Ketubah Witnesses

ucfandrea

Is there a hard & fast rule about who your witnesses should be.  Specifically, does it have to be a member of the wedding party?  I wanted to ask a friend to sign ours, but she is not a BM.  Is that okay?

Also, did/do you name your witnesses in the program?  Any advice on this s greatly appreciated.

THX!!

amgrossman

The witnesses do not have to be in your bridal party.

Our rabbi said our witnesses had to be Jewish (by conservative laws) and unrelated to us or each other. I would ask your officiant though, because rules vary. Some people have their parents sign.

LBRM_NJ

It depends on how religious you are, or, really, how religious your rabbi is and what he requires.  Technically, your ketubah witnesses are supposed to be jewish men who are not blood related to either of you, but, I know everyone doesn't follow that, so, I assume, some rabbis are OK with making exceptions.

We used two uncles, men married to each of our aunts.

And, there is nothing religous about your bridal party, so, there is no linkage between your ketubah witnesses and your bridal parties.

Oh, and it was important for us to follow tradition and use two men, but, we also wanted to honor our sisters, so, we asked them to witness/sign our legal marriage license.

ETA - oh, and, no, I didn't name them in my program.

ucfandrea

Thanks!!

Is there any chance I could take a peek at your wedding program?  I am totally stumped about what to put in it...

MrsMLRB

We are asking two mutual male friends of ours.

We are putting them in our program. We have a before the ceremony section and here is what it says:

Ketubah Signing כתובה                                                     

The ketubah is the Jewish marriage contract which was signed by the bride and groom before the ceremony. Steven and David , mutual friends of the bride and groom, witnessed the Ketubah signing. The ketubah articulates Eddie and Meredith’s commitment to one another. It will be read during the ceremony and on display during the reception.

 

The formatting didn't quite copy and paste.

 

LBRM_NJ

I correct myself!!  I went back and looked and I did name them in my program!!  Here it is:

Ketubah Signing:  Marriage DocumentBefore the public part of the ceremony begins, we took part in a few private traditional rituals.  The first is the signing of the Ketubah, the marriage document that details our marital responsibilities to each other.  Rabbi XX will verify that we agree with the stipulations of the Ketubah.  This will be witnessed and signed by our uncles, Allen XX and Sholom XX and the Rabbi will read the Ketubah aloud during the ceremony.

JoBell123

Our officiant is a reform cantor and he said that they just had to be observant Jews that were not related to us.  We're using a BM and GM, but that's mostly because the two of them had been there when we met, so we figure they witnessed our meeting, so they should witness our marriage!

Musicheals71

I was told by my Conservative rabbi that they had to be two men not blood-related to neither the bride nor the groom.  So we picked the husband of my father's cousin and my husband's brother-in-law.  We did name them in the program.

jessicabessica

Our cantor told us they should be somewhat observant, Jewish adults that are not related to us.  His preference was for two men, but it was not a requirement of his.  We are having two friends (one male, one female).  The male friend will also be holding one of the poles supporting the chuppah. 

Our cantor also told us that he will want the ketubah witnesses to come up and look at the rings during the ceremony.  This won't be a problem for the one holding the chuppah, and I think we'll have the other witness sit in the front row so she can easily come up (we don't have a wedding party). 

I think we will name them in the program...haven't started on those yet, but I really appreciate the ideas here. 

october010bride

Our witnesses were in the BP but do not have to be. They just had to be Jewish and a non-relative. I had my best friend and H had his best friend.

We did not list the witnesses in the program. We were tight on space and to be honest, didn't even think to put them in.

ciaraman

Our rabbi required that they be observant Jewish men not related to us. We asked about an uncle by marriage, but got a "no".  So we're using the rabbi who's marrying us and our rabbi from the synagogue we attend.  We both asked our closest friend to sign the marriage license. We did not name them in the program.  If you'd like to see our program, PM me your email and I'll send it along.

ucfandrea

Thanks - I PM'ed you

vlevitt

we chose to go acompletely non-halachic route. my grandmother is quite old, and i am very close with her.  i had decided long ago i wanted her to sign the ketubah, so she is one of the witnesses along with 3 other friends (we opted to have four witnesses), plus the rabbi and ourselves.   

though my grandmother's signature essentially nullifies the "koshernes" of our ketubah, it was more important to me that my grandmoter's signature be on the document for all time. i love seeing her name on it, and am so happy to have honoured her in this way. while this was not our rabbi's first choice, he undrstood my reasoning, and agreed to it without protest.


so - all this to say.  have a conversation with your rabbi to get his or her take on the requirements for your ceremony.

good luck.

jarynslaby1

We are having my parents...I guess the rabbi said that was ok.  Which is good because they are the only Jewish people I know around here besides my mom's sister and husband. LOL!

edythenan

In Response to Re:Ketubah Witnesses:[QUOTE]we chose to go acompletely nonhalachic route. my grandmother is quite old, and i am very close with her.nbsp; i had decided long ago i wanted her to sign the ketubah, so she is one of the witnesses along with 3 other friends we opted to have four witnesses, plus the rabbi and ourselves.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; though my grandmother's signature essentially nullifies the "koshernes" of our ketubah, it was more important to me that my grandmoter's signature be on the document for all time. i love seeing her name on it, and am so happy to have honoured her in this way. while this was not our rabbi's first choice, he undrstood my reasoning, and agreed to it without protest. so all this to say.nbsp; have a conversation with your rabbi to get his or her take on the requirements for your ceremony. good luck. Posted by vlevitt[/QUOTE]