High Level Listening

Season 4: Episode 16 Transcript

Kat Teacher: Hey there, High Level Listeners. We've got a brand new English vocabulary video for you
this week here on High Level Listening.

This is our YouTube channel where we help you sound more easygoing and natural in English through
everyday conversations and side by side, American and British English. Hi guys. I'm Kat from the States

Mark Teacher: and I'm Mark from the UK. And today we are talking about weddings. Those big days,
the big ceremony, full of love, celebration, and some very interesting traditions. Yeah. So today we'll
each share our own short stories about a wedding that we recently visited, and then we'll teach you
lots of useful wedding vocabulary so you can learn more about British and American weddings, and
then you can tell us more about your own country's culture and traditions in high level English as well.

Kat Teacher: That's right. Just as Mark mentioned, we'll each share a short story. Mine will use more
American English, and Mark's will use more British English. And in our stories, you'll hear [00:01:00]
naturally spoken phrases and common expressions that we use to describe wedding ceremonies and
traditions in the US and the UK.

Mark Teacher: Yes, and here at High Level Listening, we have lots of different ways to help you take
your English to the next level more than our episodes. We have our High Level Listening store on Pay
Hip, where we offer study guides with bonus materials for every podcast episode. We've also got
memberships here on YouTube so you can get new materials and PDF transcripts every week.

Kat Teacher: And we've added a brand new weekly Speaking Club where you can practice your
speaking skills by meeting other High Level Listeners and practicing your English with us and with
them as well. All the links that you need for everything are down below in the description.

Mark Teacher: Okay, so let's get into today's episode.

Summer is a very popular time for weddings. So today I'll ask Kat, tell me about that wedding you
went to last month.

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Kat Teacher: Oh yeah, so last month I was a bridesmaid for my best friend's big day. [00:02:00] Since I
was in the wedding, I helped her with last minute details, checking her veil, fixing her makeup, making
sure her wedding dress didn't get stepped on.

Oh my gosh, the ceremony was held at a gorgeous lakefront venue and. Everything was decorated with
summer florals during the vows. I had to hold the bouquet and make sure everything was ready for the
ring exchange. After the ceremony, we posed for wedding photos, and later I gave a short toast during
the reception.

Uh, their first dance was so touching and I definitely shed a few tears.

Mark Teacher: Oh. Oh, it sounds very nice.

Kat Teacher: I know. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. It was so sweet. It was so nice. Okay, now it's
Mark's turn to tell his story. Mark, uh, how was the wedding that you went to a few weeks ago?

Mark Teacher: Yeah. The weekend before last, two of my really good mates from uni got married and
they went all in. They booked out the town hall. The bride showed up in this like vintage car, and then
the reception was at the groom's [00:03:00] farm. They put up this massive white marquee in one of
the fields, then had fairy lights, bunting, an open bar, catering, and a proper dance floor. No expense
spared. The speeches were hilarious, especially the best man's toast, and there was a champagne
toast for the couple as well.

After they cut the cake, everyone hit the dance floor. And I don't think we left until early sunrise.

Kat Teacher: Oh my gosh. A late night party. Yes.

Mark Teacher: Uhhuh. I know our sounds like a wild, wild party. Okay, so don't worry if you didn't
catch everything the first time. There is a lot of specific wedding vocabulary. Mm-hmm.

We'll go through it one more time and explain all the best vocabulary and expressions about
weddings. So back to the start, Kat, whose wedding did you go to?

Kat Teacher: So last month I was a bridesmaid for my best friend's big day. So, whose wedding was it?
It was my best friend's big day. So sometimes you'll hear my best friend's [00:04:00] wedding.

My best friend's big day. When is the big day? When is the wedding? So the big day. Their big day.
Really we're talking about your wedding. Okay. It's the big day. It's the big day. So last month I was a
bridesmaid. A bridesmaid. So, uh, you have the bride. And the groom. And I was a bridesmaid. I was a
bridesmaid, meaning I am one of the extra women in the group that helps the bride on the wedding
day.

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Okay? Usually if you have a picture of the bride in the groom, you have women on the side, men on the
other side. I was a bridesmaid. I was a bridesmaid for my best friend's big day. All right. What about
you, Mark? Whose wedding did you go to?

Mark Teacher: So the weekend before last, two of my really good mates from uni got married.

Kat Teacher: Aw, that's nice.

Mark Teacher: Exactly. So whose wedding? Two of my really good mates. Mates are friends in British
English [00:05:00] and their mates from uni. Mm mm-hmm. Uni is common British slang or British way
of saying university. So I met them at university. And we became friends and I went to their wedding.
The main phrase I want to focus on is my two good mates got married.

