Framing your Ketubah
Filed under: Easy
I’ve touched a bit on framing before, but today we’re going to get into some practical details. There are a range of options to consider when you frame your ketubah – it can be as simple or as custom as you want it to be.
Full disclosure: I never make my own frames or cut my own matte board. I prefer to either buy a high-quality, ready-made frame or have a professional do it for me. There are more advanced DIY techniques than what I’m going to share with you here, but I’m going to steer you toward a couple of simple, solid solutions for now.
Ready-Made
By far, the least expensive option is a ready-made frame, meaning a frame that you can buy right off the shelf and put together yourself. You can find frames in many different places:
- Art stores like Dick Blick
- Craft and hobby shops like Michael’s
- Frame shops like Aaron Brothers
- Big box stores like Target and Ikea
- Online on Amazon
However, not all frames are created equal. Some use high-quality materials, and some don’t. You can always use the actual frame you buy off the shelf, but if the matte and glass are not high-quality, you should consider swapping them out. If you don’t use an archival matte, it may damage the artwork in the long-term. And if you don’t use UV-protected glass, the artwork may fade. You can still keep costs down if you find your own frame, though. Just have a framer do the rest!
There are some ready-made frames that you can use right off the shelf, however. I like the Nielsen Bainbridge brand because they use UV-protected glass and archival matte board. In terms of quality, they are really similar to a frame you can get from a professional framer, though they only come in standard sizes (8×10, 11×14, 16×20, etc) and colors (black and silver). They have a number of nice, simple styles that work for a lot of different kinds of artwork:
If you have a piece that’s not a standard size, you still might be able to find a ready-made frame for it. Just the other day, I noticed that Ikea carried a frame that perfectly fits the unusual dimensions I use in my ketubah collection. The frame is intended for five 5×7 photos, but you can have a matte and UV-protected glass cut for it, and presto! You have a lovely frame that works perfectly.
You should use art corners or archival framing tape to position your artwork. The real pros also seal the back of wood frames with sealing tape. If you attempt to frame your own ketubah, it’s not a bad idea to check with a local framer or a knowledgeable friend to make sure you’re doing things correctly. When you go the DIY route and forgo using a professional, you run the risk of not doing things quite as perfectly as someone who’s been doing it for years. Since you want the artwork to last a lifetime, play it safe.
Custom Framing
The nice thing about going the custom route is that if you find a good framer, they can walk you through a ton of interesting choices. They have hundreds of frames and matte colors and they can help you match the artwork perfectly. A quality framer is experienced at guiding people through their options and is also a craftsperson who knows how to protect a piece of art for the long-term.
As with ready-made frames, there is a broad range of quality when it comes to custom framing. There are usually framing departments in any good art store, as well as some larger chains like Michael’s, and then there are all kinds of chains and independent shops that do framing exclusively.
You’ll find everything from super expensive fine art framing, where they make their own frames from scratch, to mid-range framers, where they use machine-made framing materials for a simple and clean look, to dishonorable operations that you don’t want to deal with. Choose carefully.
You can be an educated buyer of framing services by asking the following questions:
- Do you use archival quality, acid-free, and non-buffered matte?
- Do you dry-mount artwork, or use art corners or cloth tape? (You want the latter, since dry-mounting can’t be reversed.)
- Does the glass or plexiglas use the maximum UV protection available? Is museum glass (less glare) available?
You’ll be able to choose between wood and metal frames, different grades of glass, and all kinds of matte board, which will all affect price. You can get wildly different quotes at different places, and very different outcomes.
I like finding independent framing shops where the person helping me is the one who is actually going to be doing the framing. Ask around for recommendations.
Design Decisions
Whether you use a ready-made frame or have a custom frame made for you, you’re going to need to make some design decisions.
Where are you going to be hanging it and how much space is there? Do you want the artwork to go right up to the edge of the frame? Or do you want matte between the piece and the frame? If you want to see matte, how much do you want to see? Do you want a double-matte to offset the ketubah with multiple colors? It can seem overwhelming at first, but just look at different options and trust your gut: do you like how it looks?
Here are a couple of framing jobs I did myself using the same ready-made frame, but with different artwork. In the first example, the artwork goes all the way to the edge of the frame:
The second one uses a white matte to establish some neutral space between the artwork and the frame:
The right solution depends on the size of the ketubah itself, the size you want for the final, framed piece, and what works best for the design.
Below is a fancier framing job, to show you how much more you can do when you collaborate with a custom framer. What you see here is a double matte – a small sliver of grey and 3 inches of white between the artwork and the silver frame.
The matte is a luxurious weight, so the artwork seems to be inlaid a bit. We chose to do it this way to give the piece some depth. When we tried just a white matte, it washed out the piece. Large expanses of a mid-tone or a dark matte felt overpowering. So this was the best solution for the piece.
Final Considerations
If you get your ketubah framed before your wedding, let the framer know that you need for the backing to be easy to remove so that you can sign and quickly reconfigure the frame. Most custom framing jobs seal the back of the frame to keep dust out, so this is an important consideration to discuss up front.
Once you have your piece framed and signed, hang your ketubah away from direct sunlight to be extra sure the piece won’t fade over time. Even UV-protected glass is not enough if the piece is sitting in the sun all day long.
Whether you choose to go the DIY route, work with a framer, or do something in-between, the most important thing is to choose something you love and enjoy the finished piece!
