How to Plan a Jewish Wedding

Jewish weddings can vary a great deal depending on whether the bride and groom are Orthodox, Conservative or Reform in their beliefs. But there are some important Jewish traditions that many bridal couples want to uphold.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wedding Gowns
• Flowers
• Wedding Rings
• Wine Glasses
• Huppah

1. Select a location - a synagogue or temple, club, hall, restaurant, or hotel.

2. Have a ketubbah (wedding contract) prepared. This describes the rights and responsibilities of the bride and groom.

3. Include all members of your immediate families in your wedding party. Typically, the parents of the bride and groom walk them down the aisle.

4. Have a huppah, or wedding canopy, in place for the ceremony.

5. Have yarmulkes (skull caps) on hand for guests who do not bring their own.

6. Allow time prior to the ceremony for a veiling ritual, in which the groom places the veil over the face of his bride after confirming she is indeed the woman he plans to marry.

7. Use plain gold wedding bands, without any engraving or stones, for an Orthodox wedding. Place the ring on the index finger of the right hand. Following the ceremony, modern brides move the ring to the left hand.

8. Ask wedding guests to read the seven blessings.

9. Bring a glass for the groom to break at the conclusion of the ceremony. This reminds people of the destruction of the temple and also calls attention to the fragility of life and the need to care for relationships, which can be broken beyond repair.

10. Following the ceremony, the bride and groom retire to a separate room where they can be alone and eat some food (usually broth) before rejoining their guests at the reception. This period is known as yihud, or union.

11. Make sure the reception site has enough room for circle dancing. (See Related eHows.)

Tips & Warnings

• The bride's family and friends sit on the right side and the groom's on the left.
• Jewish weddings may not be held during the Sabbath, which runs from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown. Most Jewish weddings take place on Saturday night or on Sunday.
• A huppah is traditionally a solid piece of fabric held up by four poles. It may be made from any kind of fabric, including embroidered velvet with fringe, but is often made out of a prayer shawl. A huppah may also be formed of flowers.

[scottykarrde]

on 9/16/2009 Another really important point - the bride should look into finding a mentor to teach her the beautiful laws of family purity, a prerequisite for a true Jewish marriage and an investment for both the couple and generations to come.

[frumbride]

on 1/17/2008 Frumbride.com is a comprehensive resource for kallahs (brides) planning an Orthodox Jewish wedding.

[eees]

on 8/19/2007 As far as I know NO ORTHODOX Jewish weddings would EVER take place on a Saturday night!

on 6/30/2006 The ideal Jewish wedding is by a Jewish, Israeli, photographer. I heard they charge the same prices as US photographers, but do a much better job!

on 11/22/2005 Another fun wedding favor (besides a kippah, which is recommended for men, and not women, in most cases) is the pocket-sized grace after meals booklet. The booklet is called a "BEN-cher" in Yiddish and a "bir-CON" in Hebrew. They include, of course, the Jewish grace after meals with additions celebrating the festive wedding meal. Some benchers/bircons also include the actual wedding ceremony, so guests can follow along if they would like. Most couples have their names and the wedding date imprinted on the booklet cover in English and/or Hebrew. The cost of the booklets runs from 70 cents each (for a 2-3 color paperback) up to $10 each (for a fully illustrated hardback). They are available through many websites. The loveliest benchers I've seen are the Nevarech and the Yonah Weinrib Wedding Shiron.