The Ultimate Guide to Champagne Tower Hire — Glasses, Fountains, and Avoiding a Wobbly Disaster
For many people, champagne tower hire is a completely new concept.Many people don't understand what champagne tower hire is, before they book anything.
Picture the moment. The room will then fall dead silent, and someone will place an entire bottle in the bride's hand, who will then pour it into the top glass of a shimmering pyramid. It pours down, level after level and all the phones in the room emerge. It's not a coincidence. A well-designed glass tower should do just that.
Whether you're looking for champagne glass hire or you've just typed into Google at 3 in the morning, deciding how to make a champagne tower, you're on the right site. I've had long enough experience in this industry to know where people tend to get it wrong, where they tend to get it right and where it's upsell. Let's dive in!
The truth about the champagne tower
A champagne tower isn't just glasses piled on top of one another. It is an engineered pyramid that is constructed layer by layer so that when you pour liquid into the top glass, it evenly overflows through each layer until you get to the bottom glass. If you get it wrong, you have a glass wobble on a table with guests in good shoes, hence most people choose a tower hire instead of trying to balance a stack of glass on a table amongst a bunch of guests in good shoes.
The choice of glassware can be more significant than it's often thought. Square glass champagne flutes are a great option for a photo-worthy drink, but can be a little inconsistent when you pour, which isn't ideal for the longer staked glasses, so three or four layers of champagne are usually best with a round glass. Not being particular is not the issue, it's physics. A wider rim will distribute the overflow more reliably towards the sides of the tower.
Champagne, Prosecco, Or A Fountain Instead
Most people that do try it the first time don't know this. You don't have to fill the tower with actual champagne. The only difference is the visual effect that a prosecco fountain provides in relation to the bill of drinks and it is the reason why it has become the choice of wedding and party for all sizes. If you'd like to mix it up further, you can go with cava and cremant.
A drinks fountain or party fountain is the more subdued option if a full tower is not suitable for your event. Instead of one big photo moment, these are actually on-going, dripping non-stop, so that you get a visual that goes throughout the entire event. Also they're a little less fussy about an uneven floor; if you don't have a perfect floor, it's good to know.
Whatever you select, don't worry about the label on the bottle. Guests are more likely to be able to recall the pour and the moment than what was actually in the glass.
Weddings And The Glassware That Actually Matters
The whole industry is centered around weddings and the glassware element of it really gets into the details. Couples typically spend a little more on the pair of champagne wedding glasses bride groom sets, since they sit at the top of the tower, and usually are the most decorative in the display.
Bride groom champagne glasses are frequently engraved, personalised or even finished in gold, and many couples even use this pair as keepsakes instead of merely renting them. For photos you can't get with rentals, specifically look for luxury bride and groom toasting glasses; they are different quality than rentals.
Here too there's a difference that you should be aware of. In Western countries, a bride and groom's toast is typically held with a toasting glass made of glass or plastic that is separate from the rest of the tower, and is often identified as the "bridal toasting glass" or "bride and groom toasting glass." Depending on who you speak to it is known as a bride champagne flute, or a bride champagne glass.
The rest of the room will be viewing wedding party champagne glasses as a job lot – no one will be trying to order a hundred same size champagne glasses to go with the champagne bottles on the list. They can be called wedding glasses, champagne glasses for a wedding or simple wedding champagne glasses, but the idea behind ordering them is the same: get them for the number of people that will be attending the wedding plus an extra handful in case of breakage.
A bulk-bought cheap champagne coupe is just as effective for service at any other event, and won't be nearly as obvious from a few feet away if you cannot afford to buy the expensive champagne. Arrange spend for the bride and groom champagne flutes at the top, that's where the camera is actually lingering.
The easiest way to create a champagne tower without it falling over
More often than not, however, if you're hell bent on creating your own, without the help of staff, here's the downward truth of how it is done. You must always use a completely flat and stable surface — not only is this where most of the DIY stuff breaks first before any drop is poured, but it's also where it's going to be used. Start bottom and tighten in a ring, then move up one glass at a time to the top.
