I've been meaning to write a post about huppah inspiration, and I've finally gathered the pictures to do it! Hooray! Most huppahs (huppot, really, in the plural) these days are very decorated, and I wanted to pull together some pictures of simple, graceful, lovely huppahs.For all of you non-Jews out there, a huppah is one of the key elements of a Jewish wedding. It's not just a pretty wedding canopy, it represents (among other things) the home of the newlyweds, open on the sides to the couples community, family, and freinds. In it's original form, a huppah was a prayer shawl held up by four poles, each supported by a friend or loved one. It's most traditional for a Jewish wedding to take place outside, with just the huppah and the sky as a covering.
One of the first things David and I decided about the wedding is that we wanted a simple, traditional huppah. For us, this canopy serves as a religious symbol, and we wanted it to be made of a prayer shawl.
Our wedding is going to be outside, and we knew we wanted a natural look, and this photo from Belathee Photography set my little heart on fire. We have to figure out how to get long sapling branches to make our huppah!
Now we just have to decide if we want a free standing huppah (more practical) or a hand held huppah. I love the image of the canopy being carried down the aisle by the wedding party, which is making me lean towards handheld.
Pictures from: Twin Lens Studio, Martha Stewart Weddings, Belathee Photography, Marla Aufmuth via Snippet and Ink, and Jocelyn Filley.
11 comments:
Wow, beautiful! These are exactly what I've been trying to come up with. Thanks for doing the legwork! :-)
The cover (maybe an antique tablecloth?) in the top one is gorgeous.
pitter pat, pitter pat! i love the branches!
I love the idea of the wedding party carrying it. This is such a lovely tradition :)
Great entry! We saw an awesome huppah last week- the bride's mom made it out of the bride and grooms' grandfathers prayer shaws- really gorgeous. And last year, a bride made a quilt-like huppah with the pieces decorated by friends and family.
For our huppah, we used a simple white cloth and silk screened the fabric with "double happiness" (the chinese wedding symbol) along with the hebrew phrase Ani L'dodi v'dodi li (I am my beloved and my beloved is mine). This blended both our traditions.
We also had our groomsmen carry in the huppah. Our polls were bamboo- really affordable and sturdy. We probably could have had them walk in and place the polls in stands. So you could have your cake and eat it too in this case.
LOVE that first image!
It is inappropriate to have a huppah if you're not jewish? I love the aesthetics of them and the sybolism. I also adore jewish weddings. Alas, I am not jewish. Would I offend those that are if I adopted this symbol in my wedding?
Oh these are so lovely! I tried to convince my beau to have a huppah but he felt odd not being jewish (i disagree!) but it's all about compromise, right?
Meg-check out this place and also the flower market. one or both should have simple branches:
http://www.nettletonhollow.com/branches.html
I've heard of couples making a quilted huppah from the fabric of friends and family. Since we're not Jewish, my partner and I asked our family and friends to send a scrap of fabric to us before the wedding (we simply included the request on our wedding website). We then quilted it into a blanket that we were wrapped in during the ceremony. It was an adaptation of a Native American tradition, combined with the huppah element. P.S. Thanks for the beautiful photos! Good luck with yours...
I stumbled across your blog by complete accident and fell in love with it. We're having a practical wedding in October. We're aren't about the bells or whistles. Love this blog for telling people about how practical is better than illogical.
Oh and my ring is small and wonderful. We'll spend the money we saved not gettng bigger ring on a dog or home improvements.
What a beautiful tradition, I love the meaning behind it!
Is there any way you could have a huppah that is carried down the isle with you then attaches to it's supports when you get to the end?
my close friend laura made her own huppah for her wedding in Georgia last month. It was beautiful and crafty and totally HER. She used bamboo for the poles and decorated it with scraps from our brightly colored bridesmaids dresses. we should be getting the pictures back soon and i will be sure to send your way.
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