Weddingbee Blog

After we finished signing our marriage license and ketubah, it was time for another Jewish tradition: the bedekin.

We were seated again as we started this next part. We asked my childhood Rabbi, an inspiration to me, and a huge part of why I have chosen paths that I have, to do this part. And he blew it out of the park!

Rabbi B must have said something funny to make us react like this!

Here is what our program said about this tradition:

Bedekin - Veiling the Bride

After the Ketubah has been signed, blessings will be given and Mr. Hermit Crab will personally place Miss Hermit Crab’s veil over her face. This tradition stems from two biblical stories. The Bible tells us that Rebecca veiled herself in modesty upon seeing her new husband, Isaac; the bride therefore wears a veil. The Bible also tells the story of Jacob’s first wedding, where Laban deceived Jacob by giving him Leah as a wife instead of Rachel under the cover of a thick veil. For this reason, it is Mr. Hermit Crab’s job to “check” that the girl in the chair is actually Miss Hermit Crab. (Not that we are worried.) Miss Hermit Crab’s childhood rabbi, Rabbi B will lead the bedekin. At this point, guests will be asked to take their seats for the ceremony.

Rabbi B also elaborated on this, explaining what we are doing and why.

Yup, it’s me!

In an effort to make the rituals a bit more egalitarian, and not so one-sided, we decided to do a bedeken for Mr. HC as well - I put a special kippah - yarmulke, or Jewish head covering - on his head, just as he had done for me.

Kippah-ing my groom

A close family friend had knit Mr. HC’s kippah for him just for our wedding - it has our names embroidered on in Hebrew, and picks up some of our colors and the theme of flowers (you know, because we were at the Botanical Gardens…)

Rabbi B congratulated us, and sent everyone off to take their seats for the ceremony.

I am veiled and ready

When is it my turn?

Hermit Crab wedding tip #15: If there are a lot of people that you would like to give special roles to, there are ways to incorporate them. Generally, Rabbi KB would have just continued on with the Bedeken, but it was important to me to have Rabbi B involved, so we asked him to step in. Both Rabbis were happy with our arrangement.

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Did you miss any of the Hermit Crab recaps? Catch up here!

• L’Chaim is for Lovers: What’s with the recap title?
• We kick off the wedding weekend on Friday night with an intimate family dinner
• I spend Saturday buzzing with some Bees, and we greet our out of town guests
• I get pampered and beautified
• I arrive at the scene
• I get dressed and have a different kind of first look(s)
• My somethings: Something Borrowed, Something Bee
• All the small things - up close and personal with my bridal deets
• I strike a pose and Mr. HC arrives just in time
• We have our first look
• We take some photos together - just the two of us
• Our families join us for some family fun photo ops!
• Mr. Hermit Crab’s Tish officially kicks off the festivities as our guests arrive
• I make my big entrance and join the party!
• We signed and signed again - our marriage license and ketubah

(Unless otherwise noted, all photos in the Hermit Crab recaps are by Joel Greenberg of Joel Greenberg and Wendy Stewart Photography)

Check out the Hermit Crab Honeymoon in Croatia!

• Part 1: Zagreb and Istria
• Part 2: Plitvice Lakes and Zadar
• Part 3: Split and Dubrovnik