Often couples will want to use a huppa (also spelled huppah, chuppa or chuppah) during their wedding ceremony. It is a canopy that the bride and groom stand under during the ceremony. In ancient Israel, Jewish weddings were held outside, under the stars, as a sign of the blessing given by God to the patriarch Abraham that his children shall be "as the stars of the heavens." The huppa was used to separate the sanctified wedding space from the area around it. It symbolizes God's presence and symbolizes the couple's new home.
	The huppa is open on all sides, just as Abraham and Sarah had their tent open on all sides to welcome friends and relatives in unconditional hospitality. The bride and groom are supposed to wear no jewelry under the huppa. Their mutual commitment to one another is based on who they are as people not on their respective material possessions. In traditional wedding processions, the rabbi ascends the wedding platform or area first, followed by the huppa, which is held aloft by family or friends.
Jewish tradition allows a wide range of options when creating a huppa, from large frames made of metal and interwound with flowers and ribbons, to simple pieces of cloth held aloft by friends and family. You can make your own huppa, using a large piece of cloth, decorated with home-made embroidery or tie-dyed designs. Or you can use other items, such as a tallis (the traditional candidate for home-made huppas), a quilt, or even a table cloth.
	Huppa supports can be made of a variety of materials. Some folks use 8-foot wooden curtain rods or PVC pipe. Carved tree branches have sometimes been used. The huppa at left uses garden trellis material covered in lace. Supports can be decorated with leafy garlands, vines, flowers or strings of lights. Sometimes the poles are fixed to the floor or placed inside large, weighted ceramic flower tubs so they stay upright by themselves. Having a huppa made by the bride and groom's families can be especially meaningful, especially for interfaith unions where families have a chance to get to know one another during the project.
Some of the better florists offer to assemble a floral wedding canopy, created out of interwoven metal wire, flowers and ribbons. A floral wedding canopy is considered a huppa in Jewish tradition. Costs for a florist-created huppa of any type can range from USD $600 - $1500. Sometimes couples substitute an arch for a huppa at their ceremony. A wedding arch, usually created by a florist and made of the same types of materials as a floral canopy, is placed behind the officiant(s) during the wedding ceremony. Wedding arches are not considered a huppa by Jewish tradition. Costs for a wedding arch from a florist is typically USD $300 and up.
	A synagogue may have a huppa that can be rented for a fee, typically in the neighborhood of USD $400 - $1000. A tallis huppa, like the one shown on the left, is the traditional form of huppa. It has been used by generations of Jews around the world. Each pole is held aloft by an honored guest at a wedding. Tallis huppas are frequently used today at weddings in Israel and the U.S.

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