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