One really cannot be Boston’s best wedding band and not know a thing or two about the strong Irish culture that pervades our city. Boston’s close ties to Ireland and the influx of young, music loving Celts to Boston mean that any Boston band is forever grateful to that country for its love of music and its support of musicians.
We have played Celtic music with the best of them and can do a rendition of the Dropkick Murphy’s signature songs when asked, but our band also has played at a few weddings on St. Patricks’ Day in Boston. And, we say why not get married on one of the luckiest days of the year for the Irish.
With the biggest day for the Irish in Boston coming up this month, we feel it is a great time of year for an Irish-style wedding. The beauty of an Irish-themed wedding or ceremony is that there are so many wonderful traditions to go along with it. Kahootz can provide the soulful love songs with a Celtic twist but what about bringing the luck of the Irish to your wedding day? Is it considered good luck if it rains? Take heed of these following traditions and superstitions and all will go well!
• A fine day means good luck, especially if the sun shines on the bride. If you’re a Roman Catholic, one way to make certain that it won’t rain is to put a statue of the Infant of Prague outside the church door on the wedding morning.
• A man should always be the first to wish joy to the bride, never a woman
• Make sure you check your backyard birdfeeder on the morning of your wedding. According to Irish tradition, it is lucky to hear a cuckoo on your wedding morning or to see three magpies.
• Be careful with your toasts as it is considered bad luck if a glass or cup is broken on your wedding day
• Thank goodness for separate bathrooms at most of our venues as according to Irish lore a bride and groom should never wash their hands in the same sink at the same time.
• Check your tide and moon charts. The Irish believe it is lucky if you get married during a waning moon and an incoming tide
• This one is always tricky but when leaving the church, it is considered lucky to throw an old shoe over the bride’s head but we don’t recommend you try this at without letting the bride know why.
• If the bride’s mother-in-law breaks a piece of wedding cake on the bride’s head as she enters the house after the ceremony, they will be friends for life
• At one time, the groom was locked inside the church on the wedding day in case he got cold feet!
• It’ true….It’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day. (Of course, in Ireland, it would be a rare day when a little rain didn’t fall…)
• It’s good luck to rise at dawn with the songbirds on your wedding day.
• It’s bad luck to put on your own veil; have a well-married woman do the honors.
• A bride who can sing well is expected to sing at the wedding.
• This is probably an easy one for Boston natives, but in the days of GPS it might be difficult to do for non-locals. However, it is considered good luck for a bride to use a different road home than the one she took to the church. It is a symbol of her new life that begins with her marriage.
• Something we always enjoy but if is believed that your wedding earrings will always bring you luck when you wear them.
And, for Kahootz Band, this is our signature recommendation and we can make the music fit this one well. A bride should be careful to keep both feet off the floor when dancing with her new husband. It gives the fairies an edge.