Jewish Wedding Planner in Los Angeles & San Francisco
In the Jewish Culture, the wedding day is considered to be one of the happiest and holiest day in one’s life and should be considered the personal Yom Kippur of the bride and groom. Traditionally, the engaged couple will fast on their wedding day until after the wedding ceremony and will ask for forgiveness before starting their new lives together as one combined soul. The guests of the Jewish wedding have duties which they must fulfill for the bride and groom which include bearing witness to the marriage of the and then eating, dancing, and rejoicing during the wedding reception to make the newly wed couple happy on their wedding day as they begin their new journey together.
Kabbalat Panim
Before the wedding ceremony, separate pre-wedding rituals are performed for the bride and groom. The beginning of the wedding ceremony is dedicated to greeting the Bride and Groom to the Chuppah ceremony. Since they are to be treated like a King and Queen on their wedding day, the bride sits on her “throne” to greet her guests as they line up to receive special blessings from her and wish her a healthy and happy marriage. During this time, the groom attends his Tish with his male family and friends as they sing and toast to him and a healthy and happy marriage. Additionally, the tena’im is signed and read aloud indicting contractual conditions for the marriage. The mothers of the bride and groom will break a plate to signifying agreement of the tena’im. The breaking of the plate symbolizes an irreversible action, such as the engagement of the couple should be irreversible as well. Following this, the marriage contract (traditionally referred to as the Ketuba) is signed.
Modern Jewish Wedding Processional
Traditionally, Jewish wedding don’t have a processional. For a modern Jewish wedding in America, Jewish couples often prefer to have a processional as a mix of their two cultures. This is the order of the modern Jewish-American Processional:
- The Rabbi
- The Cantor
- Grandparents of the bride
- Grandparents of the groom
- The groomsmen paired with other groomsmen
- The best man alone
- The groom with his father on his left and his mother on the right
- The bridesmaids paired with other bridesmaids
- The ring bearer
- The flower girl(s)
- The bride with her father on her left and her mother on her right
Bedekin
This is the part of the Jewish wedding ceremony where the groom is accompanied by his family and friends to greet his bride and place a veil over her face. This tradition dates back to the times of the Old Testament in which the groom covering the bride’s face symbolizes that the groom is making a commitment into the depths of the bride’s soul, which no one else but him has seen and regardless of how beautiful his bride is, he is joining her forever in marriage for reasons that cannot be seen by the naked eye.
The Chuppah Ceremony
This is among the holiest of ceremonies in Jewish tradition in which the Chuppah symbolizes the home that is to be built by the couple and is therefore a standing structure under the stars in which the bride and groom will make their commitment under. It is open on all side to symbolize that all family and friends are welcome into the couple’s lives with the utmost hospitality. During the Chuppah ceremony is the ideal time for anyone to engage in prayer.
Seven Circles
As soon as the bride steps under the Chuppah, she circles her groom seven times to symbolize the belief that the world was created in seven days and she is building spiritual walls to hold their marriage together. The number seven symbolizes a level of completeness that the bride and groom cannot achieve separately. This creates an instant spiritual bond between the bride and groom and begins their journey as husband and wife.
Kiddushin
Blessings of betrothal are achieved in a Jewish Wedding Ceremony by cups of wine. One cup of wine accompanies the betrothal blessing from the Rabbi, after the Rabbi recites the blessing, the couple drinks from the cup of wine and the second cup of wine is set aside for Sheva Berachot.
The Wedding Ring
The ring is traditionally made of pure, plain gold with no stones or engravings to symbolize the purity and continuity of marriage. The groom will have the wedding ring in his hand in front of two witnesses and he will declare the bride his wife. According the Jewish Wedding Traditions, the moment in which the groom places the ring on the right hand of the bride’s forefinger is the exact moment in which the couple is officially married.
Ketubah
At this time, the marriage contract is read out loud as the binding document of the marriage. It entails the confidence and trust in the marriage as well as obligations that the husband has to his wife. This reading separates the first part of the ceremony from the second part, which is the marriage (traditionally referred to as the Nissuin). The ceremony cannot continue into the Nissuin until the contract is completed, this symbolizes how vital the protection of the wife’s rights are in Jewish culture and marriage.
Sheva Berachot
The seven wedding blessings will be recited at this time by the Rabbi. The blessings include:
- Blessing the couple over the second cup of wine
- Praising God for all of the creations
- Celebrating Humanity
- Celebrating Humanity
- Thanking God for this people in Israel
- Blessing the couple’s marriage
- Honoring the bride and groom
Following these seven blessings the couple will drink wine from the same cup to symbolize that they have begun their life together.
Breaking the Glass
The glass is then placed on the floor for the groom to break with his right foot. This symbolizes the destruction of the Holy temple, the Jewish people’s exile from Jerusalem, and the Jewish people’s responsibility to aid in repairing the world.
Mazel Tov
Mazel Tov wishes many congratulations and cheers to the bride and groom. This follows the groom’s breaking of the glass into the modern tradition of a wedding reception to rejoice in the recent marriage of the couple.
Yichud
The newly married couple takes some private moments in a location separate from their guests to spend a few moments together privately as husband and wife. Traditionally, this is a time for the husband and wife to consummate their marriage, however modern traditions have created it as a break between the wedding ceremony and reception for the bride and groom to spend a few moments together before entering their wedding reception.
