Ketubah: a wedding guide
The ketubah is the written Jewish vow. Two witnesses sign it just before the vows.
Still deciding the wedding
Your wishlist
Answer these before you meet anyone.
What artwork style are you drawn to?
What text are you leaning toward?
Your officiant will usually have a view on what their community uses — the text follows the movement and the community.
How are you hoping to get the ketubah?
A commissioned original and a purchased print are both common, as is a family-made one.
Comparing your options
How it’s usually priced
Usually priced as one flat amount.
Possible extras: Artwork / commission, Framing / display.
Booked and settling details
What you settle once booked
Which ketubah text?
The text follows the movement and the community — the Orthodox Aramaic text; the Sephardi text, which adds its own conditions; the Conservative text with the Lieberman clause; Reform and egalitarian texts; a same-sex text or a brit ahuvim, which Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative rabbis write for the two of you; interfaith texts; or wording of your own. Your officiant will usually have a view on what their community uses.
Where is the ketubah coming from?
A commissioned original and a purchased print are both common; so is a text hand-lettered by a sofer, a ketubah made by an artist in the family, or simply the document your officiant or synagogue provides.
Names, date, and place as they'll appear
Hebrew names and the Hebrew date are easy to get wrong in transcription — worth a careful pass with your officiant before anything is inked.
When is the ketubah signed?
In many traditional weddings the signing happens at the tisch, before the processional to the chuppah — and before the bedeken, where Ashkenazi families keep it; other couples sign privately just before the ceremony, or fold it into the ceremony itself. The reading aloud is its own moment in the program, between the kiddushin and the seven blessings.
Who are your witnesses?
Two witnesses sign. In Orthodox practice they are observant men who are not related to the couple; in Conservative and Reform practice they are often women, or friends of either sex. Your officiant knows their community's rule.
Display the ketubah after the signing?
What to look over
Correct these details as needed.
Signing time
The week of the wedding
The day-of sheet
Confirm arrival, finish, who to call, access, a meal, and what is due.
Across the whole day
Choose which moments to include.
- Ketubah signing
For businesses
The brief a couple sends you has these sections:
- The ceremony
- The document
- The signing
- Display
- Contacts