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Just when you think you’ve handed out the honors to your inner circle by asking them to be in your wedding party, you realize there’s still another honor to bestow on two lucky individuals: signing the ketubah.
This portion of your wedding day olympics is technically the Jewish marriage that makes the whole thing official, so bringing in people to witness and sign your marriage document is quite the honor.
Every ketubah must be signed by two witnesses and these people can double dip their honors by being part of your wedding party or they can be two entirely different people. According to Jewish law, the two ketubah signers must be Jewish and unrelated to the couple by blood (sisters and brothers-in-law are technically allowed to sign). Depending on the ketubah text and the couple’s Jewish affiliation, the ketubah signers will most likely sign their names in Hebrew. Give your witnesses advance notice to find out their Hebrew names so they can bring them to the ceremony. The rabbi can also help them write their names in Hebrew if they need help. After all, it’s probably been a while since their bar or bat mitzvah!
Make sure to let your ketubah signers know when and where they need to be before the official start time of the wedding. The ketubah ceremony takes place before the chuppah ceremony and it’s usually in a more private area of the wedding venue. Don’t forget to tell them where to be and when — it’s an easy detail to overlook, especially since you’ll be there no matter what. Well, hopefully.
Really take the time to decide on your ketubah signers. Their signatures will be on your ketubah forever and are a big part of your Jewish law marriage. Fleeting friends are probably not the best choices for this big honor. Still, you can be creative and thoughtful in the way you ask them! A personal note, a phone call, a gift with clues in the mail — you can’t go wrong! Letting them know it’s important to you is the main idea and your ketubah signers will be very flattered that you want them to be part of such an exclusive and meaningful part of your wedding day.
Your ketubah will be beautiful and it will be even more meaningful when your signatures are in the good company of two people who hold a special place in your heart!
