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bideken
The bideken is the ritual ceremony of veiling the bride. During
this ceremony, which is performed immediately before the more public
marriage ceremony, the groom places the veil over the bride, and
the ketubah is signed.
ketubah
The ketubah is the traditional Jewish marriage contract. The
first section of the ketubah is written in Aramaic or Hebrew, and
describes ancient legal obligations for marriage. The second section
of the ketubah is more modern and is written in English, and
contains the vows that the bride and groom commit to on their wedding
day. The ketubah is signed by the bride, the groom, the rabbi,
and two witnesses, and is read by the rabbi during the marriage
ceremony. In keeping with Jewish tradition of making ritually
important objects as beautiful as possible, the ketubah is a
magnificently illuminated document.
processional
Jewish custom treats marriage not just as the joining of two individuals, but rather as the joining of two families. Thus, both families are included in the wedding processional, and the bride and groom are each escorted down the aisle by both their parents, symbolizing how their parents have helped them through their lives to reach this point. The bride and groom then walk each other the rest of the way to the huppah, symbolizing that they are leaving their parents' homes to start their new life together.
huppah
During the marriage ceremony, the bride and groom stand with the rabbi under the huppah, or wedding canopy. The huppah symbolizes the new home that the bride and groom will be building together.
seven circles
The marriage ceremony begins with the bride and groom circling each other seven times, symbolizing their new family circle and carving out space that the two of them will share.
ring ceremony
As the bride and groom exchange simple gold bands, they say to each other in Hebrew and English: Haray aht m'kudeshet li b'taba'at zu k'dat Moshe v'Yisrael. "By this ring you are consecrated to me in accordance with the traditions of Moses and Israel."
sheva b'rachot
The sheva b'rachot are, literally, the seven blessings. They do not actually speak much about weddings or marriage, but rather are about the greater Jewish life cycle. The blessings are chanted by the cantor near the end of the marriage ceremony.
breaking the glass
It is customary to end the marriage ceremony by the groom breaking a wine glass with his foot. There are many explanations for this custom, but our favorite is that just as the wine glass can never be mended, so may the marriage last forever. The breaking of the glass is usually followed by loud shouts of "Mazel Tov!" ("Congratulations!") and joyous singing.
yichud
Yichud (literally "seclusion") is the fifteen minute period immediately following the marriage ceremony, during which the bride and groom are alone with each other. Yichud is an ancient custom which allows the bride and groom to relax, take a deep breath, have something to eat, and talk before the festive reception sweeps them away for the rest of the evening.
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