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Mrs. Hermit Crab, New York, NY Age and Occupation: 24, Youth Director soon to be Grad Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Medical Student - soon to be Surgery Resident Engagement Date: October 11, 2008 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: New York Botanical Garden About Me: I love all things food, books, our furbaby, Rashi, and adventures with my amazing fiance (oh, and saving the world!). This summer I will not only be a bride, but a bridesmaid, officiant, and attendee as well---it's all about weddings in my life right now, full of so many exciting moments and projects. We're planning a fab New York City wedding weekend full of family, love and lots of color!
About Mrs. Hermit Crab

Or in our case, DIY: Fail.

There were oh-so-many things that we (okay, I) wanted to DIY, and our ketubah was one of them. A ketubah is a Jewish wedding contract; the original Hebrew text actually reads a lot like a prenup, outlining the groom’s responsibility to the bride. In addition to being an important part of a Jewish wedding ceremony, many couples now use it as an art piece that commemorates their wedding day and commitment to one another. There are so many beautiful Ketubahs that you can get nowadays; Mrs Spaniel, Miss Trail Mix and Mrs Hot Cocoa have all written about their experience finding ketubahs.

We spent some time looking at hundreds of ketubahs online, and found so many different ones, from painting to paper cuts.

Jewish Traditions: The Ketubah :  wedding nyc religious traditions Ketubah

(source)

However, after looking at so many beautiful and different designs, I decided that I wanted to try and make my own.

While I’ve painted before, I would not consider it my forte. But I am always willing to try new mediums. So for this project, I decided to try paper mosaic. I went in cold, and bought a canvas to practice on (for the real thing, I could buy the ketubah text on a blank canvas).

Here is what happened:

Jewish Traditions: The Ketubah :  wedding nyc religious traditions Paperm

(personal photo)

It’s, well, okay. In my opinion, it looks kind of juvenile, but that may be due to the colors and the large size of the tiles that I used.

After this project, we spent some more time on Ketubah.com and fell in love with one on the site. We decided that we would buy one from the site, but we would personalize the English wording to make it uniquely ours. And I love it! However, I think I may keep it a surprise until the wedding!

Are you including any religious customs in your wedding? Were there any projects that you were looking forward to doing yourself but that you ultimately left to the experts?

Tags: nyc, religious, traditions |
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21 Responses to “Jewish Traditions: The Ketubah”

1 2 

1.
Guest Icon
Guest
Hannah

I kinda like your one, though!

Nothing to offer as I am not getting married (yet) but I agree - there are so many beautiful Ketubot and I imagine when the times comes I will have a tres hard time picking one.

Do you plan to DIY the Chuppah cover or anything?

 
2.
charismaclassic
Member
charismaclassic (message)  357 posts, Helper bee

I actually did end up making our ketubah. It’s a watercolor/collage combo. It’s not perfect, but it’s uniquely us. :)

 
3.
Mrs. Pug
Bee
Mrs. Pug (message)  3,753 posts, Honey bee

from what i’ve seen there are so many gorgeous ketubahs online that i don’t blame you falling in love with one of them. although i think yours is pretty cute!

 
4.
artbee
Member
artbee (message)  6,643 posts, Bee Keeper

i really like what you did! i’ve painted a ketubah for my brother’s wedding, but i knew i’d feel too pressured to do my own, so we bought one too.

 
5.
Guest Icon
Guest
Sho

Yours looks nice!

I think we are going with a ketubah from Jennifer Raichman’s Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenniferraichman?section_id=6491249

Don’t remember how I came across it but we really liked the simple and modern look of them.

 
6.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Spaniel (message)  6,792 posts, Bee Keeper

I really like yours! We also thought about painting ours, but I haven’t painted in a few years and I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted, so I was afraid I’d spend hours I didn’t have and not execute the vision that I had. I loooooove the ketubah we got, though; it’s one of the only expenses of the wedding I just can’t bring myself to second-guess. ;)

 
7.
tea
Member
tea (message)  7,295 posts, Bee Keeper

i think yours looks nice. imagine how it’d look if you used smaller tiles. ooooh pretty! totally just made myself excited. lol

 
8.
Miss Birdy Girl
Member
Miss Birdy Girl (message)  43 posts, Newbee

Awesome! Although we are not jewish, I find this idea/tradition to be very romantic. I would like to create one as well! Very nice work, I’m sure it will turn out great!

