Is there a ketubah signing ceremony script? Six full ketubah texts – Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, interfaith, secular and LGBTQ+ – with the wording read aloud at the signing.
By Michael Shapiro
Most couples planning a ketubah signing go looking for a script, and come up empty.
That’s not because the information is hidden. It’s because the thing they’re looking for doesn’t exist in the form they expect – and once you understand why, finding the right wording for your ceremony becomes straightforward.
Below are six full ketubah texts, one for each of the main wedding traditions, along with how each is read aloud and who signs afterwards.
Is There an Official Ketubah Signing Ceremony Script?
In a traditional ceremony the ketubah text itself serves as the script, and is read aloud by the rabbi before the witnesses sign. The text is in Aramaic. For modern Jewish weddings, there’s no official ketubah signing script for weddings operating outside halacha. Couples can choose from a range of modern ketubah texts that reflect their own vows, and read that aloud instead – usually in English.
This trips people up a lot. Many couples picture something like an officiant’s running order – a document telling everyone what to say and when.
What actually happens is simpler: the ketubah itself is read out, and then it’s signed.
So the question isn’t where do I find a script. It’s which text do I want read aloud at my wedding. That’s a much better question, and our full library of ketubah texts is where the answer lives.
How the Ketubah Text Works as Your Script
Your ketubah text is your script. Because the document is read aloud during the signing, whichever text you choose – Orthodox, Reform, interfaith or secular – becomes the wording of the ceremony itself. There’s no separate script to source: choosing your text is choosing what will be spoken.
That’s worth sitting with for a moment, because it changes how you choose.
- You’re not just picking words to hang on a wall.
- You’re picking the words that will be spoken aloud, in your voice or your rabbi’s, in front of the people closest to you.
Every ketubah text we publish at Ketubah.com is approved by rabbis and officiants, so whichever you choose is anchored in the tradition even where it departs from the halachic formula.
Our guide to what the ketubah actually says compares the texts side by side if you want to see how differently they read.
Ketubah Signing Scripts by Tradition
Ketubah scripts fall into two groups:
- The fixed halachic texts used in Orthodox, Conservative and Sephardic weddings
- The flexible texts written for Reform, interfaith, secular humanist, LGBTQ+ and non-binary couples
At Ketubah.com, 27% of our texts are chosen for Orthodox or Conservative weddings and the remaining 73% for weddings outside halacha.
The six texts below cover the full range. Each is reproduced in English as it would be read aloud.
Orthodox / RCA Script
The Orthodox script is the traditional Aramaic ketubah text, unchanged for centuries and approved by the Rabbinical Council of America. Read aloud by the rabbi, it sets out the groom’s financial and personal obligations to his wife. It is signed by two witnesses only – not by the couple.
Below is our Orthodox Ketubah text written in Hebrew only. We have written out an English translation further down.
Orthodox/RCA Ketubah Script in English
On the ____ day of the week, the _____ day of the month ________ in the year five thousand seven hundred and ____ since the creation of the world, the era according to which we reckon here in the city of ____ that _____ son of said to this virgin ______ daughter of _______ “Be my wife according to the practice of Moses and Israel, and I will cherish, honor, support and maintain you in accordance with the custom of Jewish husbands who cherish, honor, support and maintain their wives faithfully. And here I present you with the marriage gift of virgins, two hundred silver zuzim, which belongs to you, according to the law of Moses and Israel; and I will also give you your food, clothing, and necessities, and live with you as husband and wife according to universal custom.” And Miss ____, this virgin consented and became his wife. The trousseau that she brought to him from her father’s house, in silver, gold, valuables, clothing, furniture and bedclothes, all this ______, the said bridegroom accepted in the sum of one hundred silver pieces, and __________ the bridegroom, consented to increase this amount from his own property with the sum of one hundred silver pieces, making in all two hundred silver pieces. And thus said _____, the bridegroom: “The responsibility of this marriage contract, of this trousseau, and of this additional sum, I take upon myself and my heirs after me, so that they shall be paid from the best part of my property and possession that I have beneath the whole heaven, that which now I possess or hereafter acquire. All my property, real and personal, even the shirt from my back, shall be mortgaged to secure the payment of this marriage contract, of the trousseau, and of the addition made to it, during my lifetime and after my death, from the present day and forever.” _______, the bridegroom, has taken upon himself the responsibility of this marriage contract, of the trousseau and the addition made to it, according to the restrictive usages of all marriage contracts and the additions to them made for the daughters of Israel, according to the institution of our sages of blessed memory. It is not to be regarded as a mere forfeiture without consideration or as a mere formula of a document. We have followed the legal formality of symbolic delivery (kinyan) between _________ the son of ________, the bridegroom and ________ the daughter of __________ this virgin, and we have used a garment legally fit for the purpose, to strengthen all that is stated above, and everything is valid and confirmed.
