Birch Poles make great chuppa poles and indeed, our 6-8' Paper Birch Poles make their way into quite a few chuppas. Typically, a single Birch Pole is used at each corner of the chuppa, such as in this post on Wedding Bee titled "It’s Not A Chuppah… Ok So It Kinda Is". One pole per corner has worked great for innumerable chuppas, but could two be better?
On my way through the flower district today, I came across these chuppa poles sitting outside a store that rents items for events, waiting to be put on a truck for their next assignment.
To answer the question posed in the title, "yes!" - two is better than one (unless people will be holding up the chuppa poles, of course, oh, and I am sure there are other circumstances as well, so perhaps the yes shouldn't be as emphatic, but generally, I reiterate, "yes!").
The first benefit is that pairs of Birch Poles can be matched to produce a fairly balanced set of chuppa poles. Like with any natural botanical item, individual Birch Poles have an inherent degree of variability (and that's much of the charm), that in a display can be averaged out by using more than one pole. Why wouldn't making chuppa poles from single, albeit relatively consistent Birch Poles be just as good as using pairs? Because...
The second benefit is that using a pair of Birch Poles will result in a much more substantial looking chuppa pole than a single Birch Pole - Birch Poles that can be shipped for less than a fortune typically start at 1.5 inches and top out at around 3 inches. Pairing individual Birch Poles will double the diameter of the resulting chuppa poles so they don't look too spindly to the guests at the back.
Last but not least, there is the symbolism of using pairs of poles to support the canopy. Weddings are very much about symbolism, and your chuppa poles are yet another opportunity to add some more to the ceremony - the more the marrier, I mean merrier.
Now onto the bases - nothing more than simple, inexpensive terra cotta garden pots filled with concrete (and painted white - time for a new coat of paint though).
Quite heavy, of course, but you want that to keep the chuppa stable, and you can put the groomsmen to good use moving them around. The pots are also relatively tall - about 18 inches, providing an opportunity to boost the poles up at least 6 inches or so. If you want an especially high canopy, all you'd need to do is set the bases in which the poles are secured onto another set of bases, such as an inverted flower pot covered in cloth.
