Why is the song Here Comes The Bride not played at Jewish weddings?

Answer 1

Two answers: #1). It should be understood that so many customs associated with weddings are merely social or secular traditions, with relatively brief histories and praticed by relatively small groups. Examples are "Something old/new/borrowed/blue." or the particular musical selections adopted by the couple or their families. "Here Comes the Bride" could not have been played at ANY wedding more than 159 years ago ... the blink of an eye in the history of weddings ... because Wagner's Opera 'Lohengrin', from which it is taken, had never been heard until 1850. The fact that one or another of these now-popular customs is included in a wedding is due to nothing more significant than the fact that some other popular customs ARE included. #2). If there is a conscious effort on anyone's part to avoid "Here Comes the Bride" at a Jewish wedding, it could be due to the fact that Richard Wagner, its celebrated composer, was one of the most virulent anti-semites to ever have his opinions widely published, and that Adolph Hitler borrowed extensively from Wagner's writings on the subject. Just a guess.