What to expect from your Wedding Piper
Nothing adds to an occasion like the sound of the bagpipes. As The National Piping Centre we teach and support pipers from across the world, so weâre pretty well-versed in what your piper can do for you on your wedding day, and you even get the piper hire included when you book our venue! We love sharing our expertise, so hereâs our advice on what to expect, so that you know exactly what to ask for when making your enquiries!
At The National Piping Centre, we find that many couples know that they want a piper at their wedding but often arenât sure what to ask for, so we recommend that the first thing you consider is how long youâd like to hire the piper for: some couples will only want their piper to welcome guests, play the bride into the ceremony and pipe the newlyweds out of the venue, whereas some prefer the piper to stay for the whole day! As a starting point, we suggest the following schedule for your wedding piper:
- Welcoming all guests at ceremony
- Pipe bride and groom into wedding venue
- Pose for pictures outside venue
- Pipe top table into dinner
- Pipe happy couple into dinner
- Finish
This can then be tailored to meet your particular requirements. Consider whether youâd like the bride to be played down the aisle and check with your venue whether theyâll be happy for this to happen, as some churches may not allow it. Consider too whether youâd like your piper to play guests out of the ceremony and in to the reception - if there is travel involved between your venues this might not always be possible. However, if your guests are travelling to the reception by coach, your piper may be able to travel to the next venue by car and arrive in time to greet your guests.
Other special requests that our pipers have had include piping a bride from her home to the wedding car ahead of the ceremony. One of our pipers played a lochside wedding where he was requested to play guests to their cabins at the end of the day. Including these details can really make your day extra special, so make sure you ask your piper about these as early as you can. When youâre hiring a professional piper, theyâll be keen to make your day go exactly as you wish, so informing them ahead of time will allow them to accommodate you. It will also allow them to provide you with a more accurate quote, so that thereâs no awkwardness when it comes to making payment later!
The most common special requests regarding your wedding piper are usually to do with music â again, itâs worth considering if thereâs anything in particular youâd like your piper to play! Be aware of the limitations of the instrument â the range of the bagpipe is only an octave so chart hits are often out of the question. Your piper will be able to inform you whether a particular tune is possible, and should be willing to learn it if so, so ask early! If you're not sure what music you'd like, our Piper Hire page here contains some sample tunes to help inspire youâŠ
Similarly, the tuning pitch of the bagpipe can make it a challenge to play with other instruments, so itâs worth considering if youâd like your piper to play with another musician on the day. Our pipers have occasionally been asked to play with organists and other bands at the last minute, which can lead to disappointment. Weâd recommend putting your musicians in touch early so that they can work out any details, and be sure to give you a performance that you and your guests will remember!
If you'd like to find out more about booking one of our world class pipers, you can read more about our Piper Hire service by clicking here. All weddings at The National Piping Centre include a red carpet welcome with a world class bagpiper.Â
On Sunday 23rd April from 12noon - 3pm, you can join us here for an informal venue showcase, where you can chat to our wedding team and start discussing your big day with us - piper included! Just drop by on the day to meet our team and try our canapes.
If you'd like to find our more about getting married at The National Piping Centre, click here to go to our wedding packages page, or contact us on 0141 353 5551 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.