Valentine's Day Design Inspiration.

So, it’s that time of the year again when cupid draws his bow...
Valentine’s Day is observed on 14^th February and is a day for honouring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It is traditionally a day on which couples express their love for each other by presenting flowers or exchanging cards and gifts.

In more modern times it is becoming increasingly popular to propose to your ‘valentine’ on Feb 14^th and with 2012 being a leap year we may witness many role reversals with the man receiving the proposal rather than making it! This would generally happen on the leap day, 29^th Feb, however has more recently spilled over into Valentine’s Day too!

Modern Valentine’s Day symbols include love-heart shaped outlines and of course the figure of the winged angel cupid. Here are some of our Valentine’s Day inspired designs for your engagement party, wedding day or general announcement:

Valentine's Day Stubby Holder

Valentine's Day Stubby Holder

Valentine's Day Stubby Holder

Valentine's Day Stubby Holder

Ideas For Your Beach Wedding

As the trend for a relaxed and casual style of wedding is on the rise, we will certainly see an increase in the number of Beach & Destination Weddings this year!

So choose a long flowing sundress, kick off your heels and go naturally barefoot to your ceremony. Make sure that your invite states that ‘thongs’ and sandals are welcome and that you have plenty of water bottles in an ice filled bucket on hand at your hot beach location (don't forget your Coolaz water bottle coolers too!)

With all that in mind there are so many different ways that you can decorate your ceremony and then of course follow the theme through into the casual evening reception. Here are a few ideas to help you get started with the beautification of your Coolaz Beer Coolers for your picturesque beach wedding!

Photograph your feet and capture a little piece of ‘you’ to share with your guests…

Beach Wedding Stubby Holder

Go casual and encourage that all of your guests wear 'thongs'...

Beach Thongs Wedding Stubby Holder

Write your names in the sand and send them into us…

Names in the Sand stubby Holder

Or, you can use one of our templates…

Hearts-in-Sand Stubby Holder

Starfish Beach Wedding Stubby Holder

Use your favourite beach as a background and then insert pictures of the happy couple...

Beach Photograph Stubby Holder

Take a picture of your own Beach Box or Beach Hut for a really personal touch…

Beach Box Hut Stubby Holder

Perhaps you are having seashells as a theme for your table decorations …

Seashell Wedding Stubby Holder

Use an image of the location that you are getting married…

Bali Beach Stubby Holder

Thailand Beach Stubby Holder

After Your Beach Wedding

After your big day is over and you wake up in the comfort of your beach fronted resort make sure that you call your photographer back, put your dress one last time for the ultimate wedding shoot… Trash the Dress! This will be the perfect ending to your wedding adventure and will make brilliant photographs for a follow up ‘Thank You’ to your friends and family for sharing your special day! Here are some fun ideas...

Trash the Dress Stubby Holder

Trash the Dress Stubby Holder

Engagement Party Ideas!

Engagement Party Ideas!

Anyone invited to your engagement party should ultimately be invited to your wedding, so the size of your celebration may be dependent upon your wedding numbers. Whether you have only a select few that you would like to celebrate with or if you fancy a full-on party … we have a few ideas that may help you on your way to the perfect engagement celebration!

Up, up and away ...
... Why not do something completely out of the ordinary and book yourself and your close family & friends onto a Balloon ride. Make sure you go for the champagne special for a real treat, take along a picnic and a few extra drinks too … here's a little inspiration and an ideal memento of a truly unique engagement celebration!

Engagement Balloon Stubby Holder

 Top up anyone? …
... Gather your closest group of friends and book onto a wine tour! There are so many fantastic wineries in Australia that you will be spoilt for choice. I am sure that there will be a spot nearby for a day trip or you could even go interstate for a weekend away! Whichever you choose, make sure that you tag on a couple of breweries too and grab your Coolaz Beer Coolers to match!

Wine Tour Stubby Holders

Shake things up…
… With a wild cocktail party, this would work for both a small group and your homemade concoctions or if you fancied something bigger at a swanky bar in town. Either way, make sure that your party has a cocktail theme to suit your venue and some funky decorations!

