Weddings

Initially, speak to your local Rabbi, the Rabbi of your parents’ synagogue, or a Rabbi you’d like to officiate at your wedding. You should also have a conversation with the administrator at the United Synagogue where you want to be married. It is a requirement of English & Welsh Law that either the bride or groom must be a member of the synagogue responsible for registering the marriage for civil purposes, and that the membership started at least 6 months prior to the wedding. Please contact the administrator at your officiating synagogue to confirm these details and to complete relevant membership forms.

Once you have identified a suitable date and venue for your wedding you should contact the synagogue’s administrator to reserve the date in their shul diary. Sunday weddings, particularly during the summer and at popular venues, need to be booked as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

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You will also need to secure the participation of an Orthodox Rabbi who is authorised to solemnise weddings. If your own Rabbi is unavailable, the synagogue will help you find a suitable alternative. Any catered reception should be fully kosher and will therefore be prepared and served by a caterer licensed by an Orthodox Kashrut Authority. The Kashrut Division of the London Beth Din licences a large number of caterers. Look at the KLBD Approved Caterers List or take a look at the listings in the latest edition of the Really Jewish Food Guide.

Yes. You need to obtain authorisation for your marriage both from your local authority Register Office and from the Office of the Chief Rabbi.

For further information, call Marriage Liaison on 020 8343 6314.

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The former can be applied for up to 12 months prior to the wedding date and requires each of you to give notice at the Register Office in the Registration District where you live, of your intention to marry under Jewish auspices. You may need to book an appointment for this. The Register Office staff will advise what documentation to bring with you. If either party is not an EEA national then please ask the local Registrar about documentation and time limit requirements.  

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At the conclusion of the notice period (29 days) the Register Office will issue each of you a certificate for marriage. The Registrar office will advise the process for collecting your certificates. This authorises the synagogue to register your marriage civilly on your wedding day and thus issue you with a civil marriage certificate.

Before your wedding can take place under Orthodox auspices, you will need to provide documentary evidence that you are Jewish and eligible to marry. In straight forward situations, where both of you are marrying for the first time and are the biological children of parents who married under Orthodox auspices, you would need to provide your full birth certificates and your parents’ Ketubot (Jewish marriage lines). If any key documents are not readily available, every assistance and advice will be given to help you obtain whatever may be necessary.

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The option of signing the Pre Nuptial Agreement (PNA) is offered as part of the marriage authorisation meeting. Please ask the Rabbi, at your meeting, should you wish to discuss this further. He will happily answer any questions you may have on this, or any other issues you may be concerned about. The Marriage Authorisation office will be able to advise you if you have any other queries. Please call them on 020 8343 6314.

If they were not married in an Orthodox synagogue, you need to go further back in the maternal line, bringing a Ketubah from your grandparents or great-grandparents on your mother’s side, together with full birth certificates, showing the direct connection to you.

Hopefully your adoption will have been registered with an Orthodox Beth Din, which will have issued a certificate vouching for your Jewish status.

You will have a conversion certificate from the Orthodox Beth Din which handled your conversion, which should be brought to the meeting.

Any deed poll or similar legal declaration which shows the name change should be presented at the meeting.

This is more complicated because English & Welsh Law requires both parties to be residing in England for a more specific time before giving notice of their intention to marry. Please contact your local registrar office for further information and assistance. (See above). If you envisage a difficulty in fulfilling this requirement, contact Rabbi Birnbaum, Director of the Marriage Authorisation Office, on 020 8343 6279 for advice.

Please note that the person coming from abroad will need to involve a Rabbinical Authority local to them, in order to provide further evidence of their Jewish and single status. Ideally, this would be provided by a properly constituted Orthodox Beth Din. For guidance in these circumstances, contact Rabbi Birnbaum on 020 8343 6279.

Whilst a synagogue is the choice of most couples for their Chuppah, many choose to celebrate their marriage at other venues.

However, in these circumstances, we do require that the wedding reception be catered under the supervision of a recognised kashrut authority. Since some venues will not permit an outside caterer to work on their premises, it is important to bear this in mind before the venue is booked.

​Even though the chuppah may not be taking place in a US synagogue, it still requires to be solemnised under the auspices of one of our US synagogues. You should therefore identify a US synagogue that suits you through which to book the wedding and ask if the Rabbi and other officials of that synagogue will be available to marry you on your chosen date.

It is a requirement of English  & Welsh Law that  either the bride or the groom must be a member of the synagogue responsible for registering their marriage for civil purposes.  In order to benefit from the free year and discounted US membership scheme offered for a first marriage, both bride and groom must complete a Marriage Membership Form (pending Jewish status checks).

There will be two separate charges made for the marriage, by the host synagogue:

a) to cover the membership fee

b) the wedding fees for the chuppah

Either the bride or groom will need to fill out and sign a membership form and a marriage membership form (obtainable from the synagogue).

If you are currently a member, only a marriage membership form needs to be completed. For a first marriage, we have a new membership fee scheme in place. Please ask the administrator at the host synagogue for further details. If you have any queries please contact Michelle Mervish for membership on 0208 343 5687 or Dinah Herman for marriage on 0208 343 6314.

Yes, you can. To do so, please contact the synagogue at which your wedding is being held. If it is your first marriage, you will complete a one-page synagogue transfer membership form. Likewise, membership taken out with the synagogue responsible for the marriage can be transferred thereafter to another United Synagogue local to where you intend to set up home at no extra charge. The free extension year can likewise be transferred from one US member synagogue to another.

Yes, you will need to contact the Marriage Authorisation Office prior to your wedding to obtain the Chief Rabbi’s Authorisation in just the same way as if you were marrying in a synagogue. Likewise the authorisation, once granted, will be recorded in the Chief Rabbi’s marriage archives in exactly the same way as if the marriage were to take place in a synagogue.

Yes, civil registration is a legal requirement irrespective of the venue. When you give the notice you must inform the registrar that the marriage will be taking place under Jewish auspices.

Only Rabbis authorised by the Office of the Chief Rabbi are permitted to solemnise weddings. You should therefore contact Rabbi Birnbaum to ascertain if your friend would be authorised to officiate at your wedding.

For other enquiries please contact:

Rabbi Birnbaum
Director of the Marriage Authorisation Office
Tel: 0208 343 6279
Email: rabbi.birnbaum@chiefrabbi.org