Jewish Wedding
Interfaith Wedding
Rabbi David Degani & Cantor Lee Degani
Bringing spiritual and musical harmony to your wedding ceremony while combining various traditions of the Bride and Groom
FL
ph: 561-488-8079
dnlrabbi
Modern Variations...
On Judeo-Christian Wedding Customs
Because of the variety of ethnic traditions available, many couples choose to create their own variation on wedding customs to fit their taste and their desire for self expression. Many Brides and Grooms borrow customs from various cultures. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by the imagination.
A Sand Ceremony
Unity
An expression of uniting the bride and groom into a couple as well as bringing together two families could be done in many ways. Some examples are:
Flowers
Members of the two families are given two different color flowers; each person holds one flower and at the beginning of the ceremony they all place their flowers one at a time in a vase as a sign of unity. This can also be done only by the bride and groom at the beginning of the ceremony using their choice of colors as a sign of unity. Combining the right color flowers would yield a magnificent floral display, which could be placed on a small table near the bride and groom. Naturally, there are numerous variations on this idea.
Seashell
The same ceremony can be done with seashells, small stones, different colored sand, etc.
The Ring Ceremony
In a Jewish ceremony the ring ceremony is relatively short. The couple places the wedding ring on each other’s ring finger saying one sentence only in Hebrew and repeated in English. “With this ring I (the name) consecrate you to be my lawful wife in accordance with the laws of Moses and Israel”.
Vows
In non-Jewish traditions the ring exchange is part of the marriage vows. Many couples choose to write their own vows, some write a poem. Some couples choose to observe a moment of silence while looking at each other and then place the ring on each other’s finger to the sound of a soft melody.
A natural combination of these customs would be to recite wedding vows prior to the ring ceremony and then follow the Jewish tradition and recite a special sentence while placing the ring on each other’s finger.
Sand Ceremony
In the sand ceremony the bride and groom pour two separate glass containers of sand into a common glass vessel. The grains of sand in the two separate containers are a representation of the many events and experiences which shaped both the Bride and the Groom into who they are as unique individuals.
Just as the sand from two separate containers cannot be separated, so do the lives of the bride and the groom become as one.
FL
ph: 561-488-8079
dnlrabbi
