What is personalizing?
The artist can fill in the blank spaces in the ketubah text with your name, date, and wedding venue in Hebrew and English. The artist will complete this in corresponding calligraphy using freehand if the print is a lithograph. In case the artist is not available, a calligrapher that can imitate the artist’s lettering style will fill in the ketubah.
Personalizing on giclee prints is integrated harmoniously into the digital text. There are a few artists that print the ketubah using the giclee method before personalizing it, given that the text was imprinted from their calligraphy, and then fill it in by hand.
Usually, it costs extra to personalize a ketubah although some artists include this cost in their overall price. If you want the fill-in to be done by your rabbi or cantor, you need to ask them in advance if they would be willing to do so. Some clergy prefer having the ketubah filled in at the wedding by hand, while others will prefer not to write on the artwork..
PLEASE NOTE: Personalizing your ketubah is a service offered by our artists. The ketubah can be printed on a wide range of papers and each of our artists has the experience to select the pen and ink type that best suits their artwork. If you asked someone else to do the filling in of the blank spaces, a ball point pen is ideal for that purpose. If you’re going to use your own calligrapher, you assume any responsibility for possible damage to the artwork.
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To personalize or not personalize?
A lot of couples choose to have the blank spaces on the ketubah filled in by the artist in corresponding calligraphy both for purposes of aesthetic uniformity as well as having the reassurance that there will not be any errors in the final work.
Other couples find it charming to have the rabbi’s own handwriting when filling in the ketubah as part of the marriage contract. You need to be sure that your clergy is agreeable to the task since writing on the artwork always carries a risk of damage or error. Or, you may arrive at a decision based on your budget.
There’s really no single right answer since we get many orders both with and without personalizing. What is right for you is what we consider the right answer.
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Where do we find the personalizing form?
The Personalizing form is accessible on each page of the website via a tab at the top. You can also access the form via the link that appears after you’ve submitted your order online using the shopping cart.
Submission for the order and the Personalizing Form occurs separately, thus allowing you extra time, if necessary, to collect all the details to complete the form. Don’t worry – we monitor calendar dates and we will send you periodic reminders that you need to submit your information.
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A Guide to filling out the personalizing form
Proofread your form for accuracy before submitting it. However, you shouldn’t feel intimidated because we’re here to provide assistance. We understand that you may sometimes have to look up names and other details and, when that is the case, we can offer advice on where to search. Your family’s Jewish names are held in this document as a record to be used by future generations so we are committed to gathering correct information.
Prior to ketubah completion by the artist, we will always confirm the information.
Date:
We can look up the Hebrew date for you. We need to know if your ceremony will take place before or after sundown because a new day in Hebrew begins at sundown of the previous day. For instance, the first day of the week begins Saturday night after sundown. You should find out from your rabbi how your day will be calculated if your wedding is to take place at dusk.
You should also ask your rabbi whether your day should be noted as the last day of the week (Shabbat) or the first day of the week if your wedding falls on a Saturday evening before sundown.
Place:
The city and the state of the wedding is included in the text. If you haven’t provided a Hebrew spelling, we will transliterate it from English, though this is subjective. You can ask your rabbi about any spelling preference for the location. (The name of the hall or synagogue is not needed).
Names:
Most commonly, you’ll have your first, middle, and last names in the section written in English. Since the ketubah is a document, legal given names are usually used. A previously married bride may provide her maiden name or, alternatively, the name she is entering the marriage with. When filling in the form you should write the names the way you would like them to appear. Titles (such as Dr.) are generally not included.
The majority of artists will use the names of the parents in the English section, but some do not. You should provide the first names of your parents so we will have them if needed.
Jewish tradition identifies you as: “_______ the son or daughter of _______ and _______.” Thus, we request you to provide your own Hebrew names as well as your parents’ Hebrew names. When looking for the names, a good way to start is by asking your parents. You can ask them whether they have their ketubah where their names will likely appear. Your name might be on a naming or circumcision certificate. When you send any of these documents to us, we can help in the quest. You can also ask grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings and synagogues.
We feel that there should be accurate documentation of the Hebrew names so that it’s easy for any person to reference your Jewish marriage contract when looking for your Jewish names.
If you don’t know how to write your names in Hebrew, you can write them in English and we will change them to Hebrew. Your name may be uncommon or it may have a unique spelling, particularly Yiddish names, so we always check with you first. If you feel it’s better for you to give us the Hebrew spelling, simply use the online form to spell out the letters (alef, bet, gimmel, and so on). Alternatively, you can use the printable version and email or fax it to us. (You cannot write in Hebrew characters on the online form - it will not come to us in a usable format.)
As for partners or parents without Hebrew names, we use Hebrew letters to write their English names.
Last names are generally not written in the Hebrew text so please let us know if your rabbi requires it. In this case, you should provide any unique spelling of your last name in Hebrew.
The Orthodox tradition is to only use the fathers’ names on the ketubah. If your ceremony is going to be an Orthodox one and you’d like your mothers’ names to be included on the ketubah, consult with your rabbi first. To keep things simple, your mothers’ Hebrew names shouldn’t be provided on the form if they are not going to be used. (Mothers’ names are used in other places in Orthodox tradition, just in case you were wondering.) Both parents’ names are used in all other text.
Brides' Status:
This set of inquiries applies only to the Orthodox and Conservative Lieberman texts. There are variations on the way the text is filled in depending on the answers to these questions.
Signatures:
Typically, at the bottom of the Ketubah text, there are five signature lines: the bride, the groom (or ‘beloveds’ on a same gender marriage text), the two witnesses, and the rabbi or officiant. Many ketubot can have customized signature lines so definitely ask us about any special requests.
For the Conservative or Orthodox Aramaic texts, two witnesses are required to sign below the Aramaic. Any vows made in English must go under these signatures. According to some rabbis, these witness signatures must be placed one above the other. The majority of Aramaic texts without English have this kind of setup. However, for Aramaic text that includes English, the witness signatures may sometimes be put side by side. Again, you must confirm this requirement with your rabbi.
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What if we do not have a Hebrew name?
For partners or parents without Hebrew names, we spell their English names in Hebrew letters.
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Do we receive a text proof before the ketubah is completed?
The majority of artists that utilize the giclee printing method offer a digital proof of the personalized text before your ketubah is printed. This way, you can check for accuracy before it is completed. We send the proof to you via email, as well as to your rabbi/cantor if you included his or her email address. The ketubah is printed after your approval and it’s comforting to know that your ketubah has been approved by the time it gets to you.
For lithograph prints, you may not receive a proof of the full text because the artists work directly on the artwork. What you will get is a proof of the personalizing information page in the exact way that it will be sent to the artist. This allows you and your officiant to review the spellings.
As soon as you receive the package, please open it up to look at the ketubah.
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