Wedding Vocabulary

get married

When people fall in love and stay in love, they eventually decide that it’s a good idea to get married.

This couple is going to get married.

couple

bride

The woman who gets married is called a "bride."

The bride often wears a wedding gown or a wedding dress.

bride

groom

The man who gets married is called a "groom."

The groom often wears a tuxedo or a suit.

groom

the maid of honor

The maid of honor is a woman selected by the bride to assist in the wedding ceremony and help the bride.

maid of honor

the best man

The best man is a man selected by the groom to assist in the wedding ceremony and help the groom.

best man

bridesmaids

The women who stand up in support of the bride are the bridesmaids

bridesmaids
Bridesmaids wear matching dresses, but their dresses look different from the wedding gown worn by the bride. The bride wears white while the bridesmaids wear something other than white.
dresses

groomsmen

The men who stand up at a wedding in support of the groom are the groomsmen.

groomsmen

tuxedo

The groom, the best man, and the other men standing up at the wedding (the groomsmen) wear a tuxedo.

tuxedo

wedding party

The wedding party consists of the bride, the groom, the bridesmaids and the groomsmen.

wedding party

wedding band / ring

A wedding ring or wedding band is placed on the finger of the bride and the groom.

ring

Click on the picture to listen to me talk about how people are normally positioned during a wedding.

wedding arrangement

click the pic arrow up

Many people get married inside a church.church
It’s also very common to get married outside of a church, in a public building or outside in the fresh air.war memorial in grosse pointe

cold feet

Before the wedding ceremony begins, sometimes the bride or the groom begins to have second thoughts about getting married.

In this case, we say the person has "cold feet."

It looks like he’s starting to get cold fet.

cold feet
After the wedding:

reception

A reception is a party that follows the wedding.

reception

champagne

Champagne is served at the reception. A toast is made to the future happiness of the newlywed couple. A toast is a short speech.

champagne bottle
hand holding champagne

wedding cake

A wedding cake is served during the reception.

wedding cake

dancing

There’s often a lot of dancing during the reception. The bride and the groom dance together, and the wedding guests also dance.

dancing

wedding bouquet

It’s a tradition for the the bride to throw a bouquet over her shoulder towards unmarried women. Whoever catches the bouquet increases her chances of being the next woman to get married.

wedding bouquet

just married

When the groom and the bride leave the wedding ceremony, they drive off together as a "just married" couple.

car leaving a wedding

Newlywed(s)

People who have just married are referred to as "newlyweds."

man carrying bride

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