Thinking about a bagpiper?

I LOVE it. I had one at my own wedding, and there are two that I recommend in NJ.

Being very Scottish, my opinion is DO IT!!!!!

@Nicole--I think she's saying if anyone ELSE is thinking about it, to ask her any questions haha

@RingAroundTheRoushes - you're right, but I love Nicole's enthusiasm!!

JandB0522, thank you soooooo much for this post. DH really, really wants one, but neither of us even know where to start. 1. What questions should I even ask? 2. What is the usual cost? 3. Is it better to have one or more? 4. What is the minimum time that is required? We are having an evening ceremony after Thanksgiving 2016. Any song selection would be exetremely helpful and appreciated.

Oh. Dang. I got REALLY excited.

I'm saving this to my watchlist and will frequent it as needed.

I'd be hitting you up with tons of questions if our church allowed it! I'm all about the bagpipes!!

Many people who reach out to our band about wedding pipers have NO idea what they want - just that they want that representation of their Irish or Scottish heritage there, or they simply love the sound of bagpipes. Playing private events is really just a tiny piece of what I do as a piper, so until I started planning my own wedding, I didn't give much thought to being on the other side of the conversation - trying to hire a bagpiper when you may not know yourself what you want. So, if I can help anyone communicate more confidently and clearly with their vendor, I'm happy to help!!

If someone hires me for an event, I want to know a) where do they want me to play; b) how long do they want me to play; c) are there any specific tunes that they want; if not, some direction as for the sound/mood they're going for would be appreciated - mellow, slow tunes? toe-tapping reels? Irish tunes, Scottish tunes? ...I saw a post from a few years ago where someone mentioned that they wanted a bagpiper because they're proud to be Irish - and then said the piper was going to lead their recessional with "Scotland the Brave". I would have loved to have been able to provide that bride with some Irish tune suggestions, instead!!

Actually, I do have a question for you. We're doing a hand-fasting after the exchange of rings. I'm thinking of having something soft and sweetly Celtic playing in the background during the hand-fasting. What pieces would you recommend?

@KitandKaboodle

1. What questions should I even ask? If you want to get a sense of their skill level and sound like you know what you're talking about at the same time, you can ask them if they compete (solo and/or with a band) and at what grade. There are five levels (grades) of bagpiping in competition: Grade 1 is the best of the best, Grade 5 is entry-level. Make no mistake, however - Grade 3 and 4 pipers are *VERY* good. Out of almost 200 bands on the Eastern US Pipe Band Association's (EUSPBA) current member list, only four of them are Grade 2 or higher. I wouldn't discount someone just because they don't compete - some of the best pipers I know don't - but if you know their grade, you'll have a better idea of how they compare to other pipers. It's almost like finding a Zagat rating for your bagpiper

2. What is the usual cost? There are a few things that will affect the cost, including where you are, how skilled the piper, how long you want them to play and where (if you want them to play two locations - for example, outside the church as people arrive, and then outside the reception as people arrive - it may cost a little more). I would expect between $150-$300 for up to an hour of playing (I say "up to an hour", because most people don't even need that much - if you have the piper playing outside as guests arrive, for example, you'll probably only need them to play for about a half an hour, but there's typically a flat base fee just to get them there). I'd be wary and get additional quotes elsewhere if anyone quotes you more than $300/hr for a single piper, unless they're a Grade 1 player.

3. Is it better to have one or more? That really depends on what you want - for most people's needs, a single piper is all you need. The pipes are very loud, so there's no feeling like something is lacking when you have just a solo piper. If your plan is to have bagpipes at the ceremony, I would recommend a solo piper - a solo piper can stay sort of off to the side (hard to ignore, but not pulling focus).

If you want something more dramatic, ask a local band about their band rate, or about a "mini-band" (roughly 4-5 players, including drummers). If you have a full or mini band, that's really more of a performance - I would use that for a reception "wow factor". For example, my FI and I are thinking that we'll have my band march us into our reception for introductions. For another member of our band, his now-wife asked us to come play as a surprise to him - we were waiting outside the reception room, a member of her family was in charge of letting us know when it was go-time, and as they were finishing dinner, the band marched in, circled up and played a couple tunes, then marched out. Another band-member also had the band play as they were introduced into their reception, but instead of being led in by the band, she and her husband led the band - she carried the drum major's mace, and her husband wore the feathered bonnet.

Basically, it depends on whether you want background music or a performance!

4. What is the minimum time that is required? Most people won't have a minimum time required, but most people will charge you a flat rate for the first "hour", even if they don't play for a full hour (an hour of bagpipes is a pretty long time, both for the player and the listener!).

@Nicole - First, be advised that there's no "soft" on the bagpipes if you're referring to volume, although you could place the piper further away, if you're outside, for sort of an ethereal effect - but I'm assuming you mean it in the sense of the type of tune you're looking for, so I would ask your piper what slow airs they play, and also listen to some of these: Highland Cathedral is a common tune for weddings (if you google recordings of it, try to ignore the drums. In my opinion, this song is best with just a solo piper playing it freely, whereas drums can give it sort of a march-y feel); you mentioned that you're Scottish, so Flower of Scotland would be apropos; Flowers of the Forest; Hector the Hero; and the Islay Waltz are a few others to start with.

Ooooh thanks! I'll definitely give them all a listen.

My sister plays the bagpipes in Chicago and the surrounding area if anyone should be interested I can give you her info.

Personally, wouldn't recommend Flower of Scotland for wedding music - y'know, considering it's used as a national anthem before sporting events, remembrance events and such. It'd be like having "The Star-Spangled Banner" played or "God Save The Queen".

Mull of Kintyre can be a really nice, almost soothing piece - just another suggestion that I've heard used at a lot of weddings round here.

Could also try tracing your family back to a specific area, see if there are any significant pieces from there that would work (A lot of local couples, since we're in the Dumfries & Galloway region, use Galloway Hills for the wedding walk or while guests are milling around during pictures)

You're absolutely right, MissGeek - Flower of Scotland is the national anthem, which is definitely something that should be taken into consideration before using it in a wedding (particularly if there are native Scots in attendance), and there are plenty of other options out there. On the other hand, in my experience it's been a fairly common request among Scottish-American brides (it was actually at a bride's request that I added that one to my repertoire in the first place), so if you like it, go with it - it is still a beautiful tune when played slowly and freely.