Wine bottle held up with a “Pairs Well With Turning Thirty” label featuring a childhood photo of a girl with a golden retriever, “Vintage 1994,” labeled “Photo Wine Labels”

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Drinks

Photo Wine Labels

the idea

Entertain guests by personalizing wine and champagne labels with a cute, funny, or embarrassing old photo of the guest of honor.

Wine bottle with a “Grace's 50th Birthday, March 27 2016, Bottom's Up” label featuring a surprised woman in a fur stole holding a martini

Two wine bottles with gold-ribboned hangtags reading “Edith and George, Golden Anniversary” and matching labels of a black-and-white wedding photo, “50th Anniversary, 1967-2017”

the how

Customization. Submit a clear photo when you order plus a name, age, date, or short line of text, in a choice of font and color.
Format. Sized to fit standard 750ml wine bottles, with a smaller size for champagne and mini bottles.
Materials. Waterproof, smear-free vinyl or paper that won’t lift or run when the bottle’s in an ice bucket. Most are sized to sit right over the existing label, so there’s no need to strip the bottle first.
Setup. Peel and stick directly onto a clean, dry bottle.
Lead times. Design proof and processing take 1 to 3 business days. Standard shipping adds roughly 3 to 7 days, with faster paid options available.

Wine bottle with a “Riley's 30th Birthday” label featuring a childhood photo of a girl in sunglasses singing into a toy microphone, “Vintage 1995”

Wine bottle with a “Happy Birthday! Cheers to Emily Turning 25” label featuring a photo of a woman laughing under falling confetti

the why

WHY This Idea?

Entertaining; lets guests see the guest of honor at different stages of their life that they might never have seen before
Light-hearted; a warm way to celebrate the guest of honor that shows they don’t take themselves too seriously
Nostalgic; a walk down memory lane is a wonderful way to mark the occasion
Talking point; clever little details and personal touches create talking points, buzz, and atmosphere.
Photo-worthy; the kind of detail that guests photograph, share and remember
Memorable; guests remember creative, unusual, or unexpected elements
Easy; a low-effort way to add something special to the drinks presentation
Inexpensive; a cost-effective idea that won’t blow your budget

Three champagne bottles with “Happy 40th, Christi! Vintage 1984” labels, each printed with a different childhood photo of the same person

Two wine bottles with “Happy Birthday! Love, Lily” labels, each featuring a different selfie of two friends together

the why

Why Your Party Drinks Deserve More Attention

Focal point; the bar is one of the first things guests notice and one of the few spots they keep coming back to throughout the night, so a personal touch there gets seen again and again.
Presentation over complexity; thoughtful presentation and a creative twist on a simple drink is often more memorable than an elaborate cocktail most guests won’t appreciate
Attention to detail; it’s the clever little details — not the drink itself — that guests photograph, share, and remember
Budget-smart; it’s worth investing a little more to make the bar area and first drink memorable, then you can ease into cheaper pours and regular bottles later when guests are less likely to notice small details.

Wine bottle with a “Partners in Wine, est 2022” label featuring a black-and-white photo strip of two women hugging and laughing together

Wine bottle on a woven placemat with a “Pairs Well With Turning Thirty” label featuring two friends laughing together in a grassy field

ADVICE FROM A PRO

Matt’s tip

“These work best with a cute, funny, or slightly embarrassing photo from years ago: an awkward school photo, a bad haircut, an outfit that hasn’t aged well.

Place a few smaller orders instead of one big one, so you can use two or three different photos of the guest of honor at different stages of their life rather than the same one throughout. A baby photo next to their wedding day photo, lined up together on the bar, grabs guests’ attention and creates curiosity.

I’d also skip the default name-and-date text for something with more personality: “Older Not Wiser” ,“Not Dead Yet” or “Still Got It” for birthdays, “Not Just a Pretty Face” for graduation, or “Married for 10,957 Days” for anniversaries. Check out my full list of creative occasion phrases here for more ideas.

If you need to transfer old printed photos to a digital format, this can be done very inexpensively nowadays ($20-$30 for 100 photos) and it’s a great opportunity to preserve them for years to come. Similarly, old photos that are fading, discolored, or damaged can often be restored at the same time. See links below.”

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