How a Shakespearean fairy play became the world's most famous wedding recessional march
In short: Felix Mendelssohn wrote his Wedding March in 1842 as incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was never intended for the altar, yet it became a global staple after a royal endorsement in 1858. Today, it remains the definitive sound of Western weddings, often paired with Wagner's Bridal Chorus.
Felix Mendelssohn composed his Wedding March in C major as part of his Op. 61 suite for Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. While now synonymous with matrimony, the piece was originally theatrical music. Its transition to the church was gradual, beginning with the first recorded performance at a wedding in 1847, when organist Samuel Reay played it for Dorothy Carew and Tom Daniel at St Peter's Church in Tiverton, England.
The march's true ascent to cultural ubiquity occurred on 25 January 1858. Victoria, The Princess Royal, chose the piece for her marriage to Prince Frederick William of Prussia. As the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria—a monarch who deeply admired Mendelssohn and frequently hosted him during his British visits—the Princess Royal's selection cemented the march as a royal standard. This association transformed a piece of incidental fairy music into the quintessential recessional for Western weddings.
Beyond the altar, the march has enjoyed a varied history. It served as the regimental march for the Life-Guard Cossack Regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard, reportedly gifted by Alexander II due to the unit's wedding-like demeanor. The composition also attracted virtuoso attention; Franz Liszt created a complex transcription in 1849–50, which later inspired Vladimir Horowitz to adapt it into a piano showpiece. Today, the work is commonly performed on pipe organs, though it is frequently stripped of its original episodes when used in modern wedding ceremonies.
The march is often heard alongside other classics, such as the Bridal Chorus from Richard Wagner's Lohengrin or Jeremiah Clarke's Prince of Denmark's March, which are typically reserved for the bride's entrance. Mendelssohn's own connection to the instrument remains preserved in history; an organ he used for recitals of the work is still housed at St Ann's Church in Tottenham, serving as a physical link to the origins of this enduring musical tradition.
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