The wedding of Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich (1868–1918) and Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (1872–1918) was initially planned for April 1895, following their engagement in Coburg in April 1894. The festivities were set to last a week in St Petersburg, featuring the full grandeur of a State occasion. However, the unexpected death of Emperor Alexander III at Livadia on 20 October 1894 forced both the date and nature of the ceremony to be changed.

The new Emperor, Nicholas II, was eager to marry as soon as possible. He first wished to hold the wedding at Livadia before his father’s funeral, but his uncles opposed this, insisting that the marriage of a reigning Emperor was a national event that had to take place in St Petersburg.

Nicholas and Alexandra were married on 14 November 1894, just a week after Alexander III’s funeral. The date was chosen to coincide with the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna’s birthday, allowing a temporary relaxation of Court mourning. Maria Feodorovna personally assisted Alexandra with her wedding attire, and they travelled together to the Winter Palace, where Nicholas awaited them in the Imperial Chapel.

Gifts from across the Empire and abroad arrived in abundance, many from municipal governments. The more elaborate and bespoke presents would have been commissioned soon after the engagement announcement. However, advancing the wedding by five months created a rush among craftsmen to complete their work on time. It is likely that many gifts were not completed in time for the ceremony itself and reached the Court later.

Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexandra's sister, presented an important triptych by Fabergé to the Imperial couple on their wedding (now in the Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg). Another wedding icon, commissioned by the city of Kostroma and crafted by the Savelev Brothers, was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 5 June 2018, lot 458.