A Jewish wedding is traditionally a very big event, with lots of boisterous singing, people dancing or clapping their hands to the rythym of the music. Our weddings are performed in the ways of our people. Very traditional, and ceremonies must never be arranged on any major Jewish holiday. Our wedding date was arranged for Rosh Hodesh, for it is said to bring good luck to the loving couple. In a traditional Jewish wedding only the groom is to give a ring, but we have spoken to our Rabbi and it will be acceptable to have a double ring ceremony.
My fiance and I decided to write our own ketubah, which is a document to express our commitment to each other. Some couples follow the traditional, but we preferred to word our own. In a Jewish wedding, the parents escort the groom and the parents of the bride escort her to the chuppah, which is like a canopy. Once there the bride circles the groom seven times and then stands to the right of her fiance. Our Chuppah was hand made by my mother and aunt.
After the ceremony a wine glass is placed on the floor and the groom,( now it is exceptable for the bride to take part in this ritual) uses his foot to break the glass. This marks the end of the ceremony. Everyone yells Mazel Tov as the couple walk down the aisle and go to a room to spend a little time alone.
Then it’s time for the reception. There was delicious food and pastries, wine and champagne and our most beautiful wedding cake with our bride and groom topper. All our tables were set up in a very elegant style and there were flowers every where. I had placed everyones names in little place card holders at each setting and found the most beautiful Jewish wedding favors as thank you gifts for all of our friends and families.
Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time dancing and enjoying the assortment of foods and drinks we had set up in a buffet style. I don’t know if you know this or not, but Jewish people love to dance, sing and have a good time, especially at weddings. The hora is a dance where the bride and groom are placed in chairs and are carried around the floor by some of the guests. There is also a tradition where the guests are to entertain the couple as they sit in these chairs, by either singing a song, dancing or some other form of entertainment. It really is great fun.
We danced, ate great foods and had a wonderful time at the reception, everyone told me how lovely everything was and how beautiful our ceremony was. They really liked the decorations and all the accessories I had set up for the reception. Even my grandmother approved. I was complimented on the cuisine, everything kosher, and the fabulous desserts and fine wines. There were a few comments on how much they liked their Jewish favors and how lovely the little favor boxes were I had them packaged in. It was the most exciting night of my life.
As the evening wore on it was finally time for me and my new husband to steal away to our private little get away. We had planned a wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii, and neither one of us could wait to get started. We said our good byes and headed for the airport. On the plane we talked about how perfect everything was, and the memories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.