How Wacky Can You Be On Your Ketubah?

A common question we are often asked is: how wacky, over the top, wild, creative can we be on our Ketubah?

There are a few ways to approach this question.

One answer is: as long as you satisfy the technical requirements of the Ketubah, why not be as creative as possible? While we’re within the constraints of the Jewish requirements for the Ketubah (ensuring the contractual text can be clearly read, for example) — why not experiment?

Indeed, the Ketubah is a perfect place for the personalities of the couple to shine through. And sometimes, our personalities a colorful side that shine through! There’s no need to follow what everyone else does, especially in the most intimate and special of contracts we ever sign.

On the other hand, our communities and traditions do matter — and, of course, we want to hang our Ketubah proudly for the world to see, so we also want to make sure we don’t go too “over the top”.

And the “over the top”-ness depends, to a large degree, on which community you come from. Chassidic Jews have a different approach than Gay Jews. (Our personal attitude, here at This Is Not a Ketubah is, although we ourselves are somewhat traditional, we support Jews, Judaism, and Ketubot — and the marriage, commitment, and power that they represent — no matter what, in any form or manifestation it takes!).

The most important point, above all, is that the Ketubah must represent the beauty of the couple — in all of your idiosyncratic details. Each couple is different, each person is different, each is united in a different way — but all under the same Chuppah. How can a Ketubah best represent this for you?