OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Valentine’s Day in 1996 saw a celebration of love like no other when music legend Prince quietly married dancer Mayte Garcia in an intimate ceremony. It was a union filled with mystery, music, and personal significance, one that would later be immortalized in Prince’s music and his memoirs.
The man who had once sung the famous lyrics “I would die 4 U” and painted love as an ever-complicated subject in his songs, found a rare moment of tenderness when he exchanged vows with 22-year-old Garcia, a woman he claimed as his soulmate. At 37 years old, Prince had long avoided settling down, especially after witnessing the turmoil of his parents’ relationship, which he reflected on in his memoir The Beautiful Ones. His father’s advice—“Never get married” and “Don’t get anybody pregnant”—echoed throughout his life. Yet, on February 14, 1996, Prince defied those words, embarking on a marital journey that would be as enigmatic as his music.
The wedding took place at the Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis, a place of significance to the artist, who had attended it during his younger years. The ceremony was anything but traditional. Prince, ever the private person, traveled to the church in the back of a van, flowers in tow, determined to keep the event low-key. However, the gathering was not meant to remain secret for long, as about 200 fans and numerous news crews gathered outside, eager for any details they could get.
Inside, the atmosphere was intimate but rich with symbolism. While only a select few were invited—Prince’s mother Mattie, stepfather Hayward Baker, and mother-figure Bernadette Anderson among them— the church was adorned with an array of orchids, gardenias, and roses. Prince’s estranged father, John Nelson, was notably absent from the ceremony, a rift between them that Prince would later discuss with Oprah Winfrey. Garcia’s father, John, walked her down the aisle in full military uniform, a poignant moment reflecting the seriousness of the occasion.
The ceremony itself was a fusion of the sacred and the eccentric. New Power Generation (NPG) member Kirk Johnson stood as the best man, while his brother, Rev. Keith Johnson, officiated the proceedings. Music played a vital role, with both “The Lord’s Prayer” and Prince’s “Kamasutra” classical suite filling the air. In an unexpected twist, the couple enlisted seven flower girls, a visual that was more whimsical than the typically somber wedding procession.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the wedding was the program, which was titled “Coincidence or Fate?”—an NPG Orchestra track that had been included on the album The Gold Experience. The program offered a fantastical retelling of Prince and Garcia’s love story, suggesting that the two were soulmates who had made a pact in their past lives to recognize each other in their final existence on Earth. This story, infused with the otherworldly charm Prince was known for, was included on the artist’s official website, thedawn.com, which launched on the very same day.
After the ceremony, the couple shared a private dinner at Prince’s renowned Paisley Park, where they danced to the heartfelt song “Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife.” The evening culminated in the romantic intimacy of “Let’s Have a Baby,” a song dedicated to their wedding night. Both tracks later appeared on Prince’s 1996 Emancipation album, a personal reflection of his life and love at the time.
For their honeymoon, the couple ventured to Hawaii, where Prince and Garcia played three concerts together. Garcia later described the experience as “the perfect honeymoon,” highlighting the joy they found on stage as a couple. “Hard to imagine having more fun than we had when we were onstage together,” she wrote in her book The Most Beautiful.
Though their marriage would eventually end in tragedy— the couple losing a child and eventually divorcing in 2000—Prince’s love for Garcia was undeniably influential in his music. His marriage to Garcia became a deeply significant chapter of his life, immortalized in songs that would forever hold the memories of their time together.
Prince would marry again in 2001, walking down the aisle with Manuela Testolini, and though their marriage too would end in divorce, Prince’s belief in the magnetic forces of love never waned. “It’s all magnetism anyway,” he said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “Something would pull me into its gravity, and I wouldn’t be able to get out from it.”
The love story of Prince and Mayte Garcia, encapsulated in their brief but meaningful union, remains an important part of Prince’s legacy. Their wedding, celebrated on the romantic day of Valentine’s, reflects the artist’s belief in fate, destiny, and the transformative power of love.