about weddings | English Conversation Practice | Episode 41

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:02]Hello English learners and welcome back to [music] another episode of English Pod. My name is Marco >> and I'm Erica >> and today with Erica we are getting married.

[00:00:12]>> Well, we're not getting married.

[00:00:14][laughter] >> We're not but our actors in the podcast are.

[00:00:18]>> That's right. So, we've got a lesson today about weddings.

[00:00:23]And you know what? A lot of the language in this lesson is about weddings and marriages. And maybe you don't need to use this language every [music] day, but learning this vocabulary will definitely help you understand or learn a lot more about Anglo culture.

[00:00:41]>> Okay, great point, Marco. I think now we can look at our vocabulary preview.

[00:00:46]>> Vocabulary preview.

[00:00:48]>> So, two simple words in this vocabulary preview. The first one is groom.

[00:00:55]>> Groom.

[00:00:56]>> Groom.

[00:00:57]>> Groom.

[00:00:58]>> So, who is the groom?

[00:01:00]>> Is the man the man that's getting married.

[00:01:03]>> Okay. And our second word is >> bride.

[00:01:06]>> Bride.

[00:01:07]>> Bride.

[00:01:08]>> And obviously the bride is >> the woman getting married.

[00:01:12]>> Perfect. Now we have our bride and our groom. So, it's time to listen to our dialogue the first time.

[00:01:19][music] I can't believe that Anthony is finally getting married. [music] >> Yeah, well, it's about time. He's been living with his parents for 40 years.

[00:01:36]>> Don't be mean.

[00:01:39]Look, here come the bridesmaids. Oh, their dresses look beautiful.

[00:01:42]>> Who are those kids walking down the [music] aisle?

[00:01:44]>> That's the flower girl and the ring bearer. I'm pretty sure that they're the groom's niece and nephew. Oh, they look so cute.

[00:01:51]>> I just hope the priest [music] makes it quick. I'm starving. I hope the food's good at the reception.

[00:01:56]>> That's all you ever think about, food.

[00:02:00]Oh, I think the bride's [music] coming now. Oh, she looks gorgeous.

[00:02:05][music] >> Wait, what's she doing? Where is she going?

[00:02:09]>> Oh, great. Does this mean the reception is canled?

[00:02:16]Oh, Marco, that's so sad.

[00:02:19]>> Yeah, I know. The reception is cancelled, >> Marco. We're not getting married.

[00:02:25]>> Oh, well, I mean, the best part is when you go and eat and drink at the reception. Okay. [laughter] >> Well, there's some great language in this dialogue. And now, let's look at our language takeaway.

[00:02:38]>> Language takeaway.

[00:02:41]>> Great. Our first word on the language takeaway today is it's about time.

[00:02:46]>> It's about time.

[00:02:48]>> It's about time.

[00:02:50]>> It's about time.

[00:02:51]>> So now we are going to listen to some examples on how we use this great phrase.

[00:02:58]>> Example one.

[00:03:02]Dinner's ready.

[00:03:03]>> It's about time. I'm starving.

[00:03:09]Example two.

[00:03:13]Guess what? I finally got a job.

[00:03:15]>> It's about time. You've been unemployed for 2 years.

[00:03:23]>> Example three.

[00:03:28]>> We're almost there. Just a couple more minutes.

[00:03:30]>> It's about time. We've been driving for 12 hours.

[00:03:36]So, this phrase means finally. Finally, at last.

[00:03:41]>> We've been waiting a long time for this.

[00:03:44]>> Exactly.

[00:03:44]>> Okay, so it's about time.

[00:03:47]>> Great. Let's take a look at our second word now. Isle.

[00:03:51]>> Islele. A I S L E.

[00:03:56]>> Isle.

[00:03:56]>> Isle. It's a tricky word. It sounds like the contraction of I will.

[00:04:01]>> Yeah, but it's spelled so strangely.

[00:04:04]>> Right. We don't pronounce the S. The S is silent. That's true. aisle.

[00:04:09]>> So, what is an aisle?

[00:04:11]>> In a big room where you have a lot of chairs, that space in the middle that allows people to walk through, that's the aisle.

[00:04:19]>> So, the aisle is the part where you walk.

[00:04:21]>> Yes.

[00:04:22]>> In a big room.

[00:04:23]>> In a big room.

[00:04:23]>> With many chairs.

[00:04:24]>> With many chairs.

[00:04:25]>> Okay. [laughter] >> So, in the church, >> the bride and groom >> walked down the aisle.

[00:04:31]>> Exactly. Great. Let's move to our third word.

[00:04:34]>> Bridesmaid.

[00:04:35]>> Bridesmaid.

[00:04:37]bridesmaids.

[00:04:38]>> So, who are the bridesmaids? Or wait, maybe you should ask me that.

[00:04:42]>> Yeah, cuz I we don't get bridesmaids.

[00:04:45]>> Okay. So, the bridesmaids are the women who are friends of the bride who stand next to her when she's getting married.

[00:04:53]Usually, they're her best [music] friends, >> right? Okay. Okay. So, we have our bridesmaids. Now, we have our flower girl.

