My latest agony: ugly water bottles

You know that no one is going to notice this, right? Don't put them on the table; put a nice iced tub of them (or two) where people can find them. It's March; it won't be so hot that people will be croaking....

I'm not really wild about labels, and I have no budget. I'm stuck on this idea, but there's no way I can come up with 120 tin cans in time and I'd be worried about people cutting themselves anyway. Do you crafty ladies have any ideas? So far all I can come up with are kraft chinese take-out style boxes or maybe even dressed up paper bags with the tops cut low. I've googled "water bottle caddy" and all of it's variations high and low.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/304907837247071314/

Lol, I know. It's ridiculous. My first thought was just to take the manufacturer's label off. I like the idea of a pretty table, though. I feel like a bright red "Kirkland" label doesn't quite do it.

I really really feel your pain about this because my guest bags are including water bottles.

I like Celia's idea. Maybe next to it you could have a bottle recycle bin? Water bottles make me sad, too Don't worry about the labels.

I would honestly just wrap a decorative duct tape around the label. They make some REALLY cute ones, now. Amazon has a million that aren't even in stores. I found these lace ones! You can take the labels off and put this tape where the labels should be. Or get a different decorative one to cover the Kirkland label up so it's less work Just search on Amazon for "decorative duct tape" and you will have options galore.

Dont stress about this or spend the money on it...nobody will notice or care that your water is from Costco. You have so many other ways to spend your money and many other things to worry about!

I wouldn't let yourself stress over this. Have water in ice to keep it cold (no need to put them on the table) and have a recycling bin. Of all the things that you can stress over for a wedding, don't let this be a big one!!

You could put the guests names around each one as a place card to make it look like it belongs a little more?

What about just putting a tub of ice and the bottles in them at the center of each table. The guests can grab them themselves when they sit down? Spray paint the label? Tie a ribbon or string around the bottle instead of having the label?

I would agree with Celia on this one--put them in a big tin or wooden tub with ice and towels nearby so people can wipe them dry. Then you can have nice little eco-friendly paper cups on the tables, maybe.

I went to a summer wedding where they had them in a tub and they used designer duct tape over the label. I usually think that stuff is tacky, but it was a green with gold pattern (their colors) and I thought it was a cute little touch. Not sure if duct tape goes against the eco-friendly theme though...?

If it's really going to bother you, I second the duct tape idea!

We had the small dasani water bottles outside at our ceremony, and made labels for them. I ordered them off Etsy for way too much $$, and after months of waiting, realized that the seller had just screwed me over and never made them. Long story short, I ended up making my own for way way less and it works fine.

1) Buy full sheet labels from a supply store (Staples, Office Depot, wherever you can find them near you)

2) Create the label that you want. I jut used word in the end. Use little colour, or else all of the colour ink will cost you. Make 5 labels/sheet.

3) Print out however many of these that you need. If you have 100 guests, you will need 20 sheets.

4) Cut your labels- a paper cutter is best if you have access to one.

5) buy water bottles and take the labels off

6) put your labels on

7) don't put your water bottles directly into a cooler with ice, or the labels will run. Waterproof labels cost a lot more to make.

8) We lined the buckets that we used with a clear bag between the ice and bottles to keep them dry

Hope that this helps!

What about having a large jug of water per table and eco-friendly cups? One jug will take up less room and be less obvious. Plus then you can just use tap water (or purchase larger water bottles), meaning less waste and less of an eye sore.

I had the same "theme", I was fretting over the water bottle labels too. Honestly, at some point, and it may not be now, you will say "SCREW IT!". We also served all of our beverages in bottles (glass for the most part) had everyone put them in a recycling container, and we dropped them off the next day that way I knew they were going to get recycled and not trashed. I made large signs to denote the recycling bins.

Tara wins the thread. If you are really concerned about the bottles, incorporate them into your decor instead of trying to make them disappear. The duct tape idea is great. It will actually make your bottles a topic of conversation (as in, "OMG! Check out how ingenious that is!") as opposed to an eyesore.

Here are some great examples of how pretty they can look:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IWs_M3fzsfQ/T4RdTaHUhVI/AAAAAAAAB1s/WxSUS8CVyaM/s1600/DSC05371.JPG

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0286/0912/files/Utensils4th-3_large.gif?761

https://ajscd.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/picture-1084.jpg

And a blog on how to do really pretty, personalized, printable water bottle labels:

http://www.lifesweetlifeblog.com/2011/03/diy-printable-water-bottle-labels.html

Google Duct Tape and Duck Tape. I was shocked by the colors and designs they offer. You'll find something to match your decor.

The duct tape is cute but probably not biodegradable like she wants.

Thanks for all of the ideas! The large water bottle idea is in the lead- I can't believe I didn't think of that. Less waste and we already have to order a case of 1000 cups for the bar, so I'll have enough. I could still do duct tap around it, I suppose, but I don't want to have to peel it off to recycle them.

I second- don't leave them on the table, they'll be warm!