WHAT ITS LIKE TO ATTEND THE VEUVE CLICQUOT POLO CLASSIC
My dream finally came true!
I was able to attend the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic after years of wanting to go. After thinking this year would pass me by again, my husband surprised me with the tickets! That only made me extra excited to experience everything it had to offer! As a first timer, I made sure to take everything in so that I could share all the details with you. And let me just say this… it’s an event you want to attend! It was so much fun and a great way to kick off the summer so keep on reading so you prepare yourself for next year.
A little background…
The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic is an annual event hosted by Veuve Clicquot, a champagne company. It always takes place on the 1st Saturday in June, which is also the weekend following Memorial Day. The event happens at the Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. It’s a chance to have a great time picnicking in the park, viewing a polo match and sipping champagne with friends.
How to attend…
The best way to stay in the know regarding tickets is to sign up for the Veuve Clicquot newsletter. Based on this year’s experience, the email stating the event was back (since it had been on hold due to the pandemic) was sent in mid March. Tickets went on sale in late April. A presale for American Express Platinum and Centurion card holders took place for 48 hours before the sale was available to the public. According to my husband, tickets sold out extremely fast so don’t waste time purchasing. He estimates tickets were no longer available after 15-20 minutes of being on sale.
Here are the types of tickets you can purchase:
General admission - $150/person (Includes access to the park and transportation via ferry or shuttle)
No seating is included so you’ll need to bring a picnic blanket or grab one of the picnic tables that are first come, first served
Rosé Garden - $550/person (Includes access to Rose Garden that has lounge seating, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé champagne and boxed gourmet lunch)
Sundeck - $1200/group (An optional add on for both general admission and the Rosé Garden if you want a reserved shaded area. It has seating for 8 people and gives you prime seating to view the polo match. As an add-on, you will need to purchase this along with your general admission or Rosé Garden ticket)
La Grand Dame Cabanas - $22,000/cabana (If you’ve got the big bucks, this one’s for you! This is as close to VIP as it gets. There’s a private cabana, champagne, concierge, a butler, tons of food and even private transportation to and from the event)
How we prepped…
With it being picnic style, we knew we wanted to bring our own food. There are food trucks on site but we wanted the option to create a menu for ourselves. We needed something that would be easy to eat with our hands and wouldn’t require anything like a microwave.
Here’s the menu we had:
sandwiches (chicken salad, egg salad, turkey and cucumber)
pasta salad w/ shrimp
mini charcuterie boxes
fruit
cookies/macarons (even though these got left home lol)
We found picnic baskets that had insulation to keep food cold and we also purchased reusable ice cubes to put inside for added coldness. The picnic baskets come with plates, cups and cutlery but anything that isn’t plastic is not allowed so we made sure to remove them. We packed all of our food in disposable boxes and plastic Tupperware. Although our baskets included a blanket, we wanted to be on theme with the event and purchased one that was orange and white.
What to wear…
It’s an outdoor event and if you have a general admission ticket, you’ll be seated on the ground. The event happens when summer is around the corner so the weather is usually warm. Those are things you want to keep in mind when planning your outfit but don’t think you need to be too casual. People go all out and dress up for the occasion. Men are in suits and ladies are wearing sundresses. Women may also wear a suit so it really depends on the look you’re going for. Everybody puts on their best garb for this event.
I recommend comfortable shoes due to all of the walking. If you plan on wearing heels, be sure it’s a wedge or thicker heel. At times you will walk on grass and won’t want to sink in. I also advise wearing a hat and/or sunglasses since you’ll be in the sun. If you’re seated in the Sun Deck or Rosé Garden, the entire space is shaded.
I went with a slightly formal route and wore a white dress with 3D flowers, feathers and added volume around the hips. I paired it with a white fascinator and wedge sandals. I did bring a white tote but it was more fit function than an actual accessory. To complete the look, I had gold and white binoculars.
Getting to the event…
We departed from Jersey City which meant shuttle pick up was at the Jersey Science Center. Luckily, we were only a few blocks away so our walk was about 10 minutes. This is the closest you can get by car so if you’re driving or using a ride share service, this is where you need to go. Once you arrive, you’ll wait in line to have your ticket scanned, wrist band put on and bags searched. Our wait was about 25-30 minutes to board the shuttles. The shuttle ride was another 5-7 minutes (I wasn’t timing it but I know it wasn’t very long). Once we got dropped off, we were a 2-3 minute walk from the entrance.
If you’re coming from New York, you will take the ferry to Liberty State Park and walk 20 minutes to the event entrance. I’ve heard that walk is the longer route. I was pretty satisfied with the commute from Jersey City so I’ll probably take it again in the future.
Attending the event…
Once you’re finally inside, the fun can really begin! Although I’ll be speaking from the perspective of someone with a general admission ticket, just know that you can have this experience with any of the other tickets as well.
Once you enter the event, there is a lot of open space. There are picnic tables that are first come, first serve and you’re closest to the food trucks if you sit in this area. Not many people are seated on blankets in this zone. This is also where you’ll find a lot of the photo opportunities for those social media worthy moments. If you want to beat the lines, arrive early to get pictures. The wait time can be very long and it’s not as much fun waiting in line when you can be enjoying the actual event.
As you make your way further into the park, you get closer to the field where the polo match will take place. This is the best place to find a seat, in my opinion. There are more picnic tables in this area as well but you will find a lot of people spread out on their blankets. One side of the field is where general admission is seated and the other side is for the Rose Garden. The closest sections to the field are the Sun Decks.
There is a gravel walkway near the field that is great for people watching. This is the path people use to get to and from the bathrooms and champagne bar so if you want to check out all the fashions, you want to be seated close by. People are very social so this is a great spot to strike up conversations.
There is a DJ playing music during the entire event and it’s a great variety so you’re guaranteed to sing along to a song or two. Once the match starts at 2p, the music is paused but will resume after the game. During halftime, you’re allowed to go on the field and stomp divots. This is the tradition of stomping down the turf that gets torn up by the horse’s hooves. Some of the players may also be around a quick photo. After the game, you can stand at the edge of the field as the players come by and slap your hand!
Throughout the event you’re eating, drinking champagne and enjoying the company of your friends. It’s a fabulous way to kick off the summer season!
Things I’d do differently…
Arrive at the start time of the event. That was the plan this year but things didn’t go as expected. Now that I’ve done it, I can do better next year. I would’ve like to get closer to see the polo match and to take more photos around the grounds before it got packed.
Purchase tickets during presale. Not sure how I’ll accomplish this since I don’t have an AMEX but I’d really like first dibs on tickets. We really wanted the Sun Deck but it sold out during presale.
Get a different picnic basket. When deciding which basket to choose, we saw standard versions and ones that included a small table. We went with the traditional kind but wished we would’ve had the kind with the table. It would’ve been nice to have a steady surface for our drinks, since the ground can be uneven, and not need to put everything on the floor.
I had an amazing time! I can’t wait to go back to experience it again. It was everything I’d hope it would be and then some. The energy was perfect, the weather was great and the people I got to go with were a blast! If you’ve been on the fence about going, let this be your sign to attend. You will not regret it!
If you love video content, make sure you you check these out:
What I Wore // How We Prepped // My Experience // Veuve Vlog // What’s In My Bag
