Jewish wedding traditions

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.