Jewish weddings

Your essential guide to the Orthodox Jewish wedding ceremony

The Jewish faith -- only eight per cent of whose members live in Europe -- is made up of three main strands: Orthodox, Liberal and Reform. The Orthodox Jews are the strictest. A Jewish marriage ceremony combines the legal and religious elements of marriage in a ceremony -- there’s no need for a separate register office ceremony. Orthodox rabbis will not marry an inter-faith couple -- it’s usually required that the non-Jewish person converts to Judaism.

Jews believe that a person cannot achieve complete joy and fulfilment on earth without being united in the holy covenant of marriage. According to Jewish tradition, the bride and groom not only pay attention to the material and temporal aspects of wedding preparations, but also to ensuring their religious, spiritual and moral preparedness for their big day.

What happens at an Orthodox Jewish wedding?

As long as the bride (Kallah) and groom (Chatan) are standing under the Chuppah (canopy), the marriage ceremony can take place almost anywhere -- in a synagogue, the bride or groom’s home, in a public venue such as a hotel or even on a beach.
The wedding venue is chosen by the bride and groom. The cost is normally covered by the bride’s parents.
The Orthodox Jewish wedding ceremony follows a strict pattern, including singing and readings taken from the psalms, from which it is impossible to deviate. The wedding lasts about one hour.
To marry in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, your parents must also have been married in the Orthodox manner, the ceremony presided over by an authorised Rabbi. They also need to produce a Ketubah (Jewish marriage licence).
For the Orthodox wedding to be considered valid, there needs to be a minimum of ten males (usually friends or family) in attendance, a group known as the minyan.

Planning your Orthodox Jewish wedding

Setting the date

You can marry at any time of the day, though it is most usual to marry in the afternoon or evening. Most people choose to marry on a Sunday or a Tuesday -- a particularly significant day, as this was when God blessed His creation doubly.
A few months before you intend to get married, you must register with a synagogue and Rabbi at the Chief Rabbi’s office, based in Finchley, London. For more details, contact the Jewish Marriage Council on 020 8203 6311.
It is forbidden to get married in the 49 days between the moveable feasts of Passover and Pentecost, and during three weeks between July and August. It is also forbidden to marry on the Sabbath or on festival days. If you want to get married on a Saturday, the ceremony is not allowed to begin earlier than two hours after sundown.