The following description was prepared by William Gross:

The Hebrew wedding poem, composed by friends and family of the bridal couple, was an integral part of this popular genre among both Christians and Jews in Italy of the 17th and 18th centuries. The form usually began with an honorific statement praising the bridal couple and their families and expressing good wishes. The central section was the poem itself, specially composed for the occasion. The form was often either sonnets or poems of multiple stanzas with regular allusions to and printing emphasis for the names of the couple. The last section was the salutation from and the signature of the author. While mostly found as printed documents, there are manuscript versions known as well. Both sorts exist in the Gross Family Collection.

THE CUSTOM OF MAKING WEDDING POEMS WITH RIDDLES WAS ORIGINALLY A SEPHARDIC CUSTOM IN ITALY AND IN AMSTERDAM.  AS THIS EXAMPLE SHOWS, BY THE 19TH CENTURY THE CUSTOM HAD EXTENDED TO THE ASCHKENAZI COMMUNITY AS WELL. THIS BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED WEDDING POEM USES VERSES THAT HIGHLIGHT THE LETTERS OF THE COUPLES NAME AND HAS A BORDER OF DELICATELY RENDERED MICROGRAPHY IN GUILLOCHE FORM.

Groom:                             IItzik ben Moshe Leib de Vries

Bride:                                Bulah bat Ya'akov Haring