoke envelope, can be printed with any pictures, text or graphics and sent anywhere in in the world! You can add your Dad’s name or favourite team colours for a truly unique gift!

Check out some of the design ideas below…

Happy Fathers Day!!

Lefthanders Day!

Left Handed People...
13th August sees a nationally recognised day promoting the consideration of left handed people - it encourages left handed activities and raises general 'lefty' awareness. 10% of the population are born with Left-handedness also known as Sinistrality a word derived from the Latin word sinistral meaning "left".

This minority also has a whole list of words that can be heard as slang (most of them very uncomplimentary) these include some of the following%u2026 lefty or leftie, cack-handed, squiffy, spuddy-handed or buck-fisted. A sports person may also be known as a southpaw or a hooker!

Left heanded coolersIn many European languages the word for the direction "right" also means correct or proper and a much nicer way of moderating the slang for lefties is by biggin' up right-handedness. Maybe consider the following ...

- Dextrous, from the word dexterity - skillful in performing tasks, especially with the hands - from the Latin "dexter" meaning on the right.
- Ambidextrous - jokingly described as to have 2 right hands.
- Adroit - quick witted - from the French "droit" meaning right or take the motto of the British Monarch Dieu et mon droit this is French for "God and my right"!

The odd fit ...
Left handed writingYou will also come across some sayings where 'left' really doesn't fit:

Has her heart in the left place
He's not in his left mind
Waiting for Mr Left

Or perhaps where it does:

Right in the lurch
He was right at the alter
A man with two right feet

Inconveniences and Modifications ...
Left handed toolsLeft-handed people spend the first part of their life fighting through our right-handedly created society! At school you begin with learning our written language - which is designed to be scribbled from left to right and most likely a nightmare for a lefties hand as it will smear everything they write along the way!

As we leave School and head on to learn skills and how to use certain implements, sinistral people will find themselves facing a whole heap of inconveniences, right-handed tools will be difficult and probably uncomfortable to use - some will have been modified however there are hurdles to look out for %u2026 items such as a pair of scissors, kitchen knife, can opener, pencil sharpener, and a fishing reel could all cause a problem.

Lefties in Sport...
For experts in sport this can also have its advantages, if they are a left-handed player in an individual's sport such as tennis, badminton, boxing or fencing and your opponent is right-handed then they are likely to be less practised in their backhand or left sided movements - this is why you will see a high number of lefties in one-on-one sports such as John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal and Greg Rusedski.

Famous Lefthanders ...
left handed stubby holders kooziesSome Left handers in history;
Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Leonardo Da Vinci

Some other famous left-handers include;

Drew Barrymore, Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Sylvester Stallone, and in music... Jimi Hendrix, Sting and David Bowie all play the left-handed guitar!

There are heaps of products out there that have been adapted to suit the minority, such as spiral notepads, watches, tools and if you are a stubby holder user then you can even request a left-handed cooler (koozie) from Coolaz where the adjustable strips are placed to fasten on the opposite edge!