“Ummmm, yep, but I can’t do much about it, so why don’t you just keep telling me about your summer!!”

OKok, a bit of background… remember this post, where I discussed the pros and cons of the punch bowl and the “beverage dispenser”…

you know, the punch bowl (sorry, I can’t for the life of me figure out where this picture came from… somewhere on the oncewed site though!):

and the “beverage dispenser”:

picture from here

Well, I decided the “beverage dispenser” would be the best choice, since I was worried about the inherent spillage that comes with the punch bowls. So I went off and found myself these perfect (i.e. CHEAP) containers on ebay that I thought would work well:

PS… I totally recommend the seller… he was great, and the containers arrived really quickly, they looked great, and I know I will use them again!

So after I got the jars in the mail (and unpacked them, sending Styrofoam pellets All.Through.My.House) I proceeded to DIY ‘em making labels…

I had brown cardstock in my craft supply, and some left over ribbon from my guest book table sign (stay tuned!), and since I had a font I was loving, I quickly printed off some signage. I made a couple slices in the cardstock to weave the ribbon through:

And then glued the label over top the ribbon to keep everything in place:

And tied the ribbon around the jar:

“KJEARSY ROYALE: created by the groom in the mid-90′s… yours to enjoy today!”

and

“VIRGIN KJEARSY: as close as it gets to the real deal… refreshing for everyone”.

Cute right?!

Now, I am no dummy, I know that turning a little spigot, holding a glass, and balancing a camera, a wedding program, maybe a purse, and perhaps a plate of munchies would not necessarily be the easiest thing in the world, so I suggested to my caterer that I have a couple of my friend’s daughters help out. She assured me that she would have it under control during cocktail hour, and to let ALL my guests just kick back and have fun. So… I trusted her. Well, without going in to too much detail… the caterer quite simply overestimated her capabilities for the entire evening, and needless to say, the cocktail station was NOT manned by ANYONE, and the guests were left to operate these beauties on their own. Not the end of the world right?! hahaha… well, there is a reason I don’t have any pics of these guys in action.

At one point during cocktail hour (before I escaped of course!), I was chatting with one of our guests when he sort of jumped and gasped… I looked to see what he was reacting to, and there was signature cocktail pouring all over the floor. He said to me… “it looks like the end cap came off, and like the drink is pouring all over the floor?!”. I smiled and nodded, and said, “Oh well, hopefully the staff will clean it up, cause I am not saving this one!!”.

So, the moral of the story is two-fold: firstly, as great as the drink containers are, make sure the spigot has a safety stop on it, cause not everyone can remember the ol’ “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey” bit; and secondly, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!! If you think you need to recruit someone to help (yes, even to help your paid professionals), DO IT!! Our caterer was simply NOT prepared/capable to execute all the tasks she assured me she would take care of.

It was funny though!! And I still love our containers!! The funniest part: the spigot didn’t just drop to the floor… the pressure of the drink actually made it shoot out across the room… and LAND IN SOMEONE ELSE’s DRINK!!! hahahaha… ok, we were lucky it didn’t hit anyone in the eye… but… hahahhaha… it really was kinda hilarious!!

all pictures from personal collection, unless otherwise noted