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If you want to make a particularly fun statement at your wedding, a champagne tower may be the perfect fit. Not only does this sparkling display command attention as a piece of decor, but it’s also a clever way to serve your guests some celebratory bubbly and raise a toast.
Champagne towers are a structure made up of glassware, either stacked on their own or arranged on a platform. The glasses can be pre-filled with bubbly, or the couple will pour from bottles of champagne, starting with the glass at the top of the tower, allowing it to trickle down to fill the rest of the glasses. “The champagne tower is both a design installation and entertainment,” says Wendy Kay, owner of Birds of a Feather Events.
Meet the Expert
Wendy Kay is the owner and creative director of Birds of a Feather Events, a wedding planning and design firm based in Dallas, Texas.
But it’s not quite as simple as just stacking glasses and hoping for the best. Below, find tips for putting together a champagne tower for your wedding, along with clever ideas to make it your own.
How to Set Up a Champagne Tower
Check With Your Vendor Team
According to Kay, executing a successful champagne tower can come with complications. “You want to have a really great vendor team on board to execute this, as champagne towers can be quite precarious and a bit temperamental if not set up correctly and placed in the correct spot,” she says. If you’re working with your catering team to achieve the trickle-down pour, it’s important to make sure they’ve done it before. “They will be able to set it up correctly so that it is more sturdy and so that the pour works correctly,” she says.
Consider Placement
Choosing the placement for a champagne tower is a crucial piece of the puzzle. The last thing you want to be dealing with on your wedding day is having a tower of glassware tumbling down. Be sure to set your champagne tower up in a location within your venue with plenty of space, whether you’re planning to pour right after the ceremony to kick off the reception, or you’re hoping to serve champagne with dessert. If your venue is too crowded with your guest count, it may be best to skip the idea of a tower or consider another type of structure.
Think About Weather
It’s also important to consider the weather when deciding on a champagne tower set-up. “Wind is no friend of the champagne tower,” says Kay. If you’re hosting an outdoor or tented wedding, be sure the tower can be in a tent with walls or indoors, or double-check the weather forecast to be sure it will remain secure. Otherwise, it may be best to skip the glassware tower and opt to put together your tower with a base structure built specifically for your wedding.