Conservative Script (with the Lieberman Clause)
The Conservative script follows the traditional Aramaic text but adds the Lieberman clause, which commits both spouses to appear before a rabbinical court should the marriage end. It’s read aloud in the same way as the Orthodox text and remains a halachic document.
The clause is the one meaningful difference, and it exists for a practical reason: it protects a spouse from being left unable to remarry under Jewish law if the other refuses to grant a religious divorce.
Below you can see an example of one of our Conservative/Lieberman ketubah texts. The text is in Hebrew only, but we have an English translation beneath.
Reform / Egalitarian Script
Reform and egalitarian scripts replace the groom’s one-sided obligations with mutual promises made by both partners. Written in English, often alongside Hebrew, they’re read aloud in full during the signing and signed by the couple, two witnesses and the officiant.
This is the point at which the ketubah stops being a contract about a marriage and becomes a statement made by the couple within it – which is why the reading so often lands as the emotional high point of the signing.
Below you can see our Life’s Journey text – the most popular of our Reform/Egalitarian ketubah texts. It’s in modern Hebrew with an English translation beneath.
Interfaith Script
Interfaith scripts are written for couples where one partner isn’t Jewish, using language that honours Jewish tradition without the halachic legal formula. They open with the date, place and names, move into shared vows, and end with the officiant calling the witnesses, officiant and couple to sign.
The question that follows almost immediately is whether a non-Jewish friend or family member can serve as a witness – a separate issue from the text, and one that turns on a single factor. We’ve covered it in full in our guide to whether a non-Jew can sign the ketubah.
Beneath is one of our popular Ketubah texts and script for interfaith couples. The English translation is also written out below.
Life’s Journey/Interfaith Ketubah Script
On the second day of the week, the twenty-seventh day of the month of __________ in the year __________, corresponding to the __________ day of __________ in the year __________ here in __________ in the presence of family and friends, the beloveds __________, son of __________, and __________, daughter of __________, entered into the covenant of marriage.
As we embark on life’s journey, we promise to love, cherish, encourage and inspire one another. Our hearts fuse together, creating a unique bond with friendship and compassion at its core. Through this union, we vow to value and support each other, always striving to show sensitivity to each other’s needs.
We shall nurture one another emotionally, spiritually and intellectually, embracing our respective qualities, strengths and heritages. May we continue to grow together, maintaining the courage and determination to pursue our desired paths. We promise to celebrate life’s joys with grace and overcome life’s adversities with tenacity.
May we maintain the intimacy that fosters trust, honesty and communication. As life partners, we shall strive to build a home emanating love, peace, charity and tolerance. Through each other’s eyes, we see the world anew: may we be better together. All this is valid and binding.
Secular Humanist Script
Secular humanist scripts carry no religious legal language at all. They express the couple’s commitments in their own terms while keeping the structure of a ketubah reading – the naming of date and place, the vows, and the call to sign – so the ceremony still feels rooted in the tradition.
Couples sometimes assume a secular text means a shorter or lesser ceremony. It doesn’t. The structure holds – only the theology is set aside.