[00:05:02]>> Flower girl.

[00:05:03]>> Flower girl. Again, I'll explain this to you.

[00:05:06]>> Please, please.

[00:05:07]>> The flower girl is that cute little girl who walks down the aisle and who throws flowers.

[00:05:16]>> That's the flower girl. And with the flower girl, we have our ringbearer.

[00:05:22]>> Ringbearer.

[00:05:24]>> Ringbearer.

[00:05:26]>> So, the ring bearer is the cute little boy who walks down the aisle carrying the rings.

[00:05:33]>> Yep.

[00:05:34]>> Okay. So, a lot of useful vocabulary for a wedding ceremony.

[00:05:38]>> That's true.

[00:05:39]>> Now, let's look at our last word.

[00:05:41]Gorgeous.

[00:05:42]>> Gorgeous.

[00:05:44]>> Gorgeous.

[00:05:45]>> Gorgeous means beautiful.

[00:05:48]>> Very beautiful.

[00:05:49]>> Yeah. You know, beautiful you can only use with a woman.

[00:05:52]>> Can you use gorgeous with a woman or with a man?

[00:05:56]>> Yes. Gorgeous is unisex.

[00:05:58]>> So, both men and women are gorgeous, >> right? You can say, "Oh, that girl is gorgeous. That guy is gorgeous.

[00:06:05]>> Right. Or you can say even this house is gorgeous.

[00:06:09]>> Okay. So, men, women, objects.

[00:06:11]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:06:12]>> All right. Well, we've learned some really interesting vocabulary that will help us to understand an Anglo wedding.

[00:06:20]So, why don't we listen to the dialogue?

[00:06:23]Slow down.

[00:06:30]I can't believe that Anthony is finally getting married.

[00:06:35]>> Yeah, well, it's about time. He's been living with his parents for 40 years.

[00:06:42]>> Don't be mean. Look, here come the bridesmaids. Their dresses look beautiful.

[00:06:50]>> Who are those kids walking down the aisle? That's the flower girl and the ring bearer. I'm pretty sure they're the groom's niece and nephew. Oh, they look so cute.

[00:07:05]>> I just hope the priest makes it quick.

[00:07:08]I'm starving. I hope the food's good at the reception.

[00:07:12]>> That's all you ever think about. Food.

[00:07:15]Oh, I think the bride's coming now. She looks gorgeous.

[00:07:21]Wait, what's she doing? Where's she going?

[00:07:26]>> Oh, great. Does this mean that the reception is canled?

[00:07:34]>> Now, in this dialogue, we have a word that many students often make mistakes on. So, this is a word that causes a lot of problems.

[00:07:44]>> Yes. The word Mary.

[00:07:47]>> Mary.

[00:07:47]>> Mary. Right. So [music] we are going to listen now to some common mistakes on how English learners use this word.

[00:07:56]>> Right? So these are wrong examples.

[00:08:00]Example one, honey, let's marry.

[00:08:06]Example two, >> we married four years ago.

[00:08:11]>> Example three, when I marry, I want a huge wedding.

[00:08:18]These are great examples of mistakes students make with the word Mary.

[00:08:23]They're missing a word. Let's listen to these right examples to see what word is missing. Example one.

[00:08:35]>> Honey, let's get married.

[00:08:41]>> Example two.

[00:08:45]>> We got married four years ago.

[00:08:50]Example three, when I get married, I want a huge wedding.

[00:08:59]>> Great. So, we can see that when we use the word marry, we say to get married.

[00:09:06]>> Exactly. Right. Get married.

[00:09:08]>> To get married, right?

[00:09:09]>> Okay. Don't forget that.

[00:09:10]>> Yes. Get married. I will get married.

[00:09:13]>> We got married.

[00:09:15]>> Right. So now you know exactly how to use this word. We are ready to listen to our dialogue again for a third time. And this time it's going to be at a normal [music] speed.

[00:09:31]>> I can't believe that Anthony is finally getting married. [music] >> Yeah, well it's about time. He's been living with his parents for 40 years.

[00:09:37]>> Don't be mean.

[00:09:40]Look, here come the bridesmaids. Oh, their dresses look beautiful. Who are those kids walking down the [music] aisle?

[00:09:45]>> That's the flower girl and the ring bearer. I'm pretty sure that they're the groom's niece and nephew. Oh, they look so cute.

[00:09:52]>> I just hope the [music] priest makes it quick. I'm starving. I hope the food's good at the reception.

[00:09:57]>> That's all you ever think about. Food.

[00:10:00]Oh, I think the bride's [music] coming now. Oh, she looks gorgeous.

[00:10:06][music] >> Wait, what's she doing? Where is she going?

[00:10:10]>> Oh, great. Does this mean the reception is canled?

[00:10:15][music] >> Okay. Well, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't know too much about marriages because first of all, I'm not married and I've never really been to many marriages. So, Erica, some questions for you.

[00:10:29]>> Okay.

[00:10:30]>> What are these bridesmaids do? I mean, what are they what are they about?

[00:10:33]>> What do the bridesmaids do?

