Welcome to this English podcast lesson where you're going to learn vocabulary words, phrases, and other expressions that you can use to talk about weddings. And it's also going to really help you improve your listening skills because this episode is more conversational.
where i'm going to give my opinion talk about certain things but it's also going to have a structure so that you can learn new words and phrases we're going to talk about everything from wedding preparations to the ceremony and the reception and i'm going to talk about some of the differences between weddings in the uk and weddings in the us if you're on youtube then check the description
for the key phrases and also some more information about how best to learn English. If you're listening to this on Spotify or a podcast player, then I think you can do that too. Just go to the description for the podcast and get those phrases. Before we begin, if you enjoy this lesson, then please like and share it. Also, turn on subtitles if you are on YouTube.
Let's get started. The first step to going to a wedding is getting an invitation. And oftentimes you'll see people post online or share a date about when they're getting married. So when they get engaged, oftentimes you'll see this happens on social media. And then it's the waiting game. You have to wait until you receive your invitation.
So you might say to your friend who also knows a couple or you might say to your partner, have you got a wedding invitation yet? You might be a little bit panicked about this. Have you got a wedding invitation yet? And when you get this wedding invitation, the next thing you need to do is to RSVP, which means to respond confirming whether or not you're going to attend.
Because the people who have a wedding want to know if you're going or not. So you might say, don't forget to RSVP before it's too late. You might have some questions about the invitation too. For example, you might ask, does the invitation say I can bring a guest? So if you're single.
Maybe you want to bring a guest or maybe if you're in a relationship, you wanna bring a guest. And then when you get the invitation as well, you might say something like, I can't wait for this wedding. Or I haven't been to a wedding for a long time. Using the present perfect, I haven't been to a wedding for such a long time. Now imagine it's time to prepare for a wedding because there are a few things you have to think about.
And one of the biggest issues people have, one of the biggest things that they worry about is what to wear. It's what to wear. What clothes should you put on when you go to a wedding? So you might ask your partner or a friend, what should I wear to the wedding? What should I wear to the wedding? And you'll also want to know if it's formal or casual. Formal meaning you have to wear very fancy clothes.
like a suit or a dress. Casual means that maybe you don't need to wear a suit. Now, something that I have noticed is that in general, weddings are a little bit more formal in the UK than they are in the United States. And when you decide what to wear, you can say something like, I'm gonna wear this suit. I think it's the best option. I'm gonna wear this suit. Another thing you have to think about is a gift.
And many couples, they create a wedding registry, which is where they list items that they would like as gifts. So you might hear people say, should we buy something from the registry or should we give cash instead? And also, how long do you think the ceremony will last? How long do you think the ceremony will last? That is the actual part of the wedding where the couple get married.
Do you know where the reception is being held? Now, the reception is the after party or the party for the wedding. And this is when you are served food, you have drinks, and then there's some kind of party. We'll talk more about that later. Going back to the wedding ceremony, this is one of the most emotional parts of the day. And this is where the bride and groom exchange their vows. And when...
The person in charge of the wedding marries the two people. So, before that all happens, usually the groom stands at the front. And then if it's a traditional wedding in a church, let's say, the bride walks down the aisle. And you can say things like, the bride looked stunning as she walked down the aisle, if she looked stunning.
So you can think about the aisle in a church. There's also an aisle on a plane and also at the cinema. And probably the most famous phrase here when it comes to the expressions you might hear is this. You may now kiss the bride. You may now kiss the bride. Like we said before, after the ceremony, it's time for the reception. This is where everyone celebrates, eats, drinks and dances.
And usually it starts with some appetizers and some drinks. This is more casual where people are standing around and waiting for the bride and groom to come to the reception. And then usually there is a seating plan where you have to find your name on the seating plan and go to your set seat, the seat that is for you.
You sit down, you have a starter, you chat at the table, you have your main course. And in the US, oftentimes there is an open bar, which means that the drinks are paid for by the people who are paying for the wedding. In the UK, this is less common. And you have to take your own money or your cards and buy drinks while you're at the reception. So some common expressions you might hear are, where is a seating chart?
Where is a seating chart? I need to know. Let's grab a drink from the open bar. And a question you could ask is, what song are they playing for their first dance? During the reception, people often give speeches. So you might hear someone say, the best man's speech was hilarious. Now the best man is the best friend.
of the groom and he has to give a speech and his speech is the one that people most look forward to it's usually the one with the funny stories with the anecdotes as well but the father of the bride normally makes a speech too this is usually shorter and something you might hear is the father of the bride's toast made everyone tear up made everyone tear up which means it made everyone emotional
so that they cried. After dinner, after speeches, what happens next is the bride and groom are introduced again, and they have what's called a first dance. And this is where, on their own, on the dance floor, to music, to their chosen song, they dance, and everybody watches. And then, after a little while, people join in, and then the party starts.
A phrase you might hear about people dancing is, everyone was on the dance floor all night. Everyone was on the dance floor all night. It was so much fun. Now we have two more sections. The first one is post-wedding reflection. So once the wedding is over, it's nice to reflect on the day. And oftentimes people will meet for breakfast the day after the wedding. And you might hear or say things like, that was one of the most beautiful weddings.
I've ever been to. Or that was one of the most fun weddings I've ever been to. Or that was one of the most boring weddings I've ever been to. We heard this before, but you can also talk about how the bride looked. So a great word to use here is stunning. The bride looked stunning, didn't she? And if something funny or unexpected happened, you might say something like, did you see the groom's uncle dancing?
That was so funny. Did you see? Did you see the groom's uncle dancing? Or I can't believe he fell asleep during the ceremony. Weddings can have common issues and their own challenges. For example, there might be some gossip the next day or people talk about the wedding and what nearly went wrong. For example, they had to change the venue.
at the last minute. Can you believe it? They had to change the venue at the last minute. Or maybe the DJ was late. So you can say, the DJ was late, so the bride's brother had to play music from his phone. So that is the English listening practice and common expressions all related to weddings. If you have found this helpful, then go to the description to look at and to continue learning with me to get more
English lessons like this. We have other conversational topics about things like getting flights, how to get around cities, things like that. And then please share this lesson with a friend. It helps a lot and I really appreciate it. Okay, so thank you so much for listening and I'll speak to you soon. Bye for now.