The traditional church wedding features two bridal marches, by two
different classical composers.
The bride walks down the aisle to the majestic, moderately paced
music of the "Bridal Chorus" from Richard Wagner's 1848 opera
"Lohengrin". The newlyweds exit to the more jubilant, upbeat strains of
the "Wedding March" from Felix Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's
Dream."
The custom dates back to the royal marriage, in 1858, of Victoria,
princess of Great Britain, and Empress of Germany, to Prince Frederick
William of Prussia. Victoria, eldest daughter of Britain's Queen
Victoria, selected the music herself. A patron of the arts, she valued
the works of Mendelssohn and practically venerated those of Wagner.
Given the British penchant for copying the monarchy, soon brides
throughout the Isles, nobility and commoners alike, were marching to
Victoria's drummer, establishing a Western wedding tradition.
