The opening theme music was changed in the middle of the first season from an instrumental only version, to a version with lyrics.
The show was inspired by events in the life of Asa Mercer, first president of the Territorial University of Washington, Washington State Senator, and resident of Seattle. Mercer made three 19th-century ocean voyages that sailed to New England to recruit eligible women to move to the Pacific Northwest, where there was an extreme imbalance in the ratio of men to women. The first group reached Seattle on May 16, 1864. Mercer made two more trips that were less successful but married one of the women, Annie Stephens. This story is portrayed in Mercer Girl (1957).
Gail Kobe appeared as Lottie Hatfield in the original 1968 unaired pilot of "Here Come the Brides" as a potential love interest for the character of Jason Bolt. After filming, the character was re-written to be more of a mother figure to the brides, rather than a love interest for Jason, and Gail Kobe was replaced by Joan Blondell. Before the pilot aired, Gail's scenes were deleted and newly-filmed scenes with Joan were inserted. Joan Blondell continued as Lottie in all 52 aired episodes of the two-season run of the series.
Capt. Clancy seems older than Jason Bolt, but in reality Henry Beckman and Robert Brown are about the same age. Likewise, Denver Pyle, who played the Bolt brothers' Uncle Duncan, their father's twin brother, was only six years older than Robert Brown.
Though many viewers assume that this series was heavily influenced by the classic M-G-M musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), it actually owes more to another M-G-M film, Westward the Women (1951).