Welcome to the Listening Time Podcast.
I'm Connor from polyglossa.com, and you're listening to episode 13 of the Listening Time Podcast.
If this is your first time here, welcome.
You've found a podcast that's going to help you practice your listening skills.
So in each podcast I talk about different topics, and I talk about them in a natural way, without reading a script.
I'm just talking as the words come to my mind.
However, I speak a little bit more slowly and a little bit more clearly than the average American.
So it should be easier for you to understand me than it is to understand me the average podcast made for English speakers.
The goal of this podcast is to help you reach a level of comprehension where you can actually listen to real podcasts made for English speakers.
But I know it's very difficult to reach that level of listening comprehension.
And so I've made this podcast as a tool to help you reach that level.
So with every episode, you also have the transcript available.
So you can access that in the details part of the episode.
And you can read the transcript as you're listening to if that is necessary for you.
I always recommend listening to the same episode multiple times maybe the first time without the transcript, and then the second time with the transcript, and then one more time without the transcript again.
This is great practice.
This repetition helps you remember the new words that you heard, and it helps train your ears.
So in this episode, I'm going to talk about weddings.
This is an interesting topic.
It tells us a lot about different cultures, in my opinion.
So we're going to talk about that today.
Before we start, please remember to share this podcast and tell your friends about it.
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Okay?
Alright, let's get started.
Are your ears ready?
You know what time it is.
It's listening time.
Okay, so let's talk about weddings.
First of all, let's talk about the significance of weddings, the importance.
In specific, I'm going to talk about American weddings.
In America, weddings are extremely important.
They have always been important and I think they will probably stay important and remain important in the future.
So what does a wedding represent?
Well, it represents a legal union between two people.
And it represents a contract, so to say, between two people who are promising that they're going to love each other and support each other and stay together until death right.
We have the phrase in English, till death do us part.
This is a phrase that is said at weddings to mean that the two people the bride and groom We'll stay together.
We'll stay married until they die.
Till death do us part, we say.
So this is a very important, significant moment because it's a really big decision in someone's life and it's something that people dream about, even when they're young, especially little girls.
They love to dream and imagine their, their wedding, their dream ceremony.
They like to think about their wedding dress and all the different details of the party.
This is something that's very exciting for many people.
And so the cost also reflects the importance because weddings are not cheap.
In the U.S., people often spend many thousands of dollars on weddings.
So it's very common for people to spend $15,000 on a wedding, for example.
That's very common.
And of course, this is a big investment.
So usually the parents of the bride and groom will help pay for it.
And so that helps with the cost a little bit.
And as I mentioned, a wedding is a legally binding contract, right?
A marriage certificate is a legally binding contract.
That just means that it's valid. in the eyes of the law.
It's not just a ceremony.
It's not just a party.
It's actually a legal contract.
So this is why weddings are conducted by an ordained minister or officiant.
An ordained minister or officiant is someone who conducts a wedding and has the legal status to marry two people.
If the bride and groom want a more religious ceremony, then they usually have an ordained minister.
But sometimes the ceremony isn't religious and it's just an officiant who has the legal ability to conduct a wedding.
He's the one who marries the two people in that moment.
So let's talk a little bit about the wedding ceremony in the U.S.
First of all, it's important for you to know that the wedding ceremony is very, very important to Americans.
I say this because in certain countries the ceremony is not quite as important as And in those countries the reception is usually more important.
The word reception refers to the party that happens after the ceremony.
So this is where people eat and dance and spend many hours there with family and friends.
That's the reception. in the US, the ceremony and the reception are important.
But for example, in Mexico, the ceremony is not really that important.
Many people just skip the ceremony and go to the reception.
When I say the word I'm saying that people do not do something or do not go to something.
So if I skip class, that means I don't go to class that day.
So in Mexico, many people skip the ceremony and they just go to the reception.
In the U.S., barely anyone does this.
When I say barely anyone, I'm saying almost no one.
Barely anyone does this.
Almost no one does this.
And that's because the ceremony is very important.
People love to watch this ceremony, to see all the details and see the bride walk down the aisle and see the whole procession.
This is very important to Americans.
So in an American wedding, we have something called the wedding party.
The wedding party just refers to the people that play a role in the wedding.
When I say play a role, I'm saying that the people have some responsibility in the wedding.
So, for example, there are bridesmaids.
These are the women that the bride chooses to stand next to her during the ceremony.
Oh yeah, in case you don't know the word bride, this refers to the woman who is getting married.
And then we have the groom, who is the man.
So the groom, he also chooses some people to be next to him during the ceremony.
These men are called the groomsmen.
So we have bridesmaids and groomsmen.
And then there is one special bridesmaid called the maid of honor.
She is the most important bridesmaid.
She has more responsibility and she's probably the best friend of the bride.
And then the groom chooses his best man.
The best man is the groomsman, who has the most responsibility, and he's usually the best friend or closest family member of the groom.
And in addition to that, there are other people involved in the wedding party.
For example, the flower girl.
This is the little girl who walks down the aisle and throws flowers and flower petals on the ground.
You've probably seen this.
And then there could also be a ring bearer.