Mm-hmm. This is the verb, the action, when you put on the ring and say, "I do", "I do". That's getting
married. When you change from an engaged couple to a married couple, you get married. Mm-hmm.
So you can ask as a question, when did you get married? Oh, we got married two weeks ago. So it's
different from just the word married.

The action of doing the wedding, becoming husband and wife is getting married. Don't forget, that's it.
That extra word. Okay. So back to your American wedding. Uh, you were a bridesmaid. Yeah. Kind of
things do you have to do as a bridesmaid?

Kat Teacher: [00:06:00] So, since I was in the wedding, I helped her with last minute details, checking
her veil, fixing her makeup, and making sure her wedding dress didn't get stepped on. So I was in the
wedding. I was in the wedding. This means that I'm part of the bridal party, so meaning I'm helping the
bride personally, right? I'm in the wedding. I'm a bridesmaid. So since I was in the wedding, I helped
her.

I helped her with last minute details. Okay. Anything that's happening last minute, everyone's running
around every, there's a lot of pressure. The wedding is happening in two hours. We have lots of things
to plan. Checking her veil. So the veil is pretty traditional and I see a lot of people wearing it around
the world.

It is a thin piece of cloth that covers the bride's face. And then when they lift the veil, then they get to
kiss and then they're married. [00:07:00] Right. So I helped her with checking her veil, fixing her
makeup. So we put on makeup, but you might need to fix your makeup a little bit. Okay. Just make
sure everything looks good.

A little lip gloss. Uh, just. Fixing this and making sure her wedding dress didn't get stepped on, stepped
on. You know, usually you have a very long flowing wedding dress, it often drags on the floor. Right?
That's kind of a cute, not a cute way to say it, but it, it flows right, it flows down to the floor. The train,

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Mark Teacher: is it?

Kat Teacher: Exactly. It's called the train, T-R-A-I-N. So we have the veil and the train, but you have to
be careful 'cause the bride has had a glass or two of champagne. They're all very in love and people
get excited and they come step on her dress. So I just had to make sure her wedding dress did not get
step. On.

Okay. Don't step on her dress. Move, move, [00:08:00] move, move. Watch your feet. Watch your feet.
Bridal

Mark Teacher: security. Yeah, I was a security

Kat Teacher: guard.

Mark Teacher: Yeah. Right. Step away.

Kat Teacher: Step away please. Uh, so Mark, was it a fancy wedding that you went to? I've heard kind
of some British weddings can be kind of fancy.

Mark Teacher: Uh, yes. They went all in.

Mm, they went all in. So the main phrase is "go all in". If you go all in, it means you spend a lot of
money on it. With weddings, there is no limit to how much you can spend with different accessories,
events, and food, locations, everything. And they spent a lot of money on this wedding. So if you went
to a big wedding, maybe in an interesting place, and there are lots of things to do and there are lots of
guests and it's all very beautiful and decorated, you can say.

"Yeah, they went all in." They is the families. Mm-hmm. They [00:09:00] spent a lot of money.

Kat Teacher: Exactly. But I think they spent a lot of money is kind of rude. Right. I I wouldn't really talk
about money when it comes to a wedding. So saying they went all in is kind of a more polite way to say
Yeah, they spent a lot of money.

Right,

Mark Teacher: right. That's true. Yeah. When I say they went all in, I also sound impressed. Like, I, I like
this, I enjoyed it because of this extra luxury. So yeah, they went all in, it was a fancy wedding. So I'll
explain the details in my next bit. So back to your wedding. Uh, where was the wedding?

Kat Teacher: It wasn't really my wedding.

Mark Teacher: Oh yeah, sorry. The wedding story.

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Kat Teacher: Yeah. It wasn't really my wedding. 'cause that means I'm getting, I'm getting married.
Right. The wedding, how was the wedding you went to? Yes, right. So the ceremony was held at a
gorgeous lakefront venue and everything was decorated with summer florals. That's, so we've got a
couple of good words here.

The [00:10:00] ceremony. The ceremony is usually the most traditional part of the wedding. This is
where the bride and the groom often will stand at the front, and then someone, usually someone
religious perhaps, or someone kind of with government status will kind of lead the ceremony. Okay. So
that's the ceremony.

And the ceremony was. Held was kind of held, meaning it was at. That's where it was located. So the
ceremony was held at a gorgeous lake front venue. So a venue is very, very important for the wedding.
If you want a big wedding, if you want to be married at a beautiful place, you need to find a wedding
venue.

