Many cultures evolved special customs for a marriage ceremony. Jewish weddings also had special customs in the ancient world, some of which are still practiced today. One custom Jewish weddings shared with Roman weddings was the giving of a ring, although often in the ancient world, the man would give the woman something else of some value, such as a coin. A custom that is a bit different is the signing of a marriage contract, called the ketubah. This contract outlined the
agreement between the bride and groom and their responsibilities (such as the amount of the dowry and what would happen in the case of divorce), rather like a prenuptial agreement of today. A Jewish bride also wore a special veil. During the ketubah signing, the groom approaches the bride for the bedeken, or veiling.
He looks at her and then he veils her face. This signifies that his love for her is for her inner beauty, and that the two are distinct individuals even after marriage. It is also a tradition stemming from the Bible wherein Jacob was tricked into marrying the sister of the woman he loved because the sister was veiled. (If the groom does the veiling himself, the trickery can never happen.)
A Roman wedding ring, from the 3rd century CE