If you or a loved one from a Jewish background is planning a wedding, you probably have tons of questions. What are the components of a Jewish wedding? How can we create a meaningful and interfaith-friendly ceremony? How do we handle the planning process and include our families? The following guides (under our table of contents) offer insight into the meaning behind Jewish wedding rituals and guidance in planning an inclusive ceremony.

Here are some things to think about if you’re planning an interfaith wedding.

Remember that merging two faiths in a marriage can be an emotional process (the good, the challenging, the confusing!). But planning a wedding ceremony with your significant other to include multiple faith traditions is a great start to sharing your faith in your marriage.

The first part of preparing for an interfaith wedding is to figure out exactly what you’re comfortable with and committing to it. While there are a lot of people involved in the process, ultimately, you and your fiancé need to be happy with your wedding.

Depending on your setting, you may want to combine rituals from more than one faith into a single ceremony or you may decide to have a Jewish ceremony that feels inclusive of another faith. Some couples actually have more than one ceremony. Combining multiple religious practices into one wedding ceremony in a thoughtful way can be a lovely way for an interfaith couple to express their commitment to one another.

Avoiding religious institutions is one way to prevent potential conflicts for an interfaith wedding, especially if it’s going to be co-officiated. Instead, pick a beautiful destination that will not compromise your ceremony with religious restrictions.

You have the option of selecting clergy or even a personal friend to officiate your wedding ceremony. If you are looking for Jewish clergy to officiate at your interfaith wedding, we can help you find one. If you are having a wedding without Jewish clergy but wish to incorporate Jewish elements, we can help you or your officiant create a ceremony script with our exclusive tool. 

View the printable PDF version of our guide.

Table of Contents:

• Finding Your Officiant(s) and Choosing a Date
• Elements of a Jewish Wedding Ceremony
• Sample Ceremonies and Definitions
• Ritual Wedding Objects and Clothing
• Invitations, Programs and Food
• Issues Specific to Jewish-Christian Weddings
• Issues Specific to Jewish-Muslim, Jewish-Hindu and Jewish-Buddhist Weddings
• Managing Family Dynamics and Planning Your Wedding
• Pre-marital Counseling
• Before the Wedding—Connecting with Other Couples