Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 November 4, 1847) was a German composer, pianist and conductor of the early Romantic period. The grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, he was born to a notable Jewish family which later converted to Christianity. His work includes symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano and chamber music. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his creative originality is now being recognized and re-evaluated. He is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era. Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" is one of the best known of the pieces that he wrote as incidental music for Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1842. It is one of the most frequently used wedding marches, generally being played on a church pipe organ.
At weddings in many English-speaking countries, this piece is commonly used as a recessional, though frequently stripped of its episodes in this context. It is frequently teamed with the "Bridal Chorus" from Richard Wagner's.