11/26/1894 AD married

Plans for the wedding, which had been set for the spring of 1895, had been in the works since Nicholas's engagement, and it ordinarily would have included a week of public celebrations and parades. However, the death of Alexander III put an end to such extravagant plans.

Nicholas had initially expressed his wish to be married at Livadia before his father's funeral, which Nicholas's mother had agreed with. However, his uncles, Grand Dukes Vladimir, Alexei, Sergei and Paul argued that, as Nicholas was tsar, the wedding should be held in St. Petersburg with some pomp.

With Nicholas unwilling to wait until the end of official mourning to marry, it was decided to hold the wedding on his mother's birthday, which would have allowed for court mourning to be somewhat relaxed.

Nicholas had also intended to keep the wedding a private family affair, but his uncles had persuaded their nephew to invite the diplomatic corps to watch the procession to and from the cathedral.

Invitations had been sent out, along with a dress code: Russian gentlemen were to wear full regimental dress, bureaucrats were to wear the appropriate uniforms as stipulated in Peter the Great's Great Table of Ranks; Russian ladies were to come in full court dress, foreign women in evening dresses, with full jewels and awards.

Due to court mourning, there was no reception, nor honeymoon, with Nicholas and Alexandra going to reside with his mother and brother at the Anichkov Palace. In time, however, Nicholas and Alexandra would move to the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.

Saint Petersburg

Lattitude: 59.9343° N
Longitude: 30.3351° E
Region: Russia and Eastern Bloc

Modern Day Russia

Events in 1894 MORE