Slowly and carefully pour into the glass only on top, let gravity take its course. Overflow should be even, in a continuous stream, not at once. Well over 3 tiers it would be a good idea to actually hire a good champagne flute and a server, as having a poorly made tower that begins spilling and cascading looks sloppy instead of elegant when it starts dripping down all over the place.
Corporate Events And Why London Is Different
Of course, champagne corporate events London bookings are not like wedding bookings, and more for impact than for sentiment. A corporate event around a product launch, awards night or client evening requires a product that will photograph well for the brand's social media, and is able to fit into a shorter time frame than a wedding reception.
If you are looking to load and set up at a venue regularly, the chances are they will be a fussy venue, and a supplier with experience in central London will know which ones are the most fussy. Local knowledge is more valuable than any price reduction in the glassware. Corporate hire really starts to take off with branding – for some suppliers, they can print the company's colours or create company branded glass right into the glass display instead of merely serving as a drinks service.
Where to buy your glassware in London
There are dozens of glass hire London suppliers and even more glassware hire London suppliers, if you are in the capital, and the difference in quality is greater than you might think. Cheap glasses are generally made from thin stock, manufactured in large quantities, and better suppliers make what most people would consider best champagne glass, meaning that the glasses are well-balanced, they have a good shine and no chips or hazy film to show up poorly in close-up wedding photography.
This is actually an area in which you may want to invest a little more if you have professional photos taken of your event. A pile of unglamorous chipped glass photos sucks no matter how cool the pour.
A Word On Venues
But if you're looking for a venue that's just as incredible as the tower itself, then sometimes it's the tower of london venue hire that emerges for couples and companies looking for something with real substance and history. It's a specialty product, but it is a testament to how much people will do to make the whole thing feel like a real event, and glassware the same.
Wrapping This Up
A champagne tower is a good addition to an event because it looks great in photographs, and it provides your guests with something to genuinely respond to—no questions asked—while you don't have to do much more than select its dimensions and ask the right questions in advance. The only reason for not doing an "appropriate" fountain is either because you are serving champagne and have many guests or because you don't have a lot of money, not because it is "proper" or improper.
So if you can only remember one thing from all this, let it be the sizing/staffing tips. Plan for the proper number of guests and have a qualified person do the actual pour. The rest of it – the wedding rings, the flowers, the branding – lies on a solid foundation of style.
FAQs
Q: How many glasses do I need for a champagne tower?
The amount of glasses required for a champagne tower depends on the desired height. It is tier based, not based on the number of guests. Three tiered uses about 21 glasses, 5 tiered uses about 55 glasses and 7 tiered uses more than 100 glasses. When you call champagne cups for wedding suppliers most of them will calculate this for you after you have informed them the number of guests.
Q: What is the actual setup time on the day?
The time for a three or four-tier tower is usually 20-30 minutes when the glassware and surface are prepared. The more difficult to assemble towers of six or seven tiers may require closer to an hour of time, so they require a specific time and place in the venue schedule, not being pushed in at the last minute.
Q: Is staffed hire worth the extra cost over glassware-only?
Yes, for all tiers over 3. Glassware-only hire will be a bit cheaper, but you will be the one doing the balancing, pouring and risking the spill all by yourself and have no experience. Staffed service can generally prove to be more cost effective after consideration of lost drink and stress have been included.
Q: Champagne tower vs prosecco fountain — which should I book?
If you're on a budget, prosecco is a pretty close approximation of champagne in terms of appearance, for a big price savings between drinks. If you're in love with champagne or your visitors are, then it's great – otherwise a prosecco fountain will serve the purpose just as well.
Q: Can a champagne tower be used outdoors?
Yes, a champagne tower can be used outdoors and is also easy to assemble, but it must be truly flat, stable and preferably covered since the most threatening dangers to keeping it upright are wind and uneven ground. Never take it for granted that your particular outdoor area will be suitable for the day, try to check with your supplier before committing to an idea.