[00:10:34]>> Yeah. What are they what are they doing there? Well, like I said earlier, the bride's maids are the friends of the bride. But the most important people besides the bride and groom are the best man and the maid of honor.

[00:10:49]>> Okay. And what do they do there in the ceremony?

[00:10:52]>> Well, what they do is they sign the marriage license.

[00:10:57]>> Okay. So, they're like witnesses.

[00:10:59]>> Exactly.

[00:11:00]>> Okay. So, but wait a minute. They sign the marriage license there in the church? Yeah, of course. Right inside the church you sign the marriage license.

[00:11:08]>> Oh, that's strange because from what I know in other countries usually you will sign the marriage license before the ceremony. [music] So, you get married twice.

[00:11:19]>> Yeah. You have like the civil marriage and then you have like the church wedding or whatever.

[00:11:23]>> That's so complicated.

[00:11:25]>> Well, yeah. I mean, the church wedding is just the ceremony. It's not really anything official.

[00:11:30]>> Oh, in Canada it's the official part as well.

[00:11:32]>> I guess maybe you're just more efficient. Maybe.

[00:11:36]>> Well, this is a really fascinating a really interesting subject, isn't it?

[00:11:40]>> Yeah. Because there's so many countries that have different marriage ceremonies.

[00:11:44]I know that marriages in India last around 7 days.

[00:11:47]>> Yeah. Yeah. I want to know more about how our users get married in their country.

[00:11:53]>> Yeah. So, please go to our website at englishpod.com and tell us how you get married in your countries.

[00:12:00]>> Yeah. I can't wait to hear your stories.

[00:12:02]>> Yeah. Yeah, it should be interesting, right?

[00:12:04]>> Okay. Well, everyone, thanks for listening and until next time. Goodbye.

[00:12:09]>> Bye.

[00:12:12][music] The English Pod audio review.

[00:12:22]Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

[00:12:26]Joined in marriage.

[00:12:30]married.

[00:12:33]>> Finally, >> it's about time.

[00:12:38]>> Female friends or relatives who help the bride at a wedding.

[00:12:44]>> Bridesmaid.

[00:12:46]>> A passage between sections of seats.

[00:12:50]>> Aisle.

[00:12:52]>> A girl at a wedding that throws flower petals down the aisle.

[00:12:58]>> Flower girl.

[00:13:00]A boy at a wedding who holds the wedding rings.

[00:13:05]>> Ring bearer.

[00:13:08]>> Party held to celebrate something or to welcome people.

[00:13:13]>> Reception.

[00:13:15]>> A man who is about to be married.

[00:13:20]>> Groom.

[00:13:22]>> Female who is about to get married.

[00:13:26]>> Bride.

[00:13:28]Very beautiful or attractive?

[00:13:32]>> Gorgeous.

[00:13:34]>> Let's try that faster.

[00:13:37]>> A girl at a wedding that throws flower petals down the aisle.

[00:13:41]>> Flower girl.

[00:13:43]>> Female who is about to get married.

[00:13:46]>> Bride >> joined in marriage.

[00:13:51]>> Married.

[00:13:52]>> A man who is about to be married.

[00:13:55]Groom.

[00:13:57]>> Joined in marriage.

[00:14:00]>> Married.

[00:14:01]>> Very beautiful or attractive.

[00:14:04]>> Gorgeous.

[00:14:06]>> Female who is about to get married.

[00:14:09]>> Bride.

[00:14:11]>> Party held to celebrate something or to welcome people.

[00:14:15]>> Reception.

[00:14:17]>> A girl at a wedding that throws flower petals down the aisle.

[00:14:21]>> Flower girl.

[00:14:23]Finally, >> it's about time.

[00:14:27]>> A passage between sections of seats.

[00:14:30]>> Isle.

[00:14:32]>> Finally, >> it's about time.

[00:14:35]>> A passage between sections of seats.

[00:14:39]>> Isle.

[00:14:40]>> A man who is about to be married.

[00:14:44]>> Groom.

[00:14:45]>> Joined in marriage.

[00:14:48]>> Married.

[00:14:49]>> A passage between sections of seats.

[00:14:53]Isle >> female friends or relatives who help the bride at a wedding.

[00:14:59]>> Bridesmaid.

[00:15:00]>> A boy at a wedding who holds the wedding rings.

[00:15:04]>> Ring bearer.

[00:15:06]>> Very beautiful or attractive.

[00:15:09]>> Gorgeous.

[00:15:11]>> Female friends or relatives who help the bride at a wedding.

[00:15:16]>> Bridesmaid.

[00:15:17]>> Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

[00:15:22]married.

[00:15:25]When did you get married?

[00:15:29]Is aisle.

[00:15:34]Please do not put your luggage in the aisle.

[00:15:38]Bridesmaid.

[00:15:43]I'm going to be a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding.

[00:15:47]Reception.

[00:15:53]Your wedding reception was beautiful.

[00:15:57]Gorgeous.

[00:16:02]It's a gorgeous day today, isn't it?

[00:16:06]Isle.

[00:16:11]Please do not put your luggage in the aisle.

[00:16:16]Gorgeous.

[00:16:21]It's a gorgeous day today, isn't it?

[00:16:26][music]