That's the place you're gonna get married. So it was held at a gorgeous lakefront venue and everything
was decorated with [00:11:00] summer florals, now people decorate it, right? I decorate. That's the
action, but it's not really about me, it's about the venue. The venue was decorated by me, and other
people in the wedding party.

Everything was decorated with summer florals. Now you can say summer flowers, but I think in kind of
wedding terms, we talk about florals, florals, pieces of vines, pieces of things, and not just flowers. So it
was really beautiful. They went all out too, just like Mark said.

Mark Teacher: Mm. Nice.

Kat Teacher: Alright, so it sounds like it was kind of fancy.

Tell me more about it, Mark.

Mark Teacher: Yes. So they went all in and they booked out the town hall. The bride showed up in this
vintage car, and then the reception was at the groom's farm. Okay, so here's where I describe the
money that they spent. They booked out the town [00:12:00] hall and there's an important word there
that shows you that they spent a little bit extra, they booked " out" the town hall. " Out" means that
they booked the entire place. The only event in the town hall was their wedding. If I said they booked,
yeah, if I said they booked the town hall, it sounds like they booked one room and other events could
take place at the same time, but they booked out the hall means everyone else

go away. The only thing happening is this wedding, so the rest of the town hall was empty, so that's an
example of how they went all in. Then the bride, the woman getting married, showed up in this vintage
car. A vintage car is an old car and this is a slightly popular wedding tradition to show up in a nice,
clean, old fashioned car.

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You might arrive in [00:13:00] it, or after the ceremony might the bride and groom might get in it and
drive away together. It looks nice in photos. It's something a little bit special and different. It looks
cool. And then after the ceremony, the reception. This is the second part of a lot of British weddings,
and I guess American weddings too.

The reception is the party after the ceremony. The party? Yes. Mm-hmm. So the ceremony is where you
put on the rings and get married. The reception is the food, the cake, the dancing, the drinking, and
the rest of it. So the reception was at the groom's farm. So the man getting married, his farm, we went
there for the reception.

Okay, so you were a bridesmaid in your friend's wedding and you have a lot of jobs to do. It sounds like
a lot of responsibility.

Kat Teacher: Yeah, it was kind of crazy to be honest. Uh, during the vows I had to hold the bouquet
and make sure everything was ready for the ring [00:14:00] exchange. So part of the ceremony,
remember this is the most traditional part, part of the ceremony.

It it would be the vows. The vows, which is where the bride and the groom, the two people getting
married, they are going to make promises to each other. Uh, sometimes you'll see on TV shows, you
know, people are writing their vows and they're thinking, oh, I don't know what to say. I don't know
what to say. I want to be romantic.

So when people are writing their vows or they're giving their vows, these mean that these are
promises I vow to stay married to you for the rest of my life. Right? Means I promise. I promise. So
during the vows, I had to hold the bouquet. Another really important part of the wedding. Mm-hmm.
Um, usually the bride will walk down the aisle with a bouquet, which is a beautiful group of flowers.

All right? We use the French word, a bouquet, [00:15:00] and I hold it while the bride holds their hands
and says their vows. So I had to hold the bouquet. Very important. We don't want the flowers to fall on
the ground. And make sure everything was ready for the ring exchange. The ring exchange. So during
the vows, I have my ring for the groom and the groom has their ring for me and we exchange. That's
the ring exchange. So I vow to you put the ring on, I vow to you. Put the ring on. Alright, so wait, so
after the ceremony, you went to your friend's farm, is that what you said? Mm-hmm. That sounds like a
cool venue.

Mark Teacher: Yeah, that was, uh, so at the farm, they put up this massive white marquee in one of the
fields.

Oh, and had fairy lights, bunting, an open bar, catering, and a proper dance floor. No expense
[00:16:00] spared.

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Kat Teacher: Okay. I'll be honest, I don't know half of the words that you just said. Marquee. Okay.
Nice fairy lights. I kind of know bunting. I kind of know that one too, but I don't, maybe you can explain
it 'cause I don't even know some of these words.

Mark Teacher: Exactly. So we went to a farm and a farm is just a field. So, what do you do? A lot of
British receptions or British weddings that are outdoors will put up a marquee. A marquee is a really,
really big tent. It's usually got two or three poles, so it's very high above the ground, and it creates a
big space where you are safe from the rain and the sun.

Mm. And they put tables, chairs, microphones, and things inside. This is very common. If people have a
wedding in a venue that's outdoors or in the countryside, a big marquee. So they put up this massive
white marquee again because it was [00:17:00] summertime to keep it cool. And inside the marquee
they had fairy lights, these little decorative lights, the same lights you would put on a Christmas tree,
perhaps.

