How to Plan a Jewish Wedding
How to find a rabbi or cantor to perform the ceremony; getting pre-marital counseling; selecting a date.
WEDDING RITUALS
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12 Rituals You May See at a Jewish Wedding
Breaking a glass is a ritual frequently performed at Jewish weddings. Check out these other practices and customs you may see the next time you’re at a Jewish wedding.
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What's Jewish About the Jewish Wedding?
More than any other ritual, the Jewish wedding reflects the sacred flow of Jewish history, tradition, and theology.
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Parents' Blessings on Your Wedding Day
For couples, one way to express gratitude to those who raised them is to invite their parents (step-parents and grandparents, too) to offer them a blessing on their wedding day.
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How to Connect Your Wedding to Your Congregational Community
An aufruf is a blessing offered for an engaged couple during a synagogue service shortly before the wedding.
PLANNING A JEWISH WEDDING
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Checklists for Your Wedding Day
Designated helpers and a plan of action, as well as checklists, will help ensure all your preparations come together beautifully for your Jewish wedding.
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Choosing the Music for Your Jewish Wedding
Whether your dream to is to walk down the aisle to Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé’s “Perfect” duet or a classical composition, the music for your wedding day can set the tone.
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How to Create an Inclusive Jewish Wedding Ceremony
Here are 10 ways you can recognize and honor both partners’ backgrounds in your wedding ceremony and celebration.
Related Answers to Jewish Questions
- Where does the Jewish tradition of breaking the glass at a wedding originate?
- Is a bride at a Jewish wedding required to wear a veil?
- At a Jewish wedding, why does the couple stand under a canopy?
- My partner and I are planning our same-sex wedding. Will a rabbi officiate?
- I recently became engaged and my fiancée said we need to get a ketubah. Can you explain what a ketubah is?
- What if my ketubah witnesses don’t know how to sign their names in Hebrew?
- What is an appropriate honorarium for the rabbi or cantor who performs our wedding?
Find a Congregation
Find a welcoming Reform congregation near you.
What's New
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Choosing Life: An Israeli Wedding Story
May 19, 2021
Shira & Ron, two young industrial engineers, approached me this past March, when Israel took its first steps out of the pandemic
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A Jerusalem Love Story
February 9, 2021
It has been almost 50 years since I met my wife Judy in Jerusalem. She came into my life like the Sabbath queen about to enter the synagogue, with everyone rising and turning toward the door to welcome her in.
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How to Mark Your Wedding Date When You’ve Had to Postpone
May 4, 2020
There is some small comfort in the fact that Jewish ritual offers many ways to mark life’s significant moments and to acknowledge the complicated mix of feelings that may accompany them. Here are some ideas to get you thinking.