See below for an example of a Secular/Humanist Ketubah text written in modern Hebrew with an English translation.
LGBTQ+ and Non-Binary Script
LGBTQ+ and non-binary scripts follow the same structure as other modern texts, with the gendered language removed – “beloved” and “beloved” in place of “bride” and “groom.” They’re read aloud in full and signed by both partners, two witnesses and the officiant.
Everything else about the signing is identical: the same running order, the same two witnesses, the same reading aloud before the signatures.
Just below you can see examples of our LGBTQ+ Ketubah texts – one for two women, and then for two men.
Who Reads the Ketubah Aloud?
The officiant usually reads the ketubah aloud – the rabbi in a traditional ceremony, reading the Aramaic text and sometimes an English translation. Outside halacha, couples often ask a parent, sibling or close friend to read instead, or read sections to each other.
Giving the reading to someone other than the officiant is one of the easiest ways to make the signing feel personal. A parent reading their child’s vows aloud tends to be the moment people remember.
If you’re asking a guest to read, give them the text in advance. Some of the language is unfamiliar, and nobody wants to be sight-reading Aramaic transliteration in front of an audience.
How to Run the Signing Around the Script
Gather everyone, have the officiant introduce the ketubah, read the text aloud, then call the signatories in order: witnesses first, then the officiant, then the couple. Allow 20 to 30 minutes in total. In an Orthodox ceremony the reading is followed by the kinyan before the witnesses sign.
A workable running order:
- Everyone gathers; the officiant explains briefly what the ketubah is and why it’s being signed.
- The text is read aloud, in full.
- (Orthodox and Conservative only) The kinyan – the symbolic act of acceptance.
- The two witnesses sign.
- (Outside halacha) The officiant signs, then both partners.
- A pause for the ink to dry, and for photographs.
The wider ritual – who attends, when it happens, what the witness rules are – is covered in our complete guide to the ketubah signing ceremony.
Can You Write Your Own Ketubah Script?
Yes. Couples marrying outside halacha can write their own ketubah text, and it becomes their ceremony script. Most start from an existing text and personalise the vows rather than beginning from scratch, keeping the traditional opening and closing structure so the reading still sounds like a ketubah.
The parts worth keeping are the frame: the naming of the date and place, the declaration that the couple are entering the covenant of marriage, and the closing affirmation that everything stated is valid and binding. Between those, the vows are yours.
If you’d like help, our AI Ketubah Text Assistant builds a personalised text from your own words while keeping that structure intact.
Printable Ketubah Signing Scripts
Print or save your chosen text ahead of the wedding so the reader isn’t working from the ketubah artwork itself. A printed copy lets the officiant mark pauses and pronunciation, keeps the original clean for signing, and gives you a backup if the ketubah is already displayed at the chuppah.
It’s a small thing that prevents a genuinely awkward moment: a reader holding a large, framed, still-drying document at arm’s length while trying to find their place.
Ketubah Script FAQs
Is the ketubah read aloud in Hebrew or English?
In Orthodox ceremonies it’s read in the original Aramaic, sometimes followed by an English translation. Modern texts are usually read in English, or in both languages where the ketubah is bilingual.
How long does the reading take?
Two to five minutes for most texts. The traditional Aramaic text takes longer than a modern English one, particularly if a translation is read afterwards.
Do we need a different script if we’re not Jewish?
If one partner isn’t Jewish, an interfaith text is usually the right choice – it keeps the ceremony’s structure without the halachic legal formula. See our guide to what a ketubah is for the background.
Can we shorten the text for the reading?
Outside halacha, yes – some couples read an abridged version aloud while the full text remains on the document. In a halachic ceremony the text must be read as written.
Who chooses the text, the couple or the rabbi?
The couple chooses, though if you’re working with a rabbi it’s worth confirming early that your chosen text meets their requirements – some will not use the halachic formula where only one partner is Jewish.
Ready to choose the text that will be read at your signing?
