History of the two most famous wedding songs
Weddings are a significant event in many people’s lives. The songs chosen for the ceremony itself is very important to many. So today we will be looking at two of the most popular songs to play at weddings.
Let’s start with perhaps the most easily recognized song on our list “The Wedding March” composed by Felix Mendelssohn. This song was created in 1842 to accompany a play by William Shakespeare called “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The Wedding March wouldn’t be used for an actual wedding until 1847. However, the song did not become a popular choice for weddings until it was used at the wedding of royals in 1858.
The “Bridal Chorus” or “Here comes the bride” was part of an opera entitled Lohengrin written by Richard Wagner in 1850. In the opera, the marriage that this song is paired with does not end too well for the couple. The opera itself has themes one may not want to be associated with their marriage such as tragedy and infidelity. Regardless of that many people have used it for their wedding without ant issue.
In most modern weddings, the bridal chorus is performed without singing. There exists some controversy with the lyrics, namely that some of the ‘newer’ renditions are not as friendly. The original lyrics roughly translates as follows:
“Led here in faith, draw near with joy,
Love’s guardian angel will watch over you!
Joined in a bond none can destroy,
Now you are one in your love ever true!”
With an English version from 1946:
“Here comes the bride,
All dressed in white,
Sweetly, serenely in the soft glowing light.
Lovely to see, marching to thee,
Sweet love united for eternity.”
Both versions are nice, however, you may have of heard more colorful (and significantly less kind) versions. Because of this, the Bridal Chorus may not be the best choice for a wedding.