EDINBURGH WEDDING PIPER
As a professional wedding bagpiper based in Edinburgh, The Pickled Piper loves to be part of a couple’s special and play the bagpipes.
The Picked Piper can offer a service from guests arriving right through to piping in to the wedding breakfast or for just a small part of the day. Wedding guests arriving, bride in, signing of the register (outside only usually) recessional, reception drinks and then into the wedding breakfast are all options to consider.
It is of course steeped in Scottish tradition and some folk tales suggest that it is good luck for the bride to see her piper prior to the ceremony (we’ll buy into that one!) Bagpipes are a ‘big’ instrument and perfect for announcing that something big and important is happening or about to happen. Before the ceremony the wedding piper can provide a welcoming sight and sound and provide some entertaining music for your guests as they arrive and assemble and thereafter, punctuate your day at appropriate moments chosen by you. The following paragraphs will help outline some of the option available to you.
If you want your guests to have a warm, stirring and unforgettable welcome then your wedding piper will provide that. The sight and sound of an immaculately dressed Pickled Piper in full ceremonial uniform is a memory many will take away with them for a long time. If you have guests from far flung places outwith Bonny Scotland, then cameras are sure to flash and a few selfies taken.
Weddings are the core business and it has to be said, an absolute joy to be a part of. No two weddings are the same and the variety of wedding venues throughout Edinburgh, Lothians and Scottish Borders is rich and varied. From tiny intimate venues to huge churches and grand hotels, the Pickled Piper likes nothing better than getting dressed up for a good day out at a wedding!
Here, we refer to ‘brides’, ‘grooms’, ‘he’ and ‘she’ but in doing so recognise again that no two weddings are alike and The Pickled Piper rejoices in attending civil partnerships and same sex marriages. If the sight and sound of a wedding piper can add something special to your own unique day then all is well in the Pickled Piper’s world.
If the bride is arriving from elsewhere, then the pipes can be playing as she draws up at the door, providing both a wonderful welcome for her and as a signal to those inside tha she has arrived.
Many brides walk up the aisle accompanied by the stirring sound of bagpipes. This is of course a very personal choice and works well if it is the right thing for you. Whether the bride is piped in or not, it is equally as usual to have the bride and groom piped out at the recessional, usually to stirring applaus from their guests.
The sound of the bagpipes can continue as guests leave the service and perhaps head outside or to another part of the building for drinks and/or photos.You can have your wedding piper around if you want him included in some photos.
Later on in the day, it is very popular for the bride and groom to be piped in to their seats at the top table. The words “ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding to welcome your bride and groom, the new Mr and Mrs ….” are then followed by bagpipes and loud applause. A moment to cherish and remember always!
Once at the table, it is tradition for the bride to hand her piper a dram with which he toasts the couple’s health. In the modern age, the dram can smell suspiciously like apple juice due to the Piper’s car parked in the carpark, but that is always a secret between the bride and her piper. The Pickled Piper will then recite a short toast to the bride and groom before piping himself out of the room again. The Piper’s dram is always a nice piece of theatre which everyone enjoys prior to settling down to the meal and speeches.
For a small additional fee, it is also possible to have a piper at the door to welcome evening guests in the same as the day guests were welcomed. As already said, no two weddings are the same and the part your Edinburgh based wedding piper plays in your day is entirely up to you.
Answer - there are no rights or wrongs here. Each wedding is unique and you can have as little or as much as you want. The paragraphs above give some options and pointers as to what is possible and which should help you envisage how your day might flow.
Of course you can. With our experience, most bagpipe tunes can be played for you. Some more obscure tunes or ‘non bagpipe’ tunes can be trickier as they have to be committed to memory. (you don’t see pipers with music stands) or just not possible as the bagpipe has a very limited range of musical notes. Again, we will advise you of what can be done and will of course do whatever is possible to help you get what you want.
Bagpipes are indeed loud. Larger indoor venues soak up the sound beautifully and smaller venues also work if there are a good number of guests to soak up the sound. Otherwise, the wedding piper can stand outside the door playing until the bride reaches her husband to be. On the odd occasion, it just wont work well and in the early email or phone calls, John will always be honest with you in his advice on what does and does not work.
The cost of having The Pickled Piper at you wedding is usually around £260 inclusive form guests arriving through to wedding breakfast. This cost may be less for midweek weddings or where a very short time frame is involved
As well as piping at weddings, the Pickled Piper is also an experienced Funeral Piper and experienced Corporate Events Piper.
07831 426 757
cONTACT tHE PICKLED PIPER
Whatever your wedding requirements are, the Pickled Piper is here to help. John is always happy to provide the time to chat about your special day. Contact John ‘The Pickled Piper’ today to discuss your wedding ideas and receive your free and friendly wedding consultation.