Yichud
Yichud, literally meaning becoming one, is the first time the new husband and wife can be alone together. The yichud room is also used to break the fast. The couple stays in the room for at least eight minutes. This time spent together solidifies the husband and wife as a married couple. The same witnesses who were under the chuppah must make sure that there is no one in the room besides the husband and wife. In Chassidic Jewry, there is a custom to place a spoon at the threshold of the door to the yichud room. Upon entering the room, the husband first, and then the wife, steps over the spoon with their right foot. In Sephardic communities, the bride and groom wait until after the reception is over to go to the yichud room, they also do not need witnesses.
Seudat Mitzvot
Talmud writes about great Sages who set aside Torah study for celebrating a wedding. The traditional reception includes plenty of food and two separate rooms for men and women to dance. Dancing has in fact become the best part at chasidic weddings. According to Avi Bresler, at his son's wedding men danced in circles and then in lines, then back in circles again. "Bresler hands out tumblers of whisky, filling and refilling them. The groom is hoisted in his chair and throws money in the direction of his bride.The sweating groom is lowered and four men rush towards him with a table and start fanning him with it. Someone starts break-dancing but not very well. Bresler is charging more glasses"1. The merriment of drinking and dancing for joy comes from King David. When he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he is described as "singing and dancing for joy" (Samuel II 6:16). By dancing, everyone feels like they are a part of this momentous occasion. It is a custom in some Hasidic communities for the bride to dance with her groom, her father, and other male wedding guests. "During the mitzvah tanz the bride may hold the groom's hand and her father's hand, but dances with the other guests by holding on to one end of a scarf or a gartel (belt), while the guest holds the other"2. When the last child in the family is married, the mother dances with a broom to symbolically sweep out the empty nest. This is called the Mazhinka dance.
According to the Zohar, no joyous occasion is complete unless it is shared with someone who is less fortunate. It is therefore a custom to either invite a poor person to the wedding, or to place a charity box at the head table of the wedding. This also symbolizes the want for the husband and wife to start their life based on kindness and compassion. After the meal, the sheva brachot are recited again during the birkhat hamazon (grace after meals).
According to the Zohar, no joyous occasion is complete unless it is shared with someone who is less fortunate. It is therefore a custom to either invite a poor person to the wedding, or to place a charity box at the head table of the wedding. This also symbolizes the want for the husband and wife to start their life based on kindness and compassion. After the meal, the sheva brachot are recited again during the birkhat hamazon (grace after meals).
After the Wedding
The week after the wedding, the bride and groom are treated like royalty. They do not go to work or get haircuts during their first week of marriage. This is the time when they start to build a foundation for the rest of their lives together. Rather than going on a honeymoon, the newlyweds start their lives in the community. Seven days after their wedding, friends and family celebrate with the newlyweds. During these days, the sheva brachot are recited during the birkhat hamazon. The source of this custom comes from the week that followed Jacob and Leah's wedding (Gen 29:27). This community-wide celebration contrasts greatly with the modern Western custom of the honeymoon.
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13417502
2. http://www.jewish-history.com/minhag.htm
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13417502
2. http://www.jewish-history.com/minhag.htm