I have been booked to play a wedding in March. The couple do not have any particular tunes in mind for the processional & recessional - so I was wondering if anyone has ideas on tunes that will work. They mentioned an air they like (Taimse im Chodladh) but that doesn’t seem like a good choice to me. Ideas?
Thanks!
down by the sally gardens is a nice processional, in my experience.
I like Madame Maxwell as the couple leaves. O’Carolan is good all around…
“Give Me Your Hand” would be natural. And I found it appropriate to play a lively jig after the ceremony, which always lifts the spirits of the attendees. However, some clergymen frown on secular selections, and it would be prudent to insure that the local sentiment is not so very staid.
I came across Rawlins Cross ‘The Wedding Gift’ on YouTube and somewhere in the comments sections somebody said they contacted band for permission and the band sent the music. Beautiful gift. Available on iTunes and elsewhere.
https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=RawlinsCross&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADSA_enUS513US513&q=RawlinsCross&gs_l=hp....0.0.0.10843...........0.4S7FVg3l0rE#q=rawlins+cross+the+wedding+gift&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLSz9U3MMypLErKUOIEsQsKjQ2NtQR9S4szkx2LSjKLS0Lyg_Pz0gF7lxSSLAAAAA
Or here:
http://buy.rawlinscross.com/items/bundles/134
I found the sheet music on JC’s tunefinder:
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/findtune?P=Wedding+Gift
Thanks for the suggestions. I thought of O’Carolan, but I could only think of the ones in 3/4 time - not really good for a processional. Madame Maxwell isn’t 3/4. Who wouldn’t want Mad Max for their wedding? 
You needn’t rule out tunes in 3/4 or 6/8. I walked down the aisle (some years ago) to “Come by the Hills”. Counted in 2 (“1 . . 2 . .”) and played at the right tempo, these tunes can make a nice, stately processional.
One important factor is the priest or minister. Make sure they are happy with what you choose to play. I had a recent experience where a priest didn’t want me to play in the church at all. When the bride’s mother negotiated so that I be allowed to play within the confines of the church building, the priest wanted to know exactly what music would be played. I had a few O’Riada pieces from Ceol an Aifrinn as well as some O’Carolan tunes.
Not all encounters with the clergy are negative: I had one priest inform the wife of the deceased at a funeral that No, He would not have Onward Christian Soldiers played in his church, thank you very much.
I used to do between 30 and 50 weddings a year, and you’ll encounter a whole spectrum of things.
Speaking now of Catholic churches specifically, I consistently find that the Wedding Coordinators are far more strict/intolerant/close-minded that the Priests themselves. The Wedding Coordinators are fond of saying “Father won’t allow so-and-so.” However when I go over their head and talk to Father himself, usually it’s fine.
This is particularly true when it comes to the uilleann pipes, which the Irish Priests know all about and often are very fond of, and the American Wedding Coordinators are ignorant (they think you’re talking about the Scottish pipes, always). Many dozens of times the Wedding Coordinator has told me that “Father doesn’t allow bagpipes” and Father, in fact, was delighted to have them.
About tunes, the Wedding Coordinators will usually tell you that only Sacred music is allowed during Mass. So you end up playing Pre-service and/or Post-service music. Many’s the time I’ve had to assure the Wedding Coordinator that I have a sufficient repertoire of Sacred music (including many of the currently popular Catholic Hymns). Father himself is usually more open-minded, for example one couple wanted Fields of Athenry and the Wedding Coordinator said absolutely not and Father said he would be delighted if I played it, it was his favourite song.
I can get trickier outwith the Catholic Church for this reason: many Denominations have a one-and-only official Hymnal, and some Churches require that ALL music played within the Church be from that Hymnal. This is no problem, I assure them, because I have a large collection of such Hymnals and I’m careful to play only things contained therein, when playing at a Church like that. (The LDS is one.)
It may surprise some that the Catholic Church has no such thing. Anyone can print a “Catholic Hymnal”, there are dozens of different ones from various publishers, so the concept of what constitutes “Sacred music” in a Catholic Church is fairly elastic, especially since Hymn-writers often use secular melodies for their songs.
Jewish services can be tricky too, and I always discuss my music beforehand with the Rabbi. Luckily I play a number of Jewish folk-songs.
Bottom line, a good talk with the Minister/Pastor/Priest/Rabbi beforehand is always a good thing.