Those tiny little lights. Mm-hmm.

Kat Teacher: Christmas lights.

Mark Teacher: Right. They also had bunting. Bunting is like a long string of flags. Ah. Mm-hmm. Is are
very popular in the UK. We love to put the British flag on a long line and it will hang in like an arch and
yeah, it's just another type of wedding venue decoration.

They had an open bar. Mm-hmm. That's essentially a free bar where you can go up and order drinks.
Catering is food. There could be barbecue food, finger food, hamburgers, things like that is catering
when we talk about events and a proper dance floor. So we're on a farm inside a big marquee and they
[00:18:00] put a dance floor inside the marquee with some like hard flooring, no expense spared.

Like Kat said earlier, I don't want to say "they spent lots of money". I want to sound more positive and
impressed, so they went all in. No expense spared. No expense spared means yes, they paid for every
possible option. No expense spared. This is a good way of saying it was fancy. And it costs a lot of
money and I was impressed.

No expense there. Yeah. Alright, so back to the wedding you went to. Did you get to take some nice
photos at least?

Kat Teacher: Yeah, after the ceremony we posed for wedding photos and later I gave a short toast
during the reception. So I'm just talking about all the things I did. Right? This is what I got to do at the
wedding.

So after the ceremony, right? So I do, I do. You may now kiss the bride. After the ceremony [00:19:00]
we posed. We posed for wedding photos. Now this is usually quite important. The bride in the groom,

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the couple, they want some really nice photos, right? So we're going to stand together and take some
nice photos together.

So we posed for wedding photos and later I gave a short toast. So, uh, if you're going to toast someone,
you usually have a drink, like a, an alcoholic beverage, usually a lot of times very fancy, something
bubbly like a champagne. And I gave a short toast. So a toast is usually where we say what we're
celebrating to another good year, to a beautiful wedding, to a lovely life with the bride, and groom
something very nice and usually kind of short a short toast during the reception.

Mark already mentioned we have a reception as well. [00:20:00] It's usually, the ceremony is quite
serious most of the time. So then the reception is kind of the time to really celebrate the couple eat,
drink, dance, et cetera. All right. So tell me a little bit more about this marquee and the reception. It
sounds like you guys had a big dance floor.

What, what happened??

Mark Teacher: Uh, well, the speeches were hilarious, especially the best man's toast, and there was a
champagne toast for the couple as well. So, as Kat mentioned, the reception after the ceremony is
much more fun. There are lots of fun things to do. One of the fun things that happens is speeches.
They'll often give you a microphone. Someone in the family will stand up and say something nice
about the family. But there's usually one character in British weddings

called the best man. The best man is on the groom's side, and it's often the groom's best friend or
someone who's really important to them. The groom [00:21:00] will choose them before the wedding,
and it's the best man's job to think of a speech, and very often at British weddings that speech is funny.
They will make lots of jokes about the groom.

Maybe about the couple because they're really good friends. They've known each other for a long
time, so they know lots of funny things that have happened in the past, and they'll try to make them a
little bit embarrassed on their big day. And this is quite common in British culture. And at this
reception I went to this

the best man's speech was hilarious. He told lots of really funny jokes. The groom had his head in his
hands, which is what we want. This is a good thing. We want to embarrass them on their big day. This
may be British culture or British humor, but that was very funny. And then after that, there was a
champagne toast.

So, as Kat mentioned, a toast is when everyone raises a glass and says cheers or celebrates. And a
[00:22:00] champagne toast is when you are given champagne. Everybody had champagne in their
glasses and champagne always marks a special occasion.

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Kat Teacher: So if we wanna kind of give you some vocabulary for all the people that are in the
wedding, right? So Mark mentioned a best man. So on the groom side, the man who's getting married
on the groom side, you have groomsmen.

MEN then you have a very special person, the best man. On the bride side, you have bridesmaids and
then the very special person is the maid of honor, or if they're married, the matron of honor.

So those are the special people that are in the wedding. Then you've got the ring bearer, which is
usually a little kid that brings the rings. The flower girl, which is often a little girl who brings the
flowers, and those are kind of the main people in the wedding.

Mark Teacher: Hmm. Okay. So last part of your wedding story.

I know some people find weddings quite [00:23:00] emotional. Uh, do you tend to tear up at all?

Kat Teacher: Yeah, I mean, their first dance was so touching and I definitely shed a few tears. Okay, so,
uh, part of the reception, we have lots of traditions, but part of the reception is the first dance as
husband and wife, which is kind of a nice tradition.

