Do I need a family Ketubah to have a Jewish wedding?

Question

I'm Jewish but my family are secular Jews so they have not married in Synagogues, would I need to trace a family Ketubah (Jewish Marriage Certificate) on my mothers side in order to have a Jewish wedding?

I'm a little worried that these type of documents could have been lost during my family's immigration to England and this would prevent me marrying a Jewish man. Any help much appreciated.

I'm not getting married but in the case that my future partner was Jewish, which would be nice, I would like to have a Jewish wedding. It would not matter if it was a Reform wedding, not to me anyway. In the worst case scenario (The Ketubah being lost/spoiled) I could always ask my family rabbi to write me a letter. I guess I never really thought about having to prove I'm Jewish before, thank you all who answered, you have been really helpful.

Answer 1

I would not worry so much about it.

Unless you or anyone else has any reason to suspect that you or your mother had a faulty conversion. You would be assumed to be telling the truth about it.

In Israel you might need some documentation, but most of the time a letter from an Orthodox Rabbi that knows you or your family will clear it up any issues ASAP.

Answer 2

Most Orthodox synagogues will require proof that you are Jewish. Most often this will be your mother's ketubah, alternatively you will need your grandparents ketubah, or a rabbi that can verify they were Jewish or that you mother is Jewish. without something like that, you are going to have a big problem getting married in a shul (at least an Orthodox one). If you know where in Europe your grandparents came from (and assumming that the records were not destroyed in the Shoah), you may be able to find a record of their marriage.

Answer 3

It depends upon whether your fiance is Orthodox or not. If he is then yes, you will need to trace your Judaism. I'm Reform and my brother went through this when he married an woman who was Orthodox. It may be that you don't have any formal records. I would strongly suggest consulting your fiance's rabbi as to the best way to proceed. You may not need to have a ketubah--this situation is not completely unknown and the rabbi should be able to assist. If your fiance is not Orthodox then it may not matter so much--in any event, talk to the rabbi.