Services

  • WEDDINGS

    •  When I am engaged for a wedding, my usual procedure is to begin by inviting the Bride and Groom to my home, along with anyone else they wish to bring, to discuss my involvement in the wedding. I play tunes for them, and I give them a CD (which is theirs to keep) of the wedding tunes I have played at other weddings (You can listen to a sample by clicking here). I make suggestions for the ceremony as they would apply to the bagpiping and my involvement. The Bride and Groom can listen to the CD later and call me with ideas and tune selections if they have not decided on tunes during our consultation.

    I am available for the Rehearsal as well as the Wedding and will pose for pictures with the wedding party participants. For the wedding ceremony, I can do and have done all or some of the following:

    • Play in front of the Wedding location as guests arrive, unless the bride and groom would like to use me as an element of surprise, in which case I remain hidden until the appointed moment ;

    • Play during the seating of Grandmothers and Mothers, pipe in Bride’s Maids, Flower Girl and ring Bearer, Groom alone or with the Minister and Groomsmen, and Pipe in the Bride;

    • Play at some midpoint in the wedding ceremony, such as during lighting of a Unity Candle;

    • Pipe the Bride and Groom out after being pronounced Man and Wife;

    • Play outside the wedding location as guests leave, or go to the reception location and play as guests arrive there;

    • Pipe the Bride and Groom in to the reception area when they arrive after picture-taking (sort of a “grand entrance” type thing)

    		For all of the above (for a wedding in the Austin Area), I charge a fee of $250.00. If the wedding is out of town, the fee will increase, depending on the distance, number of trips and time involved.

    My minimum fee is $200.00 if there is no rehearsal involvement, but that fee may also increase for weddings out of town. If I work through, or am engaged by, a wedding consultant or Agent, my fees are the same; and the Agent may add on any fee of his/her own. I ask for a Non-Refundable deposit of $100.00 at the time I am engaged. There may be other circumstances in any arrangement that could affect the amount of the fee.

    • FUNERALS AND MEMORIAL SERVICES

    • CHURCH OR SYNAGOGUE SERVICES

    • CORPORATE FUNCTIONS

    • PROMOTIONAL EVENTS

    • BANQUETS AND FAMILY GATHERINGS

    • PARTIES AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS
    Bagpipes have been used for centuries for musical tributes at ceremonies and funerals, a practice that dates back to early Roman times and, more recently, as one of the rituals in the British Army.  For hundreds of years, the bagpipe has held an enviable and exclusive place in "the society of musical instruments" because it is one of the few instruments that can be played anywhere, with or without accompaniment.  Its unique characteristic of combining a central tone with its own harmony from the hum of the drones places it at great advantage over other instruments.

    Although the bagpipe has been the preferred music since the earliest times at the funerals, services, and ceremonies of Scots and those of other Celtic origins, it has also been a favorite of people from all other backgrounds, especially since September 11, 2001. Police departments, fire departments, and all branches of the Armed Forces have likewise adopted this unique way of honoring, recognizing, and remembering their comrades.