17 Mar 2014
Posted by Aliyah 
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Miryam & Geoffrey got married June 2012 in Toronto, Ontario and currently live in New York City. I met up with Miryam (who is expecting their first child God will this spring!) to get a behind the scenes look at their personalized and DIY Ketubah!
Miryam & Jeff saw their friends’ Adam & Jenny’s ketubah and had to know who had created it. In a delightful twist of fate Jeff had signed Adam’s ketubah as one of his witnesses, and Jeff asked Adam to be one of his witnesses at his wedding! Lizi Marks was the artist, and a friend of Jeff’s who makes the ketubahs by hand. They began collaborating and Marks sent them different styles. “Luckily,” says Miryam, “Jeff and I have similar tastes in terms of art.”
Marks likes to match couples to the ketubah art. They decided to go with a nature and home scene that fit them. “I try to gain ideas from the couple’s dreams and goals, while bringing my own artistic style into the piece,” says Lizi.
They chose to incorporate a quotation. And choosing wasn’t easy, “We adapted a quote from the prayer said after Friday night candle lighting.” “ישלם ביתנו וישכן שיכינתינו בינינו” which means “Complete our home and bless the relationship between us.”
“Lizi was very patient with us. She kept making adjustments until we were completely happy with it. This is going to hang in our home forever, we should love it!” And that they do. It was displayed at the chuppah and today it is proudly displayed in their living room/dining room.
In a delightful twist of fate Jeff had signed Adam’s ketubah as one of his witnesses, and Jeff asked Adam to be one of his witnesses at his wedding!
In the Jewish Orthodox wedding there is very little halachic responsibilities that women can do but Miryam found ways to include and honor her friends. While her friends couldn’t sign the ketubah or stand under the Chuppah she asked a good friend to watch over the ketubah during the ceremony. “It is extremely important in Jewish tradition that a couple always know where their ketubah is,” Miryam explains, “so I thought it would a nice way of involving a female friend in our wedding by giving her that responsibility. And she did a great job! I was never worried!”
Jeff’s mother also had their wedding invitation layed flat and framed, which is now beautifully displayed in the entrance to their home.
For more art work by Lizi please visit her page here!
Do you or someone you know have a DIY Ketubah? We would love to share their story!