So this is the little boy who walks down the aisle with the rings in his hands.
So many times the bride and groom choose a flower girl or a ring bearer based on the young children that are in their family or their circle of friends.
So they might choose one or the other, or maybe they'll choose both a flower girl and a ring bearer.
So there are many people involved in the wedding party.
I just named some of them, but there are more.
And then some other important elements regarding the ceremony are The aisle.
I've been saying that word a lot already.
The aisle just refers to the space between the seats, where the people walk to the front of the wedding ceremony.
This is the aisle.
So that's an important word for you to know.
Everyone walks down the aisle to the front if they're involved in the wedding party.
And then, of course, we have the vows.
Vows refer to the promises that the bride and groom make to each other before the ceremony is over.
So many times the bride and groom will read certain vows, certain promises, like I promise to always love you and care for you, no matter what happens.
That's an example of a vow.
It's a promise.
So sometimes the bride and groom write their own vows, and sometimes they use vows that people have already written and that are well established.
So they could write their own or they could use pre-written vows.
So another element of the ceremony is that if it's a religious ceremony, if the bride and groom belong to a certain religion, usually there's some kind of sermon said.
A sermon is a message given by a pastor or some kind of preacher that That is based on religion.
So if the bride and groom are Christians, then usually they'll have the pastor marry them and the pastor will also give a sermon, a short message about the wedding or marriage or love or something like that.
That's also an important part of the ceremony.
And then, of course, we have all the pictures, the wedding pictures.
Usually, when people look back at their wedding pictures years later, the most important pictures are the pictures of the ceremony, the moment of the wedding, all the groomsmen, the bridesmaids, the family.
And there are certain pictures that are taken apart from the ceremony.
Usually the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bride and groom.
They take a number of different pictures before the ceremony starts.
So they have to get there early and the photographer positions them in many different ways and takes many different pictures so that later the bride and groom can have those memories.
So the pictures are a very important part of the wedding as well.
So how about the reception?
As I mentioned before, the reception is the party that follows the ceremony.
So one of the biggest elements of the reception is the dancing.
So first at the beginning of the reception, there are usually some planned dances that So, for example, some of the bridesmaids and groomsmen might dance.
But one thing that is certain is that the bride and the groom, they have their first dance together.
So everyone watches the bride and the groom dance together for the first time as a married couple.
And then it's also common for the bride to have a dance with her father, and the groom will dance with his mother.
That's also a very common tradition. at the reception of weddings.
So of course there's that dancing, but then there's also the dancing that everyone's involved in.
So all of the guests are invited to dance, but that usually happens after the meal, after all the other things at the reception.
But of course, everyone looks forward to the dancing.
It's one of the funnest parts of a wedding, I think, in any country, right?
So the dancing is a big element.
And another thing that's important at weddings in the U.S. is the speeches.
So, for example, the maid of honor, the best man, usually the father of the bride or the groom or other people like that.
They usually give a speech at the reception.
So they might tell some funny stories about the bride and the groom, or maybe they'll just give some encouragement to the new couple or some advice, or When I say the word encouragement, I'm referring to motivating or saying nice words to someone to make them feel inspired or make them feel comforted, or something like that.
We can use this as a verb.
For example, I encourage you to follow your dreams.
I'm saying that I support you.
I'm giving you my support and giving you motivation to do this.
I encourage you.
So the speeches are encouraging, funny, they can include anything really.
And then of course the food is another big element of weddings.
And this is something that is catered usually.
So when I use the word catered, I'm referring to what happens at weddings and other events like this, where an outside restaurant or food company prepares all the food for an event.
So, for example, if you have a wedding and you want Italian food at your wedding, you can hire an Italian restaurant or food company to cater your wedding.
That means that they'll make all the food and bring it and serve it at your wedding reception.
So food is usually catered by an outside company.
And really, it can vary depending on the couple.
Some couples prefer a certain style of food.
So maybe they want Mexican food or Italian food or whatever.
Nowadays, there's no one specific wedding food.
People can choose any food, really.
But one thing is specific to weddings, and that is the wedding cake.
This is a big tradition in American weddings.
So people spend a lot of time and energy and money finding the perfect cake for their wedding.
So this is an important element.
I remember, before my wedding, I had to go to multiple places to taste different cakes before we chose one.
So it's very important.
So that's all part of the reception.
And then after the wedding, after the ceremony and reception, of course you have the honeymoon afterwards.
The honeymoon is the vacation that the new couple takes after their wedding.
Usually they travel somewhere and relax for a week or something like that.
And it's a nice way to spend your first few days as a married couple.
So the honeymoon is definitely a very important element as well.
But, of course, it comes after the wedding.
So I guess we'll stop there.
There's a lot more that I could talk about, because this is a very big topic and there are many, many traditions that take place that are integral to the American wedding.
But I just gave you a small taste of the American wedding in this episode.
So hopefully this was interesting for you, and hopefully this was good practice for your ears.
So please remember to share this podcast, rate it, give it a comment and remember to sign up for our 1 listening practice seminars at polyglossacom.
And thank you very much for listening to this episode.
And I hope you'll come back for episode 14 of the Listening Time podcast.
