This is an all ears English podcast episode 869.
Would you attend a fake wedding?
How to voice your opinion in English?
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 50 million times.
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Today hear about a trend of fake weddings that is happening in Argentina.
Would this work in your country?
Get three ways to voice your opinion about a cultural trend like this one.
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Hey, Michelle, how's it going today?
Hey, Lindsay.
It's good.
It's good.
How are you?
Oh, not bad.
Do you have any weddings you're going to be attending in the beginning of the year?
Ooh, not in the beginning of the year, but I'll have a couple in the summer and the fall.
Okay.
Do you enjoy attending weddings for the most part?
I do.
I do.
Especially, you know, because when you attend a wedding, you usually, you know, have a certain relationship with the people who invited you.
So it's always nice and exciting.
That's true.
Unless you're like a wedding crasher, right?
That's true.
I haven't done that.
Wait, actually, maybe I did do that once.
No.
Once there was a wedding at a restaurant that I was in and we stepped in for a few minutes to take a peek.
That's funny.
Makes me think of that movie with Adam Sandler, Wedding Crashers.
That's not Adam Sandler.
That's Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.
Yeah.
Oh, Owen Wilson.
You're right.
You're right.
You're right.
Right.
I got to review my movies from the 90s.
Yeah, that's your project for the week.
Review 90s movies.
But it was that was a funny movie.
That was funny.
That was funny.
So do you so you are married as well.
So you've had your own wedding.
Do you think it's better to be a guest in a wedding or the bride in the wedding?
I think it's better to be a guest.
Okay.
I thought you were going to say that.
I think it's less stressful.
And here's one more question.
If you could pay a set amount of money, let's say 50 to 100, to attend a fake wedding like there's a short ceremony, a hired couple, a plastic cake, but a big party would you attend as like an event, something to do on a Saturday night?
Not now because I still have real weddings to go to that cost money.
So that's expensive.
But maybe if the weddings slow down and I'm really – craving a good wedding, it could be fun.
Yeah, like you.
Maybe if you get into like your 40s or your 30s and no one's getting married, you're like, darn it, i need a wedding, i'm gonna pay for it.
Right, i'm just gonna go to a fake wedding.
I would go, but i would have a problem with a plastic cake.
Like, i would want the cake to be real.
Yeah, really.
Yeah, the cake should be real.
The cake should be real.
If you're going to pay that for a fake wedding, the cake should be real.
So why are we even talking about this, Michelle?
Wow, Lindy, you sent me this really cool article about something happening in Argentina, right?
Yeah.
And we know we have some listeners from South America.
They call this La Falsa Bola, right?
The false wedding, the fake wedding.
Interesting.
What is this?
Well, it's this business and people pay $35.
They get dressed up, but no one is actually getting married.
It's actors, right, Lindsay?
Yeah.
But what do they actually do at the wedding?
Well, they dance and they act like they're at a wedding.
I mean, it said that they have like a fake ceremony, right?
They have a short fake ceremony.
Short being the key word because no one likes a long wedding ceremony, even in real weddings.
Right, for sure.
Right, right.
But I guess they just party, right?
This is an article, guys, from the New York Times.
If you come back to our blog, today is episode 869.
You could type 869 in the search bar, come back, get the link to the New York Times article.
You can read all about it. and so first of all, yes, this is a thing that's happening in Argentina.
I want to hear from our listeners, guys.
You know, if you guys are from Argentina or you've heard of this in your country, then come back and write us your opinion about this kind of event.
Um, And today, in today's episode, we're going to talk about this, but we're also going to have you come away today with three ways to discuss your opinion on a new idea like this.
So it's not just talking about this concept.
It's actually giving you guys tangible phrases that you can use to connect when you talk about these weird ideas.
Okay?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Okay, awesome.
So let's go a little deeper into this.
I mean, why do they even do this?
Like, why does this work in Argentina?
Okay, so why does this work in Argentina?
