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Jewish

Now take Jewish weddings. No single set of rules applies to all Jewish weddings, for there are differences among the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform branches of the faith. Weddings may take place at any time except on the Sabbath, on Holy Days, or festival periods. Most weddings are on Saturday evening after sundown or on Sunday.

In a prewedding Orthodox ritual, the bride is "veiled" by the groom as a sign that she is his betrothed. (Bedeken)

There is the signing of the marriage contract, (the Ketubah), by the groom. The Ketubah is an illustrated and artistically lettered document in Hebrew detailing what the groom promises to provide for the bride.

In the Conservative and Orthodox ceremonies, all the men are required to cover their heads with either yarmulkes or silk top hats; the women with hats or kerchiefs. In seating, the bride’s family will be on the right side and the groom’s family on the left.

The order of the procession usually includes the groom with his parents, the bride with her parents and others to follow. The ceremonies are traditionally performed under a huppah, (a type of canopy). As the bride arrives under the huppah, she may walk 3 or 7 times around the groom, symbolizing that the woman is a protective wall for her husband and stepping inside, they have a new status or family circle.

After the vows, a plain gold band is placed on the bride’s right index finger, in Reform ceremony it is placed on the left ring finger.

After reading of the Ketubah, the ceremony ends with the reciting of the Seven Blessings, reminder that life’s goals are not selfish, but designed for the betterment of the world, the glory of God, and breaking of the glass, a reminder of the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and of other calamities that befell the Jewish people that should not be forgotten.

The reception feast is begun with a blessing over the Challah, (a braided loaf of egg-rich bread), which is cut and distributed to each table for good luck. There are dozens of (tanzen) simple combinations & story dances associated with weddings that can be announced and improvised. The one that we are most familiar with is the Hora, when the Bride & Groom are raised on the shoulders of their guest usually in chairs.

The Reform branch, is the most liberal of the three faiths. They performs the ceremony in Hebrew and English. They have the freedom to opt not to have most of the traditional rituals of the Jewish law incorporated in their weddings, however, most of the couples do.

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