The allure of a champagne tower is obvious; they’re dramatic, elegant, and total show stoppers that are sure to leave your guests in awe. If you've ever dreamt of creating a stunning champagne tower for your event, you might be wondering how many glasses do you need in order to create one?
Whether you're planning a lavish wedding, a corporate event, or another special occasion, it’s important that you consider the essentials to get a champagne tower and not a champagne fiasco!
How to build a champagne tower
We won’t be surprising anyone (we hope!) when we say that in order to build a champagne tower you need to calculate how many champagne glasses you need. Whilst the number of glasses needed will obviously vary depending on the event, here’s a general guideline to get you started:
Calculate the base layer
Firstly, you need to decide how wide you want the base layer of the champagne tower to be. For example, if you want a base layer that's 5 glasses by 5 glasses, that will come out as a total of 25 glasses for the first layer.
Build upwards in a pyramid shape
Each of the following layers will have one less glass in each dimension than the layer below it. So, continuing from the example above:
The second layer would be 4x4 (16 glasses),
The third layer would be 3x3 (9 glasses),
The fourth layer would be 2x2 (4 glasses),
The top layer would be – you guessed it! – 1 glass.
Total number of glasses
For the total number required, you now just need to add up the glasses from all layers. For the 5x5 base example: 25 + 16 + 9 + 4 + 1 = 55 glasses required.
You can use the above formula and apply it to your own guest list to work out exactly how many glasses you’ll need for your own event. We go into lots of detail on how to calculate how many glasses you need for your event in our previous blog which you can check out right here!
Remember, it’s a good idea to have extra glasses on hand. Accidents happen and having a few more glasses can save the day if one gets dropped or knocked over. Plus, having a few spare glasses can enhance the visual aspect of your champagne tower as you can rotate the glasses occasionally to keep the display pristine and dazzling!
What else do I need to think about when building a champagne tower?
When building a champagne tower, it’s important to remember that you need to use champagne saucers, rather than the more traditional champagne flutes. Saucers, with their wide, shallow ‘bowls’, are more sturdy than flutes making them perfect for champagne towers.
The need to use saucers rather than flutes means you also need to think about how much champagne you need to fill the glasses. While a standard flute holds approximately 6 ounces of champagne, a saucer is shallower and typically holds about 4.5 ounces. We’ve got a handy blog to help you work out how much champagne you need for your event.
Is a champagne tower the right choice for my event?
While a champagne tower offers a generous sprinkle of opulence and sophistication, it’s a good idea to weigh its practicality against your event's needs. Will it enhance the ambiance and create unforgettable memories? Absolutely. But for smaller, more informal occasions, the traditional flute might be more practical and be less hassle for you on the day.
If there are likely to be lots of children running around, you’ll need to think about the positioning of your fountain to make sure it won’t get knocked over – no one needs a champagne disaster.
Champagne tower checklist
In a hurry? Here’s a quick checklist of what you need to think about when calculating how many glasses you need for your champagne tower.
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The size of the tower tiers.
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The number of guests and how much champagne will be consumed.
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The duration of the event and availability of other drinks.
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Extra glasses for both safety and aesthetics.
Looking for catering equipment hire that you can trust? Chat to us today to get personalised advice and find out how we can help you with your event!
When hiring equipment from Plato, you can be safe in the knowledge that any electrical equipment is PAT tested before it’s hired out. Plato is also a member of the SafeHire Certification Scheme, which means we have a proven competence in safety, health, environment, and quality. This ensures you’ll receive the highest possible quality of service and catering equipment hire.