Just as in every area of life and tradition, modern people areupdating established ways of doing things, and even the Jewishwedding ceremony isn't immune. Whatever else happe
…ns during the procedure, the following elementsare indispensable under Jewish law. If these don't take place, themarriage isn't valid: -- The groom presents the bride with a gift (of at least a certainvalue), and makes a public statement making clear to her that thegift is presented for the purpose of marriage. The presentation islegally witnessed by two qualified witnesses. The gift iscustomarily a ring, but that's not required. -- A legal contract (ketubah), detailing the groom's responsibilityto provide for the bride's requirements and necessities (signedearlier by the groom and by two witnesses) is read publicly, andthen presented to the bride. the Seven Blessings are recited, and a cup of wine is shared. Often included but not required: Greetings, thoughts, anappropriate Torah lesson for the occasion, presented by a Rabbi. Almost always included but not strictly required by law: The groomcrushes a glass underfoot. After the Chuppah, required by law: The bride and groom go to aprivate room and spend some time together inside, while the closed door isguarded by a trusted individual, both to prevent any intrusion until they'reready to come out, and to be able to confirm, if anyone asks, that they spent time inthere together undisturbed. Note: Although most secular laws require the presence of some judicialofficial or member of the clergy at a wedding, in Jewish law, theRabbi doesn't 'marry' the couple, and the ceremony doesn't evenrequire the presence of a Rabbi. The bride and groom marry eachother. Answer: The Orthodox wedding has four parts. The first two parts are underthe Chuppah (wedding canopy). Before the ceremony gets underway, the two families meet and agreeupon tanaim (what their respective financial support to the couplewill be). This may take place at any time before the wedding. Just prior to the chuppah, the groom, led by the parents,approaches the bride and places a veil upon her which will remainduring the chuppah. This is based on a tradition from Jacob. The first part of the wedding: under the chuppah, the groom givesan item of value (customarily a gold ring) to the bride and, inHebrew, declares his intention to marry her (see Tosafotcommentary, to Talmud Ketubot 3a). Then a blessing is said (Talmud,Ketubot 7b). Technically, this actually constitutes the bindingstage of the engagement, and in ancient times was usually doneseparately from the wedding ceremony. Between the first and second parts of the wedding, the Rabbicustomarily reads aloud the ketubah (marriage contract). The second part of the wedding: the seven wedding-blessings (seeTalmud, Ketubot 8a) are sung over a cup of wine, and the bride andgroom take a drink from the cup. Then a glass or plate is broken,to symbolize that even in this happy time, we remain aware of theDestruction of the Temple (see also Tosafot commentary, to TalmudBerakhot 31a). The third part of the wedding: the bride and groom retire inprivacy for several minutes to a room. This constitutes a symbolicconsummation and finalizes the formal portion of the marriage.During this seclusion they break the fast which they observed ontheir wedding day. The fourth part of the wedding: the couple then enter the adjacentwedding hall, and the festive meal is served to the assembledguests amid a lot of music and dancing (see Talmud, Ketubot 17a). (MORE)