Cocktail Party Engagement Stubby Holder

Grab your Esky…
… For a Casual BBQ or Beach Party celebration call up your family and friends and get everyone to bring some meat and beer on ice! Let everyone know the time and place so that you can rendezvous at your favourite beachside barbeque. Be sure to pack plenty of sunscreen and your beer coolers for the ultimate beach engagement.

Beach Party Stubby Holder

Something Formal…

… Looking for something a little more formal, then why not book a swanky restaurant for your favourite eatery for your family and friends. If you have large numbers coming then you could consider a gift on the tables that combines as a place name too, here are a couple of ideas;

Place Name Stubby Holder

Place Name Beer Cooler

Place Name Stubby Holder

You’re Engaged - Wedding Planning and What To Do Next! (Part 2)

Now that you have organised your engagement party, set a date and sent your ‘save the dates’ you can get stuck into the planning of your big day!

Here are a few more pointers for what come's next...

Choose Your Bridesmaids

Bridesmaid choice will be different for everyone, some will have one special friend or sister and others will have a bunch of besties, you could even choose a ‘Man of Honor’ if you had a close male friend or brother that you wanted to get involved! You are of course the best person to make the choice, you know who will be excited to get stuck into the wedding planning alongside you and who would have a better time as a guest.

black & white wedding dress

Buying Your Dress

If you have enough time between your engagement and your wedding the recommendation is to buy your wedding dress six to eight months before the big day. That way you will have no drama close the wedding! The dress will be a personal choice and there are so many different styles, colours and tastes to choose from – consider your wedding theme when you select the dress – perhaps you have a black and white theme in mind;

B&W stubby holder

Choosing the Bridesmaid Dresses

It is more than likely that your theme or colours will be based around your bridesmaid dresses, so once you have decided on a final look and feel for your wedding you can start looking for the perfect dresses. You can visit our recent blog for more ideas on dresses and themes as featured at this year’s SAG Awards for a few colour options and ideas 'Wedding Ideas Inspired by the Red Carpet and the SAG Awards 2012!'
Whether you go for bold and striking colours or subtle taupe or champagne, we will be sure to have a design to match;

taupe bridesmaid dress

taupe beach design

teal bridesmaid dress

Teal stubby holder beach

Your Seating Chart

Depending on the number of guests you have coming, the venue, and how you have planned your big day will depend on whether you will need to organise a seating plan. If you do have a formal dinner arranged then you may like to consider a design that includes a guest name, so that they can be dotted on the tables a combined place name and gift idea! Here are some ideas;

Place Name Stubby Holder

Place Name Stubby Holder

Place Name Stubby Holder

Choosing Your Flowers

Book your florist early and check for the latest trends in flower types, bouquets and colours to help you decide on what will be best for your wedding – you can read our blog 'Wedding Trends – Flowers 2012' for this year’s ideas and designs.

Flower Design Stubby Holder

The First Dance – Choosing Your Song!

You may already know what song you will choose, perhaps it is the song that was playing when you got engaged or the first track that you danced to together?! Whatever song you choose will be special to you … you can even consider subtly using the words in your design;
A Classic Love Song: Nat King Cole – When I Fall in Love

Nat King Cole Lyrics Stubby Holder

Cheesy Love Song: Can't Smile Without You - Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow lyrics stubby holder

Planning Your Honeymoon

It once was traditional to leave for your honeymoon straight after the reception or the day after your wedding, lots of couples are now waiting until a few weeks or even months after to give a little more time to save for your dream holiday!
Don’t forget your ‘just married’ Coolaz stubby holders, you can send in your own photographs, or even go with something that matches your wedding theme/colours:

just married stubby holder design

You’re Engaged - Wedding Planning and What To Do Next! (Part 1)

Congratulations! You're Engaged...!
… and about to embark on the exciting journey and often overwhelming process of planning a wedding! Your wedding celebration will most likely be the biggest and most important ‘party’ you have ever put together. So, take a deep breath, and follow our list of what to do next…

