Nick and I will be having a traditional Jewish ceremony, as I shared with you in our previous post on our venues. We will be standing in New West Synagogue under a chuppah – A chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will go on to build together. Our ceremony will be preceded by a traditional Bedeken ceremony, where Nick will visit me in a small waiting room right before the main ceremony gets under way, to check that I am indeed, his ‘correct’ bride and then covering the veil over my face.
After I walk down the aisle to Nick I will the circle him 7 times. The bride traditionally walks around the groom three or seven times when she arrives at the Chuppah. The three circuits may represent the three virtues of marriage: righteousness, justice and loving kindness. Seven circuits derives from the Biblical concept that seven denotes perfection or completeness.
The groom gives the bride a ring, traditionally a plain wedding band, and recites the declaration: Behold, you are consecrated to me with this ring according to the law of Moses and Israel. The groom places the ring on the bride’s right index finger. According to traditional Jewish law, two valid witnesses must see him place the ring. Our parents will also be under the Chuppah with us.
The seven blessings known as Sheva Brachot will then be recited. The Sheva Brachot or seven blessings are recited by the hazzan or rabbi. The groom is given the cup of wine to drink from after the seven blessings. The bride also drinks the wine. Keeping to traditions, the cup will be held to the lips of the groom by my father – his new father-in-law and to the lips of the bride by Nicks mother my new mother-in-law.
It is another tradition in a Jewish ceremony to break a glass. After the bride has been given the ring, or at the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass, crushing it with his right foot, and the guests shout “מזל טוב” (mazel tov! ‘congratulations’).
After the ceremony it is tradition for the Bride & Groom to have quiet time together known as Yichud for 10 – 20 minutes before heading to their reception or to continue the celebrations. The couple retreats to a private room. Yichud can take place anywhere, from a rabbi’s study to a synagogue classroom. The reason for yichud is that according to several authorities, standing under the canopy alone does not constitute chuppah, and seclusion is necessary to complete the wedding ceremony.
Our chazzan for our wedding day is Jonny Turgel – we love his voice and have heard him at many friends weddings. To find out more about him click here: http://www.jonnyturgel.com/audio-gallery.html
Until the next update…you can follow me on Instagram @Mel.Actually
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