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.
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.
🇰🇷 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
🇮🇱 IsraelSeudat nissuinSeudat nissuin (סעודת נישואין)
The Jewish wedding meal blessed with wine and bread, followed by seven days of celebration.Feast custom · The ceremony
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelTu B'Avט״ו באב
A minor Jewish holiday in Israel that serves as a popular day for weddings and matchmaking.Betrothal · The weeks before
🇮🇱 IsraelMazel tovמזל טוב
The Jewish phrase said to congratulate someone on a happy occasion or good fortune.Blessing · The ceremony
🇮🇷 Shiraz, Iran and 5 moreUlulation
A high-pitched trilling sound made by women to celebrate weddings and share good news across many cultures.Performance · Procession and arrival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 3 moreJewish wedding
The ceremony and laws that bind a couple in Jewish marriage, from the canopy to the glass.Rite · 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreKetubahכְּתוּבָּה
The Jewish marriage contract that outlines the groom's financial and personal obligations to the bride.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 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
🇮🇱 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
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSheva Brachotשבע ברכות
The seven blessings recited during Jewish weddings and the subsequent festive week.Blessing · The ceremony
🇵🇱 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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreWedding music
The songs and instruments that mark the arrival of the couple and set the mood for the celebration.Performance · The weeks before
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreChuppahחֻפָּה (ḥuppā)
The four-poster canopy that marks the Jewish wedding ceremony and symbolizes the couple's new home.Setting · The ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions
Traditional beliefs about luck and omens that shape wedding rituals across culturesAttire · The weeks before
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreRing fingerdigitus annularis
The fourth digit of the hand where wedding and engagement rings are traditionally worn.Attire · The ceremony
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWedding veil
A cloth covering the head or face worn by brides and grooms to mark marriage.Attire · The ceremony
🇺🇸 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
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSame-sex marriage and Judaism
How different branches of Judaism handle the union of two people of the same sex.Modern · The ceremony
🇮🇱 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 3 moreHerem of Rabbeinu GershomḤerem de-Rabbeinu Gershom
Medieval ordinances that banned polygyny and forced divorce for Ashkenazi Jews.Vow · Engagement and betrothal
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער
The instrumental dance music played by Ashkenazi Jewish musicians at weddings in Eastern Europe and beyondPerformance · Engagement and betrothal
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער
The instrumental wedding music of Ashkenazi Jews, blending Eastern European and Jewish ritual melodies.Performance · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇱 IsraelSeudat mitzvahסעודת מצוה
The obligatory festive meals in Judaism that mark religious milestones and sacred days.Feast custom · The ceremony
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreBekisheבעקישע (bekishe) or בעקעטשע (beketche)
A long black coat worn by Hasidic men on the Sabbath and at weddings.Attire · The ceremony
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jewish wedding: Jozef Israëls, Public domain, source
- Interfaith marriage in Christianity: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ketubah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Yibbum: School of Rembrandt, Public domain, source
- Bekishe: JJ211219 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Interfaith marriage in Judaism: Rembrandt, Public domain, source
- Sheva Brachot: מנחם יוסיפון, CC0, source
- Klezmer: Syrena Records (Warsaw), Public domain, source
- Seudat mitzvah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Herem of Rabbeinu Gershom: Nixnubix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Same-sex marriage and Judaism: Ed and Eddie, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ring finger: RAPMOODDE, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Badchen: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Klezmer: Unknown artist identified as "M.D.", Public domain, source
- Mazel tov: Iwona Erskine-Kellie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wedding veil: David Ring, CC0, source
- Chuppah: me, Public domain, source
- Wedding superstitions: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Proxy marriage: Alejandro Cicarelli, Public domain, source