Engagement Ring Stubby Holder

Number One (and most importantly) Enjoy being engaged!
Say ‘I Love You’ to each other a million times and then shout from the rooftops "We're engaged!" Make sure you take plenty of pictures of yourselves with the engagement ring, they will make great shots for you to use when you start planning your engagement announcements, wedding stationary and invites later on.
Tell your parents and family
If they don’t already know, make sure the first people you tell are your parents and those close to you so that they too can share in your excitement. It will be great for them to see how happy you are and to help you with the beginnings of your great adventure and planning your big day.
Announce Your Engagement
Tell everyone the good news! There are so many ways of doing this and the best way will be by announcing your engagement party! Put your heads together and practice for the big day by organising a gathering of your family and friends to celebrate!
You can design your own invitations with a picture of you both looking extremely happy!Or use images of you and the ring, colours for the theme of the party and much more - the possibilities are endlesss, here are a couple of design ideas to get you started;

Engagement Party Stubby Holders

Engagement Happy Couple Stubby Holder

Set the Date
One of the most important decisions you will make as you plan your wedding is the date itself. This may be a year from the day of your engagement or another date that is special to you. Once you have decided on the date you can start the planning …
Send Save the Dates
Wedding Save the Dates are generally sent out six to twelve months before the wedding date, and are usually followed by a formal Wedding Invitation. We have created many stylish designs to choose from including, floral, cartoon, beach, location and formal designs. Save the Date magnets are a modern keepsake that your guests can cherish and not throw away, a truly unique way to announce your wedding or event to family and friends.

Save the Date Magnets

save the date love magnet

You could also consider Coolaz Stubby Holders due to their flat-packed easy to post style!

Stubby Holder Invitation

Once you have sent out your Save the Dates you can really start planning for your big day...
...Watch this space for our next blog and more steps for planning your wedding!

'The Hangover' Stubby Holder / Koozie

We notice that we got a few searches coming in for a stubby holder based on the hit (and very funny) movie The Hangover. So, we have put together a design based on the look of the promotional poster that you can change however you like! We'll even etch out a pic of your Buck to finish it off :-)

As you can see we have gone for a twist on the line ' A night they'll never forget' on our post, but there's more great combinations to be had from the movie of course:

"What happened last night?"

"Whose baby is this?"

"Where the hell is my tiger?"

See more buck night designs here.

February 2012 - Valentines and Will You Marry Me?

With a busy start to 2012 we leave January behind and look forward to what February has in store for us and with 2012 being a leap year we have an extra day too!

Celebrating Valentine’s Day on the 14^th February and then 29^th being the one day of the year on which, traditionally, women can propose to men! It seems that Feb 2012 will be a busy month for Wedding Engagements!!

engagement stubby holder

So, why is it called a Leap Year I hear you ask? Well, Hundreds of years ago the leap year day had no recognition in English law and the day was simply 'leapt over' and ignored.

A leap year consists of 366 days, whereas other years, called common years, have 365 days. The extra day, the 29 February, is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. The 29 February is known as a leap day and is added every four years to bring the solar year of 365¼ days into line with the calendar year of 365 days.

Will you marry me? stubby holder

29th February is the one day of the year on which, traditionally, women can propose to men. It was considered that as the day also had no legal status, it was perfectly reasonable that tradition also had no status, and so women took advantage of this and proposed to the man they wanted to marry. We have even seen a few proposal designs come through on our Coolaz beer coolers what a great way to propose to your man!

Did you also know that a law once existed in Scotland forbidding a man to refuse a proposal made to him on 29^th February - so what are you waiting for girls… go for it!

valentines day stubby holder

For many lucky ladies their man will beat them to it on Valentine’s Day, 14^thFebruary!

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day is observed on February 14 honouring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards, you can check out some brand new gift card stubby holder ideas here!

Looking for a really personal touch? Then why not try our online designer and create your own masterpiece for your loved one! Or perhaps you are already engaged and looking for a great gift for your engagement party or wedding favours. Click on the image below to create your very own Coolaz beer cooler!

Design Your Own stubby holder