Where do I sign?

So I know black people, Jews, immigrants, or any other minority didn't exist back in the late 1800's (If you've read the book Ragtime you know what I mean), but as I've been looking at Victorian marriage certificates I have gotten discouraged with all the white faces and blonde hair I see on the certificates. It's a little disheartening because I love the look of these certificates but even though the men look like the Mr., they don't look like me. And for some reason I have only fallen in love with the certificates that have people on them- I don't know how that happened. If I do decide to go this route, I may have to whip out the black marker and tan colored pencil and color the women in like I used to do with cartoons as a kid.

I've looked into other certificates too. Like Quaker certificates. These are the kind that all of your wedding guests sign. I love that idea because it just adds more significance to that special day, and who knows, one of your guests may turn out to be the next Barack Obama and then you can show people your certificate and say "See, Barack really is my homeboy."

Another type of certificate is a Ketubah. This is the Jewish prenuptial agreement or wedding contract. Although neither of us are Jewish or religious at all, I like this type document, and they happen to be some of the prettiest documents I have ever seen. A Ketubah acts as a blueprint of the marriage and lays out everything, and when I say everything I mean everything. It says how much the husband gives the wife in the event of his death, who is responsible for what duties in the household, and even, ahem, "relations". The Ketubah is signed by the bride, groom, and 2 witnesses. I've been told that it is the most important part of a Jewish wedding ceremony.

I still have yet to decide, and I have quite a while to ponder, but some of the best I've seen are from a site called galleryoflove.net and some of their designs have interracial couples- yay me! They even have certificates featuring Asians, Hispanics, and ones for the LGBT community which are my favorite. My only hope is that one day soon "commitment certificate" while be changed to "marriage certificate".

Are you thinking about getting a wedding certificate? How did you choose?

papercut Ketubah from www.ketubah-gallery.com