So there's a quote from the article, right?
Yeah. explained Nacho Bottinelli 30, one of the organizers.
So, yeah, it talks about how there aren't as many real weddings in Argentina right now.
They're not as common, right?
Yeah, exactly.
Go ahead.
I'm reading it less than half as common as they were 20 years ago.
That's what it said in the Times, in the New York Times.
So they fact-checked pretty well.
So I'm just going to – yeah, I think that's probably true.
We could double-check our facts.
But, I mean, that makes sense, right?
Marriage is declining everywhere in many, many places.
I know it's – well, I mean, I think it's been declining over the last 50 years in the US too, right.
Right, right, right.
Yeah.
So less than half as common as they were 20 years ago in Argentina.
And the article also touched on the fact that you know it's especially interesting in Argentina, which is a country that's traditionally Roman Catholic right.
Extremely Roman Catholic.
But the divorce rate is also around 50%.
So you know there's some – I think it's when new businesses crop up, new services, new things that people are actually spending money on.
It's interesting to see like, what's the reason, what's the cultural reason behind this?
Right, right, right, right.
Because people might enjoy the actual wedding, but there aren't as many weddings to go to.
Yeah, maybe that's true too.
There aren't as many weddings or they're just not as – yeah, maybe that's what it is.
Their friends just aren't getting married.
Yeah.
But they want to party, right?
So apparently, what it said in the article is that the entrepreneurs who came up with this idea are actually planning to expand this to Uruguay, Mexico and even the US.
Now, I wonder, I wonder if it would work in the US.
Do you think it would?
I think it could.
I mean, people like a good theme party.
So I think, if it's kind of like almost like over the top wedding, like it would have to be like really over the top.
And like because there are so many the idea of like a theme party in the US choosing a particular theme and like dressing in a certain way.
So I think that it could work.
Yeah, I think so.
What do you think?
Well, for our listeners, I just want to know, I love that you use that word over the top.
What does that mean just for our listeners?
What does that mean?
Like a little too, like extra extravagant.
Extravagant.
Not necessarily meaning like expensive.
That can mean expensive, but meaning like creative maybe, right?
Right.
Or just like really done up.
Right.
Everything is there.
Maybe there are even like chauffeurs and limos and all that stuff.
Is that what you mean?
Right.
Exactly.
Exactly.
It would be just like a lot and like almost like just like extreme wedding.
Extreme wedding.
Yeah.
So if this were to work in the US, it would have to be like quite expensive probably.
It would be over the top.
They'd go all out, right?
To go all out.
I love that.
So today we're touching on this topic.
I love this because marriage is one of the things that brings us together.
Many cultures have in common, right?
Many, many cultures around the world have marriage as a fundamental part of life.
And now we want to show you guys how to comment on an issue like this, something that's kind of far out.
You know, something that's different.
You want to know how to state your opinion.
Like, let's imagine you're sitting with a bunch of native speakers and they bring up this article.
What are you going to say?
We're going to give you three ways to present your opinion right now.
So let's dive into it, Michelle.
Nice.
Yeah.
So what's the first one, guys?
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Thanks, guys.
The first one is the way I see it.
Okay.
So let's show our listeners how to do this.
So Michelle, could an event like this sell tickets in New York City?
The way I see it, there's no harm in the idea.
Yeah, exactly.
Or you know the way I see it.
You said before it would have to be over the top and over the top situation, right.
Yeah.
Right, right.
Exactly.
Okay.
So the way I see it, guys, is a really good way, really natural way.
Do you like that phrase to open up your opinion?
Yeah, the way I see it, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Yeah, I like it.
I love it.
I love it because it's kind of like you're holding your ground.
You're saying, hey, guys, I'm going to say what I think now.
You know, you're not like minimizing your message.
Right, right, right, right.
I like it.
I like that a lot.
I like that a lot, guys.
Okay.
