Toronto Star

• The groom’s mother read and explained the seven blessings of a Jewish wedding; the bride’s mother read from the Quran and then provided an English translation.
• The bride and groom sipped from the same cup of wine, as one does at a Jewish wedding.
• My friend’s interfaith wedding might seem unusual, but it is part of the American Jewish normal.
• In my research on interfaith families, I’ve seen ceremonies combine traditions in a wide array of ways.

A meaningful canopy

• Sometimes the Jewish wedding canopy, called a chuppah, is simply a beautiful piece of cloth, or combined with floral arrangements.
• At interfaith ceremonies, the chuppah is often a way to weave another culture into the wedding.
• When Jews marry people from India – be they Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or even another Jew – they will sometimes use a sari or a shawl with distinctively Indian embroidery to make the wedding canopy.

Getting creative

• Other rabbis allow another clergy person to offer a reading or take another role in the ceremony – sometimes to picturesque effect.
• No matter who performs the ceremony, couples often find creative ways to incorporate their traditions into the wedding day.
• Often, families will include food from the non-Jewish culture, whether it’s elaborate Italian American dinners or Chinese wedding banquets.

Tough conversations