Looking for Irish wedding songs? Want to know about all the different types of wedding songs available? Read our guide for more information on choosing the right song for you…
An Irish wedding is a magnificent time when music and merry making is the order of the day. Depending on the circumstances of the bridegroom and his bride, there may be a live band and a singer who sings special songs for the joyful occasion. Irish wedding songs have a thoroughly Irish flavor to them and the lyrics are so well known that the crowd often joins in. One such song is ‘When Irish Eyes Are Smiling’. This song was composed as a tribute to Ireland in 1912 and made famous by several singers including the inimitable Bing Crosby.
Irish wedding songs make full use of Irish folk songs beloved of the Irish people, like ‘A Walk in Irish Rain’. It tells of a sailor who has put behind his sailing days and stepped ashore in Dublin to be with his sweetheart, Katherine. Another song about Dublin that is sung at an Irish wedding is ‘Dublin in the Rare Old Times’. A fairly recent composition, this song was written in the 1970s and tells of the many changing faces of Dublin since the 1960s.
One of the favorite choices for Irish wedding songs is a popular ballad composed in 1875 by Thomas Westendorf called ‘I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen’. Revered as a lovely Irish song, it was written in answer to another Irish song called ‘Barney, Take Me Home Again’. Although Westendorf was an American schoolteacher from Plainfield, Indiana, however, his composition is unmistakably Irish and regarded as an Irish song.
Irish Wedding Traditions
When you’re thinking of having a wedding in Ireland, Irish wedding traditions should be foremost in your mind. One of the traditions state that a bride should not wear green on her wedding day. When going home from the church, a wedding party should take the long route home. A wedding in April will ensure that the marriage lasts a long time as opposed to a wedding in the month of May. Getting married during the harvest would bode well for the couple, as they would be gathering throughout their marriage.
Irish wedding songs are varied and full of good humor to liven up the wedding banquet. You could hire a live band and singer to croon your favorite songs that are wholly Irish in nature.