 
9.
lairdea
Member
lairdea (message)  275 posts, Helper bee

Oh shoot, I really want to know which one you picked! We’re trying to pick one on Ketubah.com right now, and I am at a loss for how to make this decision. Would you be willing to PM me with your final choice? I’m so overwhelmed with the options on ketubah.com, i’d love to see what another bee ultimately ended up with!

 
10.
Guest Icon
Guest
Daniel Sroka

Trying to capture the spirit of your marriage in a work of art is a challenging thing, whether you are doing it yourself or choosing one made by an artist. Sometimes you just need some inspiration. When I made my ketubah for my wife and I, that inspiration came from a ancient rose bush we had inherited with our house. After years of neglect, we had pruned it back, and were suddenly rewarded with the largest blooms I had ever seen. That rose bush became a symbol of our marriage: something with deep roots, that with some care, can produce beauty.

 
11.
Miss Thimble
Bee
Miss Thimble (message)  807 posts, Busy bee

I ♥ Ketubah.com! I’m the Catholic half of an interfaith Jewish-Catholic couple, and I’m doing tons on homework on Jewish wedding traditions (So I can’t wait to find out more about your wedding Miss HC!). I feared the ketubah would be tricky, but I fell in love with a design on ketubah.com too, and the wording is beautiful. Super easy.

For what it’s worth, your painting is beautiful! But I don’t blame you for outsourcing this project.

 
12.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Hamster (message)  4,046 posts, Honey bee

I really like yours! But I can’t wait to see what you chose, you tease you! :)

 
13.
winter
Member
winter (message)  1,333 posts, Bumble bee

I really liked yours but i cant wait to see what you chose either! it has to be wonderful!

 
14.
Guest Icon
Guest
NYC Wedding Photography by Dave Cross

We shoot a lot of Jewish weddings… as a cautionary note, make sure your Rabbi has reviewed the Ketubah in advance. We’ve seen problems arise when a Ketubah features alternate wording in the Hebrew that runs counter to a particular temple’s traditions. Not all Ketubah’s are the same!

Just a piece of advice. ;’)

Congrats!

 
15.
bluestuff
Member
bluestuff (message)  254 posts, Helper bee

Can’t wait to see what you picked. My husband and I had a difficult time finding one we both loved. We ended up with a beautiful one from Tsilli Pines: http://www.newketubah.com She fits our funky/modern style perfectly, and she was amazing to work with!

 
16.
Member Icon
Member
aliangel64 (message)  135 posts, Blushing bee

I’m not Jewish, but I love the idea of the ketubah. I wish my faith (Catholicism) had something similar. I wonder if it would be frowned upon to order an English-only ketubah…

 
17.
Guest Icon
Guest
Daniel Sroka

aliangel64, I create English-only ketubahs all of the time! Although it started as a Jewish tradition, ketubahs are becoming very popular with couples from all different religions and traditions.

 
18.
Miss Thimble
Bee
Miss Thimble (message)  807 posts, Busy bee

Speaking of DIY ketubah, I just saw this DIY Ketubah Kit free download: http://www.newketubah.com/diy/ where @bluestuff got hers. Nutso! I dind’t even know diy was an option.

 
19.
Miss Hermit Crab
Bee
Miss Hermit Crab (message)  3,566 posts, Sugar bee

@Hannah: my aunt is actually making our chuppah - stay tuned for more!
@tea: haha thanks
@lairdea: soon soon!
@Daniel Sroka: that is so beautiful!
@NYC Wedding Photography by Dave Cross: thanks for the advice, we definitely worked with our rabbi on this one!
@aliangel64: definitely not! you should totally go for it

 
20.
jordynrose
Member
jordynrose (message)  6,351 posts, Bee Keeper

I like your paper mosaic! Maybe you could incorporate one somewhere else in your wedding.

 
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Mrs. Hermit Crab
Mrs. Hermit Crab

Mrs. Hermit Crab, New York, NY Age and Occupation: 24, Youth Director soon to be Grad Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Medical Student - soon to be Surgery Resident Engagement Date: October 11, 2008 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: New York Botanical Garden About Me: I love all things food, books, our furbaby, Rashi, and adventures with my amazing fiance (oh, and saving the world!). This summer I will not only be a bride, but a bridesmaid, officiant, and attendee as well---it's all about weddings in my life right now, full of so many exciting moments and projects. We're planning a fab New York City wedding weekend full of family, love and lots of color!

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