This weekend, I was at a friend’s wedding and as I was looking around, I started thinking of some of the English words we use at weddings. Here is a short text about the wedding. All the interesting words related to weddings are in black. Can you guess what they mean? The answers are at the bottom.
We set off for the wedding slightly late and on the way to the church, we spotted a horse and carriage. The bride and bridesmaids were in it on their way to the church, too. We overtook them and managed to get to the church on time.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the ushers and shown to our seats in the church. After a few minutes, the music started playing and the bride walked down the aisle to meet the groom at the altar.
It was a short service. The choir sang some hymns and the vicar said a prayer before the bride and groom made their wedding vows. After exchanging rings, they made their way to the back of the church to fill out all the legal paperwork needed to register their marriage.
The couple left the church in the horse and carriage and went to a nearby golf club where the wedding reception was held. At the reception, there was a huge meal and a lot to drink. The best man made a speech and shared some funny stories from the stag night, then the groom thanked all the guests for coming.
After the meal, the couple had their first dance and the party got started. Everyone had a great time and I had fun catching up with some old school friends I hadn’t seen for a long time.
- horse and carriage – a vehicle pulled by horses
- bride – woman getting married
- groom – man getting married
- bridesmaids – female wedding assistants
- ushers – male wedding assistants
- aisle – the central passage of a church
- altar – the area where the priest stands
- vicar – a priest in a Church of England church
- hymn – religious song
- wedding vows – promises of love and loyalty
- wedding reception – party after a wedding
- best man – the best friend of the man getting married
- stag night – a party a man has before getting married (if it is for women, we call it a ‘hen night’)
- catch up – share news about your life with a friend
Today’s image is by Roger Kirby.