And it's the first time that the couple gets to dance together because we just had the ceremony. They
are now husband and wife. And they're together now. They are officially married and they have the
first dance. So their first dance was so touching. Now if I say that something is touching, that means I
got a little emotional.

I got a little sad, but in a good way. Right? It was very touching, very touching, and I definitely. Shed,
um, shedding tears. It's, it's kind [00:24:00] of a weird verb to be honest too. Shed, it is kind of like they,
they leave your eye like they shed your skin.

Mark Teacher: Shed tears. It's weird.

Kat Teacher: So I don't know why we say that. And I definitely shed a few tears.

Yeah. I was tearing up a little bit.

Mark Teacher: The first dance is nice. The bride and groom often choose a special song that's
important to them. Mm-hmm. It's usually a romantic, slow song. Oh. Slowly and they dance slowly
together and it's very romantic, very touching.

Kat Teacher: Okay. So you guys do that too in the UK?

Mark Teacher: Oh yeah, for sure.

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Kat Teacher: Oh, that's nice. So what happened after that? Mark? Uh, you said that they had some
really nice speeches, something pretty funny to get the crowd excited. What happened after that?

Mark Teacher: So after that, they cut the cake and everyone hit the dance floor. So at the reception
you'll have speeches, toasts, and another part of the reception is to cut the cake.

The cake is the big special wedding cake. Some of these wedding [00:25:00] cakes can be quite large.
They can have multiple levels and the bride in the groom hold the knife and they cut one slice or the
first slice of the cake. Uh, they can cut the cake into small pieces and give it to all of the guests, or
sometimes they just cut it once and then leave and do something else. But the cake is part of the big
reception, and after that, everyone hit the dance floor. If you hit the dance floor, it's you run to it, you
go to it, and you're very excited, you're energized, and you want to dance.

I imagine that everybody suddenly runs to the dance floor and starts dancing. It's also common at
wedding receptions for a DJ to be there playing music. And again, they'll play songs that are popular at
parties or they might play songs that the bride and groom love the most. So yeah, we all hit the dance
floor. And I don't [00:26:00] think we left until nearly sunrise. So this is another part of British
weddings. They often take place on weekends because they go on for quite a long time. The reception
can continue until 1:00 AM, 2:00 AM or later, and I don't think

we left until nearly sunrise. My memory is not perfect. There was an open bar and there's lots of
drinking at British weddings, so I, I'm not a hundred percent, but I don't think we left until nearly
sunrise. If it's a summer wedding in the UK, that's maybe like four or 5:00 AM So if you get invited to a
British wedding, be prepared for it to take your whole day.

It's not going to be an hour, then you go home. You will be at the wedding for probably most of the day
and most of the night as well. So don't plan anything on Sunday either.

Kat Teacher: Alright. Now that you've heard our wedding stories and learned more about [00:27:00]
British and American weddings, let's go back and listen to those again to help you practice. Last month
I was a bridesmaid for my best friend's big day. Since I was in the wedding, I helped her with last
minute details, checking her veil, fixing her makeup, and making sure her wedding dress didn't get
stepped on. The ceremony was held at a gorgeous lakefront venue and everything was decorated with
summer florals.

During the vows, I had to hold the bouquet and make sure everything was ready for the ring exchange.
After the ceremony, we posed for wedding photos, and later I gave a short toast during the reception.
Their first dance was so touching and I definitely shed a few tears.

Mark Teacher: Here's my story once more. The weekend before last, two of my really good mates from
uni got married and they went all in.

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They booked out the town hall, the bride showed up in this vintage car, and then the reception was at
the groom's farm. They put up this massive white marquee in one of the fields and had fairy lights,
bunting and open bar catering and a profit [00:28:00] dance floor, no expense spared. The speeches
were hilarious, especially the best man's toast.

And there was a champagne toast for the couple as well. After they cut the cake, everyone hit the
dance floor, and I don't think we left until nearly sunrise.

Kat Teacher: All right, so there you go. We hope this episode helped you learn more about the
language and culture of weddings in the US and the UK. And now we'd like to hear from you guys.

What was the last wedding that you went to? Were you part of the wedding party or did you simply
attend the wedding? Let us know in the comments below. We read and reply to every single one here
on YouTube.

Mark Teacher: Yes, we do. And don't forget, we've also got the memberships here on YouTube to get
PDF transcripts of all our episodes. And we've got the vocabulary builder level if you want the bonus
materials and the study guides. And again, our brand new weekly speaking club is live. And you can
find the links to all of those things in the description, in the links below.

Kat Teacher: Thank you so much for listening, and we'll catch you next time on High Level
Listening.[00:29:00]

Mark Teacher: Bye.

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