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Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

Hey folks! thanks in advance for any and all advice....

I have a gig coming up at an irish wedding.... it'll be mostly calling sets with a trio for the cocktails and a bigger band for the dancing after... but...

I need to do a couple of numbers for the ceremony as well... They want solo flute with bodhran for the familie's entrance into the chapel as well as the brides promenade...

Any thoughts on what would be a good couple of tunes? I'd be especially interested to know of any tunes that are traditionally played at such wedding moments....

Hope all are well and thanks again....

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by bestcraic

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

'Haste to the wedding', somewhere near the start of the proceedings and 'Tripping Upstairs' at the end, was a popular tradition in Clare.

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by Ian Stevenson

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

Yeah, Haste to the Wedding is pretty much a no brainer. I played it at my own.

KFG

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by KFG

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

I love to play "The Smiling Bride" and "The Handsome Young Maidens" (bride's maids) by Charlie Lennon. And we use "Give Me Your Hand" for the bride's first waltz. For the processional we use, "Amhrán Dochás" ("Song of Hope" in Irish.)

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by Phantom Button

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

Hey craic-piper, try doing a search of the discussions with this inquiry, I'm pretty sure it came up a couple of times and people had some great ideas. Gluck

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by Phantom Button

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

I doubt if Kerri's tune would go down too well. :-)

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/683

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by John J.

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

The Wedding Jig - always a hit

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by snorre

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

The Wedding Reel
The Honeymoon
The Bedding of the Bride
Troy's Wedding
Kitty's Wedding

The question is, will the audience notice?

I play with a ceili band (of sorts), mostly for weddings. When the time comes for a set of reels (we do a lot of songs and dances with fixed tunes), somehow we always end up playing The Wise Maid, Cooley's and the Sally Gardens or some such like. I won't mention the name of the band, just in case somebody is thinking of booking us.

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by CreadurMawnOrganig

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

The Bride's Favourite - I think there are two by that name on this site.

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by CreadurMawnOrganig

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

A Fig for a Kiss!

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by slainte

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

I had the Brides favourite (jig) played at my wedding. I got the idea from a recording of Miko Russell where he told the listeners that he often played it slow (slow march time) at weddings. We had a harpist play it and it was wonderfull but Miko's whistle would have also been great..

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by murcu

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

I had a piper friend who piped his bride down the aisle...

to the tune of Neil Gow's Lament on the Death of His Second Wife...

The crowd was not ITrad musicians, so it was very much an inside joke.

Maybe you could be a little naughty and play Star Above the Garter?

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by dirtyheel

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

Piped his bride down the aisle??????

The mind boggles.

:¬)

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by Conán McDonnell

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

It was quite a large pipe, because of all the petticoat.

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by Zina Lee

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

O'Carolan. Can't go wrong with it at a wedding, really. But just find out if the bride is the "triumphant", "pretty", "romantic", "whatever" sort, and match the music up to that. Jigs are easy to walk to in time, is something to keep in mind.

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by Zina Lee

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

I once played This Kindris Nicht as a recessional on C whistle and it was effective if not exactly ITM. The reception was a lot more fun though. Also did Seamus O'Brien on flute as a processional at a Valentine's Day wedding. Very romantic.

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by wvwhistler

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

Can't believe no one has yet suggested, "I Buried My Wife and Danced On Top of Her Grave" or, "The Hag with the Money".

Hehe

# Posted on January 18th 2005 by brianc

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

Those would be for a second wedding I presume. ;-),

# Posted on January 19th 2005 by KateG

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

I have a wife of my own
Upstairs in a tent
Get up old woman and shake yourself
Rip the calico
Old Hag you have killed me
Won't you come home with me

# Posted on January 20th 2005 by howsshecutting

Re: Gig advice for Irish wedding tunes....

I walked down the aisle to 'The Waltz of the White Lillies', perforned by Kate O'Brien (fiddle) and Paul Mc Sherry (guitar). They composed it for their wedding. Its a gorgeous air and can be found on one of the Déanta cds.

# Posted on January 23rd 2005 by mp3

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