Future Mrs. asked:
We are going to use coolers for soda and water at our wedding and we want them accessible to everyone since we are not having a bartender. I don’t want to just have the coolers sitting out because we are borrowing them from family members and they won’t match each other or the wedding colors. Does anyone know how to cover them while still having them easily accessible?
(We are having a casual backyard wedding)
January 28th, 2010 at 10:52 am
get pieces of fabric that match your wedding colors and just wrap them around the bottom of the coolers so the tops are still accessible
January 29th, 2010 at 4:06 am
You can get some plastic tablecloths (at party stores or the dollar store) in your wedding colors. Tape them over the colored areas of the cooler, like you are wrapping a box.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:00 am
why dont you get those galvanized tin buckets, they sell them at walmart and target and stuff like that and just fill those with ice and the soda. they are not very expensive and by the time you bought fabric and the time to cover them you probably already spent more than those bucket things. they are not really buckets but shorter and wider.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:05 pm
If you have or can create a kind of “box” to put them in, only the tops will be visible, and only from above. It won’t get in the way of people accessing them. We did this for an employee appreciation day once.
Here is how we built them: We got some pressboard (I think that;s what it’s called?? It’s different from particle board – more sturdy, and less wooden-looking. I think it has plastics or polymers of some sort mixed in) from Home Depot, and they offer cutting services, so we had it cut down to “cooler” height before we even brought it home (it was $20 a sheet, and we only needed one sheet cut down for 4 coolers).
We made it long and narrow (think the same shape/dimension as like a flower box, or a shoebox, only bigger sized, like [_______], only totally enclosed.) We didn’t bother with a bottom or lid, just made it a big rectangle. Then we spray-painted it green so it didn’t look like wood, and covered the front and back with “thank you” banners, but you could use just about anything to make it more “dressy”, like fabric in your colors, or if you have anyone really handy, it would look much more finished if you added some wood trim along the top, and paint the whole thing white – but we girls weren’t quite that saavy of woodworkers.
Then we just lined all the coolers up inside it that day, and it worked great. We set it up as kind of an “island” – not in a corner or anything, so that it would be easily accessible to everyone.
Not sure if you care to put that much work in, but perhas one of the guys would like a wedding job that doesn’t involve flowers or tulle.
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:23 am
colored tablecloths (plastic); cheap material (i.e. $1/yard from walmart) — wedding decorations (bells, etc). Honestly, I don’t think anyone will criticize you if the coolers aren’t perfectly matched — but I do understand how you feel…
February 5th, 2010 at 8:38 am
You could wrap them in aluminum foil and put bows or bells on the ends. Aluminum foil molds to each cooler better than a paper or plastic wrap would and would work with all sizes and shapes, plus it will be resistant to moisture and it is fairly inexpensive. Good Luck!
February 7th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Don’t waste your time and energy. NOBODY will care about the coolers.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Do you have a large area where you can have these? Instead of spending your money covering them, why not this idea:
One idea (that I LOVE) that is done LOTS where I live….get a kids small plastic pool (Walmart; Target, etc.), fill it with ice and use that instead! You can put it on the ground or on a table. They look like this, but on this site they are “unavailable”:
I have used these lots for parties and everyone says….”oh, what a good idea!”