POST CEREMONY/RECEPTION

Yichud/Alone Time

Immediately after the ceremony, the married couple is escorted to a secluded room to be alone with one another as man and wife - this is called 'yichud' or togetherness. The yichud ceremony allows the married couple a few moments to breathe, take it all in, and get excited about being married.

The wedding guests will typically escort the couple to the yichud room at the conclusion of the ceremony, usually with singing and dancing. Feel free to join the crowd! See the note above about singing.

Once the couple arrives at the yichud room, several male guests will stand guard to ensure that the couple is not disturbed. The couple will remain in the room for a few minutes before rejoining the party and taking photos.

Reception Blessings

Blessings will be recited in Hebrew over bread. It is recommend that you don't start eating anything until the blessing over bread is recited. You may see people washing their hands with a ceremonial cup before eating bread. Feel free to wash your hands if you want to, but no pressure to use the ceremonial cup or recite the blessing.

Post Reception/Grace After the Meal

The rest of the reception will largely look like any other wedding you've been to - dancing, eating, drinking, all the good stuff. However, at the end of the meal, guests who said a blessing over bread will recite several post-meal prayers to thank God for the meal. Whereas the pre-meal blessing over bread is very short, these post-meal prayers can be long and take between 10 - 15 minutes to recite aloud in full.

We will be distributing booklets with the prayers (in English and Hebrew) should you wish to participate (the blessings will be in Hebrew, but you are welcome to read along silently in English). The booklets are for you to keep - these are traditional Jewish wedding favors. However, because the prayers can take a while, you are welcome to step outside while they are happening. We just ask that you respect the prayers and not make a lot of noise while they are ongoing. This will also be the last thing that happens at the wedding, so if you're ready to call it a night, feel free to do so.