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EveryShaadi

Jewish wedding traditions

A Jewish wedding is built around the chuppah, the ketubah and the seven blessings, and the breaking of the glass.

A Jewish wedding is built around the chuppah, the ketubah and the seven blessings, and the breaking of the glass. The details vary between Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist communities, and between Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi and other traditions.

Core elements

The ketubah is a marriage contract that sets out the husband's obligations to the wife. It is signed by two witnesses before the ceremony. Under the chuppah, a canopy, the groom gives the bride a ring, and the sheva brachot, the seven blessings, are recited over a cup of wine. The couple may be walked in by their parents. At the end the groom, or both partners in some communities, breaks a glass, a gesture often linked to remembering the destruction of the Temple.

Differences between communities

Orthodox weddings keep the bride and groom apart in the week before, include a bedeken, the veiling of the bride, and often separate seating for men and women. Reform and Conservative weddings may include both partners giving rings, women as witnesses and officiants, and in the case of some Reform rabbis, same-sex or interfaith couples. Mizrahi and Sephardi communities may add henna nights, as among Moroccan and Yemenite Jews, and elaborate costume such as the Yemenite bridal dress.

Before and after

Many grooms are called to the Torah in an aufruf the Sabbath before. After the wedding the couple spend time alone in the yichud room, and the seven blessings are repeated for the week afterwards. Weddings are not held on Sabbath or most festivals, nor during the Omer in many communities, and weeks around Tisha B'Av. The agunah problem, where a woman cannot obtain a divorce, is still a live concern for rabbis, and some couples add a prenuptial agreement.

About this page

Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Jewish (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindRiteVowBetrothalGift customAttireAdornmentPerformanceFeast customBlessingPlayFamily roleSettingModern
StageFinding a matchEngagement and betrothalThe weeks beforeThe eveProcession and arrivalThe ceremonyThe wedding feastReception, dance and giftsAfter the wedding
🇰🇷 South Korea and 5 moreBlessing ceremony of the Unification ChurchHoly Marriage Blessing Ceremony (축복결혼식) A large-scale marriage rededication or new union ceremony that engrafts couples into a sinless lineage.Rite · Engagement and betrothal 🇩🇪 Hamburg, Germany and 3 moreWimpelווימפל A linen sash made from a baby boy's circumcision cloth that binds the Torah scroll.Adornment · The weeks before 🇸🇬 Singapore and 3 moreMatchmaking The practice of pairing two people for marriage through an intermediary or system.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreBride price Wealth paid by the groom or his family to the bride or her kin to formalize a union.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇱 IsraelErusinאירוסין The first stage of a Jewish marriage that consecrates the bride to the groom.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreInterfaith marriage in Judaismשִׁדּוּג חַלּוּץ (Shidug Chalutz) / אינטרפייט מריאז' (Interafeyt Mariyaz') The union of a Jew and a non-Jew, viewed as void by traditional law but increasingly common in modern communities.Vow · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 2 moreJewish prenuptial agreement A contract signed before the wedding to ensure a Jewish divorce can happen if one spouse refuses.Vow · Engagement and betrothal 🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreEngagement party A gathering to announce a new engagement and introduce the two families before the wedding.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreProxy marriage A union where one or both partners are absent and represented by another person.Vow · The ceremony 🇷🇴 Romania and 7 moreHorahora (Romanian), horo (Bulgarian), oro (Macedonian), horah (Hebrew) A circle dance held at weddings across Southeast Europe and among Jewish communities worldwide.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 4 moreAgunahעֲגוּנָה (Agunah) A Jewish woman trapped in a marriage because her husband has not granted a religious divorce document known as a get.Vow · After the wedding 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreYibbumייבום A Jewish rite where a brother marries his childless deceased brother's widow to continue the family line.Vow · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreKetubahכְּתוּבָּה The Jewish marriage contract that outlines the groom's financial and personal obligations to the bride.Vow · Engagement and betrothal 🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBread and salt A traditional welcome offering of bread and salt to guests or newlyweds in Slavic, Baltic, and Balkan cultures.Feast custom · The weeks before 🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreBadchenבּדחן (badkhn) The Ashkenazi Jewish wedding entertainer and master of ceremonies who guides the couple through ritual stages with song Performance · Engagement and betrothal 🇨🇳 China and 5 morePosthumous marriageminghun A union performed when one or both partners have died, kept in parts of Asia and permitted by law in a few nations.Betrothal · After the wedding 🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreLevirate marriage A custom where a man marries his deceased brother's widow to protect her and keep the family line intact.Betrothal · After the wedding 🇧🇹 Bhutan and 5 moreSororate marriage A practice where a man marries his late or infertile wife's sister to keep family ties strong.Family role · After the wedding 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreInterfaith marriage A union between spouses of different faiths, navigating legal and religious boundaries across the world.Vow · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWedding veil A cloth covering the head or face worn by brides and grooms to mark marriage.Attire · The ceremony 🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreHerem of Rabbeinu GershomḤerem de-Rabbeinu Gershom Medieval ordinances that banned polygyny and forced divorce for Ashkenazi Jews.Vow · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇱 IsraelGetגט The Aramaic divorce document that frees a Jewish woman to remarryVow · After the wedding 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreLieberman clause A ketubah provision for rabbinic arbitration to prevent a woman from being unable to remarry.Vow · Engagement and betrothal 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreGet of Cleves A disputed 1766 Jewish divorce document that sparked international rabbinic debate over mental competence.Vow · After the wedding 🇿🇲 ZambiaPolygamy in Zambia A legal form of marriage allowing one man to have multiple wives under customary law.Family role · Engagement and betrothal 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreCousin marriage in the Middle East A traditional practice of marrying close relatives, especially paternal cousins, across Middle Eastern communities.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreHeter meah rabbanimהיתר מאה רבנים A rare exemption allowing a man to remarry when his wife refuses a Jewish divorce.Vow · After the wedding 🇮🇱 IsraelSeudat mitzvahסעודת מצוה The obligatory festive meals in Judaism that mark religious milestones and sacred days.Feast custom · The ceremony

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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