Chuppah Rental Basics

Rent the perfect chuppah for your traditional Jewish wedding

By Cynthia Myers

Photo by iStockphoto.com

In a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, the bride and groom are married beneath a chuppah, an open-sided canopy that symbolizes the home the bride and groom will make together. The chuppah is supported by four poles, which may be planted in the ground, or carried by relatives or friends of the couple. Chuppahs may be plain or ornate, and the poles may be anything from tree branches to ornate carved and gilded staffs. Though some couples prefer to make their chuppah, you can also rent one.

• What You Need to Know
• Ask your rabbi for recommendations for reputable chuppah rental companies.
• In addition to companies that exclusively specialize in chuppahs, your florist or ceremony venue may also have the ability to rent or build a chuppah.

Step 1:

Decide on the type of chuppah you want to rent. You can choose a very basic white canopy with plain poles or an ornate fringed affair. If your wedding has a certain theme, choose a chuppah to match that theme. For example, for a beach wedding, you can have a wedding chuppah with bamboo poles, trimmed with palm fronds.

Step 2:

Contact several companies for bids for rental chuppahs. Contact both florists and rental companies that cater to Jewish weddings for bids. Ask if the company will allow you to decorate the chuppah yourself, or if it will decorate it for you as you desire. For instance, if you obtain a chuppah from a rental company, it may have weight restrictions that prohibit you from hanging flowers or lights from the chuppah.

Step 3:

Find out if the price they quote includes delivery and pickup, or if you are responsible for picking up the chuppah and delivering it back to them.

Step 4:

Arrange for the chuppah to be erected before your wedding. You can oversee this yourself, but it's best to assign the job to a relative or friend, since you'll be busy getting ready for your wedding. The same person can be in charge of taking down the chuppah and returning it to the rental company or arranging for pickup after the wedding.

• Tips & Warnings
• Personalize a rental chuppah by layering personal items, such as an heirloom prayer shawl, on top of the rental canopy.
• See if your venue will allow you erect your chuppah a day in advance of the wedding. This will give you the opportunity to rehearse in it, as well as the ability to address any potential changes you might want to make.