Schultz Yakovetz Judaica

Erica & Aaron (16" x 20" vertical, 2014)
Ketubahs... in... space! This was a delightful theme for a lifelong amateur astronomer and Star Wars geek. After the initial Death Star Ketubah draft was (mournfully) discarded, I spent some time looking for just the right Biblical text to draw in the cosmic theme: "The heavens tell the glory of God... In them He has set a tent for the sun, which emerges like a bridegroom from his chuppah, like a hero rejoicing to run his course" (Psalm 19:1, 4-5). The final version was signed in silver Sharpie.
Detail view | Photo of finished piece

Ellyn & Lawrence (16" x 20" vertical, 2013)
I suggested a flame motif for this couple's Lag Ba'Omer wedding. Producing this piece digitally meant that I could apply a gradient color scheme to enhance the flame effect—something we could never have achieved with hand-lettering. The additional decorative “sparks” rising up around the flames are verses from Song of Songs (2:10, 2:14, and 6:3).
Detail view | Blog post

Ariela & Jonathon (16" x 16" square, 2012)
This couple wanted something completely their own, so they commissioned some custom art from Julia Liberman, a mutual artist friend whose colorful sketches caught their eye; wrote their own text; and recruited me to combine them into the ketubah of their dreams.
Detail view | Photo of finished piece

Rachel & Jesse (30" x 25" horizontal, 2011)
This couple ordered their artwork online and had me hand-letter their custom text onto it. For more info about this process, see the case study on my handwork page.
Blank artwork | My PDF mockup with final text | Photo of finished piece

Sarah & Yonah (24" x 18 " horizontal, 2009)
This couple had a painter friend lined up to decorate their ketubah, but asked me to typeset the (traditional) text digitally for them. They used the painting much like a mat board, creating a cutout to display the text underneath.
Printed text | Photo of finished piece

Mira & James (11" x 14" horizontal, 2007)
With some general thematic and color preferences as a starting point, I found this couple a suitable photograph and stylized it in Photoshop for a "painted" effect. I then lettered the text by hand onto a digital print. The English text is in a Celtic-style roundhand script.
Detail view

Jen & Jeff (11" x 14" horizontal, 2004)
I wanted to give this couple something clean and modern, and since they mentioned green as a color they liked, I thought a botanical theme would work well. As the wedding fell just after Shavuot (the spring harvest holiday), we ended up building a design around this emblematic sheaf of wheat.
Version 1 (draft): Branch | Version 2 (final): Sheaf

Sherry & Len (English with decorative Hebrew text only; 11" x 14" vertical)
The Hebrew at top and bottom reads, Od yishama b'arei Yehudah u-v'chutzot Yerushalayim, Kol sason v'kol simcha, kol chatan v'kol callah. "Again will be heard in the cities of Judah and the squares of Jerusalem, The voice of joy and of gladness, the voice of bridegroom and bride."
Detail view

Rachel & Jacob (11" x 14" vertical)
Given this couple's first names, we had a clear starting point for our theme. As it happened, the bride had some artwork drawn by her mother for her bat mitzvah invitation -- on the theme of Rachel at the well. I adapted these drawings for their ketubah and found some Bible verses to incorporate the story of Rachel and Jacob, for a very personal and meaningful custom design.
Detail view

Natasha & Alex (11" x 14" horizontal)
This couple found a painting they loved and got permission from the artist, Jim Warren, to use a digital version of it in their ketubah. I set the type for them (in English with decorative Hebrew text only) and produced a high-resolution PDF, which they downloaded and took to their printer in Australia. This happy ending was brought to you entirely by the magic of the Internet!
Detail view

Johanna & Eric (16" x 16" square )
This couple had in mind an Art Deco theme, to be executed in their favorite color: deep purple. The center was reserved for a photo from their wedding, to be added after the fact.
Detail view

Lisa & Jay (18" x 24" horizontal)
This couple had ordered a blank print from ketubahworks.com and needed their customized text applied to it. This document is a mocked-up layout of the text, which I then calligraphed by hand onto their print.
Detail view

Christine & Lyn (8.5" x 11" vertical)
I typeset the English and Hebrew text, and one of the brides added her own artwork to the printed copy afterwards.
Detail view