Weddings are a perfect venue for symbolism to represent the joining of two people. One of the ways the Jewish tradition does that is with a chuppah—a wedding canopy under which two people stand during the wedding ceremony. It’s usually some kind of cover stretched over four poles, and the structure is held by family or friends of the couple during the ceremony.
The chuppah traditionally means where the groom takes his bride and a covering of the bride, but many contemporary interpretations believe the chuppah represents the home of the Jewish couple or the formal, symbolic joining of the two. The open sides of the chuppah also represent the couple’s home being open to guests, like the tent of Abraham and Sarah.
Because the chuppah is often decorated, those decorations can be up to the couples’ tastes, including what kind of poles are used to hold up the canopy and what fabric the covering is made out of. Traditionally chuppah coverings are made of a tallit, which is a Hebrew prayer shawl, but many people now use any adequate cloth or other fabric.
Here is some personalized chuppah inspirations from Equally Wed Real Wedding couples:
Kim and Randie used Kim’s mother’s wedding gown as the covering and decorated the structure with 36 vases of alstromeria, which represented the 36 Righteous Ones in Judaism.
Alison and Irene exchanged vows underneath an elegant white chuppah, with vines wrapped around each pole in their rooftop ceremony.
Marni and Casey were married in Atlanta and stood under a beautiful flowing chuppah, where the poles looked like streetlamps.
Anna and Hannah embraced their sexual orientation with this rainbow chuppah, held by their brothers who wore Hawaiian shirts for the Hawaiian wedding.
Photo: Real Weddings Kim and Randie, photography by Dina Kantor and Bre Sessions; Real Weddings Allison and Irene, photography by Our Labor of Love; Real Weddings Marni and Casey, photography by Drew Newman Photographers ; Real Weddings Anna and Hannah, photography by Torie McMillian Photography
