Dear Friends and Family,

We are very excited about our special day and hope you will be able to join us! We will be having a traditional Jewish wedding, which can be new for many of our guests. The various Jewish customs are explained below. Please read and feel free to ask questions! We look forward to celebrating with you all soon!

When You Arrive..

When you arrive at the wedding hall, we will be hosting separate receptions.

The grooms reception is called a tisch (a Yiddish word for "table"). With food, drinks and l'chaim's to start the celebration off right! The tisch is also where the the ketubah (the marriage contract) is signed, in the presence of two witnesses.

The bride's reception is called the kabbalas panim," the greeting of faces" in Hebrew. The bride will sit on a chair, and there is special custom for friends and family to receive a blessing from the bride and groom.

Lowering The Veil...

Next comes a Jewish custom of the bedecken (veiling of the bride). The groom is led into the room of the bride, accompanied by singing and dancing, to see the bride for the first time in a full week. The groom lowers the veil over the bride's face, confirming it is her, which is representative of the biblical story of Jacob and Rachel.

Jacob was set to marry Rachel, but on he wedding night he was tricked into marrying her sister Leah. Hidden behind a veil, Jacob had no way of knowing who he was marrying.

The Chuppah...

Once we complete the bedecken (lowering of the veil), everyone will head into the chuppah room for the ceremony. The wedding ceremony consists of family walking down the aisle, and the tradition of the bride walking and then forming seven circles around the groom.

The seven circles is meant to symbolize the creation of building a home together. The groom stands in the middle as the base of the home, while the bride creates the foundation around. It is also brought down that as the world was created in seven days, the seven circles symbolize the new world that they will build together as husband and wife.

Next, the officiating Rabbi will recite a blessing over the wine (We love to start off a Jewish celebration with a good glass of wine). Next, the groom will place a ring over the bride's finger while stating their marriage sanctification and they will be officially married. Afterward, the ketubah (the marriage contract) will be read aloud.

We continue with the seven blessings. Various people are called up to recite the blessings. The blessings praise God for: 1) the fruit of the vine 2) the creation of the world

3) the creation of humanity 4) the creation of woman and man

5) the rebuilding and protection of Jerusalem 6) the couple's joy and happiness 7) a wish for the the couple's cheer, joy, and peace through their life.

Then the groom breaks the glass in the remembrance of the destruction of Temple in Jerusalem.

And this completes the ceremony - Mazel Tov!

Dinner and Dancing...

While the bride and groom go off into the yichud room (a private room) to take a moment for the first time as husband and wife, and take their photos, everyone is welcomed to go eat and start the party! As is customary, there will be separate dancing for men and women (which may be unfamiliar, but trust us, it's way more fun than you think!).

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to us! We're really looking forward to celebrating with you.

-Maxine and Jerry