ideas for a chuppah?

Hi,

Does anyone have any suggestions for renting or making a chuppah for a Jewish wedding?

We are not having our ceremony at a synagogue and our rabbi is coming from out of town, so he will not be able to supply one for us. We like the free-standing, decorative chuppahs that you can rent from florists, but these are quite expensive once you add on the set-up and delivery charges. I looked into some local Jewish bookstores that rent chuppahs for a reasonable price, but they look a little bit scuffed up from being used so many times.

I am thinking about trying to make our chuppah and I think this could be very meaningful and in some ways nicer than renting one, but I am not particularly artistic. Does anyone who has made their own chuppah have any advice? What kind of material did you use for the top and how did you make the poles? Was it handheld or free-standing? How did you put it together?

Or, if anyone knows of somewhere in the D.C./ MD suburbs area to rent a chuppah, that would be helpful information, too.

Thanks so much,
Rebecca

Hi,
I was searching this forum looking for Chuppah ideas for my sister's wedding in April. Like your Rabbi, ours too is coming from out of town. The Ceremony and reception will be in a restaurant and we are looking for Chuppah ideas. I have called a few places that carry canopies and we were thinking of putting a tallus on the Chuppah. The places that I have called are all expensive and there is an extra charge for them to set it up on a Sunday. Can you please share your idea with me on what you did for a Chuppah? The wedding location is in Northern Virginia.

Thank you very much,
Andrea

Hi Ladies:

I was online looking @ the forums and I saw your post. I've found some beautiful ideas on chuppas just by doing a google search on the word and then viewing the images (once you type in chuppas in the search field, instead of selecting search, select "view" from above the search field).
This will give you just pictures. If you want, you can select a particular picture and go to the web site. Some folks have come up with some beautiful options.
Good luck!

Check with your florist in your area, I've seen pictures of them on some of the websites.

Hi Rebbeca,
My friend used fabric from her mothers wedding dress and veil I thought that was special.Also my mother in Law to be is christian but made a canopy for her daughter's wedding on the beach that was beautiful. It was very simple to make and they tied bouquets to the 4 corners.