Whether cultural or familial or religious, incorporating wedding traditions into your ceremony and reception can be a sentimental feature of your wedding planning. It’s also an opportunity to create a unique ceremony that incorporates the most important aspects of your life together and the worlds the bride and groom are bringing together.

Check out Part 1: Pre-Ceremony and Part 2: Ceremony for overviews of Jewish Wedding Traditions. For the final part, I will focus on The Reception.

Following the ceremony, the bride and groom share their first few moments of married life together in privacy (known as Yichud.)

The meal portion of the reception (Seudat Mitzvah) can have many guidelines, depending on how strictly you wish to keep kosher.  Kosher (or kashrut) is a set of Jewish dietary laws.  Most often, chicken and fish are the entrée choices, as both can be in keeping with kosher guidelines and are both fertility symbols.  For a strictly kosher menu, a glatt-kosher caterer is the route you would want to investigate.  Otherwise, see if your caterer can provide a “kosher-style” menu (that will adhere to kosher rules but isn’t cooked in a kosher kitchen.)

Before the S’eudah Mitzvah begins, a blessing (hamotizi) over the challah (an elaborately braided bread) occurs.  The couple’s parents, the rabbi, or another honored guest may give the hamotzi and the challah is shared with all the wedding guests.

The traditional way to end the festive meal is with a blessing (birkat hamazon).  Prayer books (benchers) are distributed or pre-set at the tables.  The seven wedding blessings are repeated, and a blessing over the wine is recited as two glasses of wine are poured together into a third, symbolizing the creation of a new life together.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a Jewish reception that does not incorporate dancing the hora – the steps are simple and the whole community participates in the celebration.  Often the bride and groom, as if royalty, will be lifted in “thrones” above the heads of their guests, using a napkin or handkerchief to connect them to each other.   Once settled back to the ground, the element of schtik will begin – since  the bride and groom are presiding as King and Queen, their guests take on the role of Court Jester – entertaining, adorning, incorporating signs, decorations, skits, acrobatics, juggling, break dancing – you name it!

“Mazel Tov!”

Special thanks for Next Exit Photography for their gorgeous images…!