Hey everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Understandable English Podcast.
My name is Oliver and today I wanted to tell you that I got married.
Just over one week ago, I finally had my wedding with my partner and now wife, Kate.
So that is why I haven't made a podcast episode for a number of weeks.
It has been a very busy time.
And in this episode, I want to talk about weddings.
So when two people get married and tell you about our wedding.
So what we did, maybe some of the traditions and activities and how it went.
There was a lot of preparation for the wedding.
A year ago, we had to book lots of things.
So we had to pay money to reserve to make sure that we had the place or the venue.
We chose a place called Ballygally Castle.
It's a very beautiful location beside the sea and a very old historic building with beautiful gardens around it.
We also, one year ago, had to choose, for example, our photographer and videographer, so someone to take the video and kate had to get her wedding dress.
We had to choose our DJ for the night time to play music, and lots of other little tiny details, such as the person to do the flowers, the cake, just to make sure that everyone was available and there ready for the wedding day.
Our wedding was also very international.
We had people from all over the world.
From the UK, so both Northern Ireland, Scotland and even England, as well as Russia Ukraine Belarus Mexico Germany, Spain and even America.
So we have lots of friends and family from all over the world, which created a great atmosphere.
Okay, so now i will describe the process of the day, so what we do at weddings.
The night before the wedding, my now wife Kate, and her bridesmaids.
So bridesmaids are girls that the bride chooses to walk down the aisle with her.
So to walk past all the people to the front where I am waiting and they help the bride, so the woman getting married all throughout the day to manage her dress and help her with anything she needs, and these are usually close friends and family.
So they stayed in the hotel at the location we were getting married the next day And I stayed at home.
In the morning, we all got ready.
So the girls got ready at the hotel and myself and some of my friends who were my groom's party were the best men.
So these are my close meal friends.
We got ready at home and travelled to the wedding location.
Kate had her hair and makeup done by a professional as well as the other girls there too.
And then my friends and I arrived to the hotel and we all had a quick drink together to celebrate.
After this, we went to the ceremony room, the place where we get married.
And myself and my friends made sure everything was good and helped the guests to find the right seat.
So to sit in the correct place.
We then waited.
This was the nervous part, the hard part.
We waited on the bride and her bridesmaids to arrive, to come down to the ceremony room.
The pastor or minister.
This is a religious figure.
Christian religious figure waited at the front of the room with us.
And then the music began to play.
And one by one, the girls walked into the room and up to the front with the bride, so my wife at the very end.
And she came up beside me with her mum and held my hand.
We then did the service.
So the pastor made us take our vows.
This is where we promise or we say that we will take care of one another and love each other until the day that we die.
This is an important part of the ceremony.
We then give each other a ring, a wedding ring, and afterwards the pastor says that we are husband and wife.
Everyone cheers and claps and then we sang some songs and we sat down to sign the documents.
These are like legal documents to make us officially married.
Of course, during this time, lots of people took photos.
And there were many, many more photos taken during the day.
After the ceremony so the marriage service or marriage ceremony.
We went down the aisle, so outside, out of the room.
Everyone cheered, music was playing, and we got a glass of champagne each.
Then everyone gathered around and threw confetti.
So this is little leaves of flowers.
And we walked through into the flowers and the photographer took some very nice pictures.
And we started taking lots of pictures.
So we got photos with family, with friends, together in different spots.
My face was so sore after all the photos because I smiled so much.
Meanwhile, the guests went up and had drinks and snacks and talked to each other and relaxed.
A while later, after we had all the snacks and drinks and photos many, many photos, it was almost time for dinner.
But first we had one Russian tradition to do, which is almost a big piece of bread.
And we have to both bite, take a bite of the bread.
And whoever bites the biggest piece of bread is in charge or the head of the family.
This is a Russian wedding tradition.
And guess what, guys?
I took the biggest bite.
So maybe it means that I won.
But time will tell if I am in charge.
After this, it was time for dinner.
All of the guests went to their tables and we had written each guest a personalized letter to wait for them at their table.
These were letters about our friendship or family and thanking them for coming and everything that they've done.
We then had speeches.
So my dad gave a speech about me and Kate.
My friend, my best friend, gave a speech as well.
Kate's mum gave a speech and I gave a speech too.
About our relationship and thanking everyone for coming.
I was quite nervous before this speech but it went very well.
And then some of Kate's friends and her sister also gave speeches.
So lots of speeches and emotional moments.
And then finally, we took the time to eat lots of food.
So we had a salad and then soup and bread.
We had a main meal with chicken or beef and lots of tasty items.
And then dessert.
It was really tasty and very nice.
After this, everyone went out of the room and took some time to relax together and talk and enjoy.
And the DJ set up the dance floor so he prepared the place to dance.
And in the evening we spent hours dancing until about two in the morning, two o'clock in the morning, with lots of drinks and fun times.
It was a really great evening and we enjoyed it so, so much.
It was a wonderful day.
And that is not every detail or every bit that happens in the day.
Otherwise, this podcast would be so long.
But this just gives you an idea of the process of a wedding in English.
So in the English language.
It was a very happy day with our friends and family, and we had so many people travel to visit us and spend the time with us, which was amazing.
And now, next week, we are traveling to the Caribbean to Jamaica for a nice holiday. honeymoon.
So the holiday that the newly married couple goes on after they get married.
And I am so much looking forward to relaxing.
So I hope you enjoyed this episode of the podcast.
I won't be making any more episodes until after my holiday.
I'm going to take this time to relax and enjoy myself, and I hope to see you guys soon after we get back.
So thank you for listening and I hope you have an amazing day.
Goodbye.
