In observance of Jewish law, we will sign a ketubah prior to our ceremony. A ketubah is the Jewish certificate of marriage, and we wrote ours to reflect our values as a couple. As the ketubah signing will not take place in front of our extended group of friends and family, we would like to share it here.

With this ketubah as the founding document of our marriage and the rest of our lives, we pledge the following to each other and ourselves in the presence of family and friends:

We vow to love one another for the rest of our lives. As a marriage is the union of two individuals, we will celebrate and cherish one another for the unique attributes and accomplishments that define us as individuals. We will nurture one another emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.

We will prize each of our personal passions as well as our shared values. To that end, we vow to encourage each other’s curiosity and introspection, and always help one another become closer to the best version of ourselves. In this way, we will strive to always grow both as individuals, but also together - recognizing that self-improvement is a path and not a destination.

We will seek to honor our traditions and cultures through our thoughts and good works. We will be mindful of our different pasts while building our shared future. In so doing, we will seek to build a Jewish home that firmly incorporates Vietnamese culture and all of the other influences and traditions that are core to our lives. Outside the home,  we will honor our cultural histories by helping others.

We will not be blind or naive towards the difficulties that are a part of life. We will never forget that, in all things, bitterness is what allows us to appreciate the sweet. We promise to resolve differences through communication, compromise and respect. We will do our best to practice humility.  We will remember that truly hearing one another and coming together in moments of discord does not require perfect agreement. In this way, we will always find our way back to one another.

Finally, we will never forget that even in the most serious of times, we value fun, humor and the other small joys of togetherness. We will be mindful that ours is a love born of romantic passion, but also of friendship.

These promises are our voluntary vows, entered into lovingly and joyfully.  We will be forever faithful to this covenant.