Next one is it strikes me as…
Right.
Oh, I like it.
So what do you think about it?
I don't know.
It strikes me as a crazy idea to celebrate a fake couple.
Because again, the details are the couple is not an actual couple.
They're just a hire.
They're just actors.
Right, right, right. funny.
I like it.
Why not?
Why not?
Why not?
Okay.
And the last one is I'm a bit skeptical.
So would New Yorkers buy tickets?
I'm a bit skeptical that the idea would pick up steam in New York.
It's interesting.
I mean, I wonder if it would.
I have no idea.
It might.
You know, maybe certain cities in the US it would, others it wouldn't.
If anywhere, I think New York would be one of the places where it would work.
Right.
Yeah.
So I'm a bit skeptical.
That sounds more like more on the negative side.
Exactly.
To be skeptical is to be doubtful, right?
Right.
Exactly.
So again, let's just review these three phrases so our listeners have this takeaway here.
The first one is the way I see it.
And the second one...
Is it strikes me as.
And the third one is I'm a bit skeptical.
Good.
Okay.
These are all really good guys.
So write these down, get the transcripts allearsenglishcom forward, slash subscribe and make sure you start using these.
It's so important.
How important is it, Michelle, to be able to voice your opinion on something?
It's very important.
It's very important to be able to connect, right?
If somebody asks you, you know, what do you think about something?
You got to be able to introduce your opinion rather than just saying oh, it's good or it's bad, or yes or no, right?
We want to add color to our language and this will really help you connect and build those relationships.
That's our goal here at All Ears English.
We wanna help you guys connect.
It's all about the relationships, the connections and being fulfilled, because we can't be happy in life if we don't have good connections.
That's like something we need as human beings.
So we wanna help you guys get there, okay?
Cool.
So we want to know.
We want to know, guys.
Come back to our blog.
Type 869 in the search bar.
Tell us what you think about this concept.
I mean, is this like mocking marriage?
Is it just an excuse to party?
What do you guys think?
What do you think about this?
And would it work in your country?
So interesting.
Right, right, right.
It's an interesting idea.
I have a feeling we'll see it here.
What do you mean?
Oh, you think we'll see this business model in the US?
Yeah, I think so.
Michelle, you're going to go and franchise this, right?
You're like, oh, I'm going to start this business.
Yeah, yeah.
No, no, no.
But I could see this being something.
And maybe, I think also maybe with like...
I don't know.
Maybe with younger people also who aren't tired of going to weddings.
It's more like a novelty.
Or just people who don't get to go that much.
It would be fun.
But I think with the...
20, like mid 20s to mid 30s or late 30s.
Like I feel like those people are like, I go to enough weddings.
Oh, yeah.
No, maybe.
Or what about like for baby boomers?
Oh, that would be a cool business idea to start this and offer this.
Their target market could be baby boomers.
And if our listeners don't know what that generation is, what is that, Michelle?
Baby boomers.
It's like the people that were born in like the 50s.
The 50s, 40s.
Yeah.
After the war when a lot of people were born.
Exactly.
So my parents are baby boomers.
Probably your parents are too.
Yeah.
Right?
Yeah, sure.
So my mom is 70.
She's a she's a old baby boomer.
But anyways, my dad's like 68.
So that age 60s.
Yeah, I think it would be interesting for that group because they're older but they still probably have nice memories of their own wedding.
And they might want to party.
It could just start a little bit earlier, you know?
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
All right.
Very cool.
Let us know what you guys think.
Come back to our blog, 869.
And remember guys, if you want to get the seven simple secrets to connection in English, go over and get the free video lesson allearsenglishcom forward slash secrets.
Very cool.
Awesome.
Well, this was fun.
This has been a good one.
This has been a good one.
I love it.
So cool.
All right, Michelle, thanks for hanging out and enjoy your day.
Thanks.
You too.
Bye, Lindsay.
Bye, guys.
Bye.
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