A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1

• The Canterlot wedding and the advertisements and promotions for the episode are all a nod to the Royal Wedding of 2011. Specifically, the characters' attires match that of the special guests.

A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2

• When we pan up to the ceiling in Princess Cadance's room, the chandelier comes from the library in Myst.
• At the end of the fight sequence, the six ponies burst through a group of Changelings as a dramatic music cue plays. This is parallels a sequence from the second Matrix movie, where the protagonist Neo escapes a mob of Smith clones in the same fashion.
• The changelings resemble Kelpie of Celtic folklore, spirits that terrorizes the rivers of Scotland and usually take the form of a horse. Their modus operandi also mirrors that of Faeries and Succubi in European lore.
• Bridal Chorus, composed by Richard Wagner, is used during the wedding sequence. A single phrase is also played during the wedding rehearsal in the prior episode, as a background clip during Twilight and Cadance's confrontation with the bridesmaids.
• During the wedding sequence of the real Cadance, after the bridal chorus starts and before Cadance walks in, a pony resembling Harry Potter is visible in the back near the right edge of the screen.
• The Changelings' appearance, use of cocoons and shape-shifting abilities are based on the biology of metamorphic insects such as butterflies and moths. This is solidified with Queen Chrysalis' namesake, which is the term used to describe the Pupal stage of a butterfly.