To discuss your ideal wedding venue, please call: +44 (0) 203 826 7207

Jewish Wedding traditions Mallorca | Getting married in a luxury Mediterranean setting

Back

Thinking of where to celebrate your dream Jewish Wedding?

Jewish Wedding traditions Mallorca
Jewish Wedding traditions Mallorca.

 

In over twenty years of wedding planning, the team at Sunshine Weddings Spain have helped hundreds of people in Spain, (Jewish and interfaith couples) celebrate weddings and we’ve had the honour to help plan many Jewish weddings in Spain.

In fact, getting married in Spain is often a popular choice for many Jewish families, and a great way to show friends and family that Jewish bridal couples can still have and enjoy all the traditions abroad, specifically in the warm Spanish Mediterranean climate as that found on the beautiful island of Mallorca, which makes a magical setting for a traditional Jewish wedding in the sunshine as you will see from the imagery in today’s feature article.

So what is it that makes a Jewish wedding so fun and enjoyable? Making everyone want to be a part of the tradition, whether they’re Jewish or not?

Here are some of our favourite Jewish wedding moments:
The ketubah

This is basically a Jewish wedding contract. The ketubah texts contain “blanks” that must be filled in with the bridal couples’ personal information i.e.: names, parents’ names, and the date and location of the wedding. It is generally signed at a ceremony before the wedding and to be binding, it only needs the signatures of two witnesses and is extremely important for legitimising the marriage. To be selected as a witness is a great honour.

The ketubah
The ketubah: a Jewish wedding contract.
The Tisch

This tradition also occurs before the Jewish Wedding Ceremony takes place and basically involves the groom spending time with the close males of the wedding. Essentially, the boys get together and knock back some whisky shots and the groom gets to enjoy some boy time before the ceremony. Usually involving singing, chanting and lively behaviour as they all get pumped for the wonderful event that will soon follow.

The Groom spends time with the close males of the wedding before the ceremony.
The Bedeken (The Veiling Of The Bride)

The veiling of the bride is viewed as a symbolic act of focusing on the inner beauty and qualities of the bride. The groom will approach the bride, he looks at her and then veils her face which signifies that his love for her is for her inner beauty. This tradition can actually be traced back to the story of Jacob, who is tricked by his father-in-law Laban into marrying the wrong bride Leah, the sister of his beloved Rachel. The Bedeken takes place just before the bridal couple walk to the chuppah to make their marriage official.

The Bedeken (The Veiling Of The Bride) takes place.
A huppah—often spelled “chuppah”

The chuppah symbolises the marriage chamber and is a wedding canopy elegantly adorned with beautiful flowers. The chuppah is among the most important Jewish wedding traditions and is where the couple stand for the duration of their ceremony, traditionally joined by both sets of parents and the officiating rabbi. It represents the new home that the newlyweds will build together.

The bridal couple under the chuppah.
Circling

The bride traditionally circles around her groom either three or seven times under the chuppah, symbolising the creation of a new family circle and forming a “magical wall” of protection for the groom from evil spirits, temptation, and the glances of other women.

Smashing The Glass

The breaking of the glass holds several meanings. Some say it represents the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and others say it is symbolic to the reality that marriage holds sorrow as well as joy and is a representation of the commitment to stand by one another even in hard times.

The groom smashes the glass.
The Hora (Jewish Dancing)

Simply put, it is the highlight of a Jewish wedding reception. The wedding couple is lifted above the crowd on chairs, while guests sing “Hava Nagila” and circle the couple in a celebratory dance, danced in 6 beats.

The bride circled by female members of the wedding party.
Thanks to Ellie & Aidan for sharing their special day with us, we wish them all the best, and to Matthew Morgan for the use of these amazing photos!
The wedding couple is lifted above the crowd on chairs.
The wedding couple is lifted above the crowd on chairs.