Because the English word ketubah (plural is ketubot) is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for Jewish marriage contract (lit. ³that which is written²), it is sometimes spelled many different ways. For example, in addition to the most common spelling of ketubah, you may find: katubah, katuba, ketuba, ketubba, ketubbah, kettuba, kettubah, kettubbah, kettubba, kutubah, kutuba, and more variations as well. However you spell it, a ketubah is a piece of Judaica required for every Jewish wedding.

Although Ketubah Art does offer the option of typed custom texts for those couples who want them, Melissa is a calligrapher first and foremost, and she painstakingly letters all of her standard ketubah texts by hand, letter by letter, stroke by stroke. It is these hand lettered, calligraphed texts that are reproduced on Ketubah Art's ketubah prints. If you order your ketubah personalized, Melissa personally calligraphs your personal information into the blank spaces within the calligraphy texts, so the entire ketubah text appears as if it flowed directly from Melissa¹s pen at the same sitting. The difference is clear: Melissa's calligraphy ketubah texts are beautiful works of art in their own right, not secondary to the decoration.

There is a precept within Judaism, hiddur mitzvah (sanctification of the commandment) that holds that whenever an object is required for ritual purposes, it is a good thing possible. This is why there is beautiful Judaic art in general, and also why there are beautiful ketubot. In its most traditional form a ketubah is a legal Jewish document, a prenuptial agreement, outlining the (mostly financial) responsibilities of the groom to his bride, and required at every Jewish wedding. Because of the precept of hiddur mitzvah, it has become customary for ketubot to be made into works of art. Traditionally a bride would keep her ketubah under her pillow, but nowadays wedding couples like to frame their ketubah and hang it in a prominent place in their home after the wedding. You can find the most beautiful ketubot in the world at Ketubah Art.

Ketubah Art showcases the beautiful ketubah and Judaica designs of Melissa Dinwiddie. Whether you are looking for an interfaith ketubah, an egalitarian ketubah, a reform ketubah, a Reconstructionist ketubah, a Jewish Renewal ketubah, a ketubah with the Lieberman Clause, a ketubah for an Orthodox wedding, an anniversary ketubah, a ketubah for a gay or lesbian commitment ceremony, a ketubah with a custom text, or even a Quaker wedding certificate or a non-Jewish marriage certificate featuring your wedding vows, plus other Judaic art, Ketubah Art is the right place to look. You will find ketubot (and other Judaica too) in a range of styles, all combining Melissa's masterful artwork and calligraphy.