M.+Getting+Married

**Marriage, Wedding: What's the difference? **

//**Weddings: reading:** Fill in the gaps with China, Turkey, the US, the Maasai, Germany and Colombia // **Olga:** I had two weddings days! The first was a civil wedding in the city hall and then, two days later, I had another wedding in a church! In everybody must have a civil ceremony, and a lot of couples choose to have a church wedding as well. After the civil wedding there was a small party with close friends and family, and in the evening we had the Polterabend. People brought old porcelain, you know plates, cups and things like that, and they threw them on the ground in front of my new husband and me. Of course everything broke and there was lots of noise and laughing! We had to sweep up the broken pieces together, but this symbolized that nothing would get broken in our new house again while we lived together, and is meant to bring good luck. So far it’s worked!

**Manuela:** For me the most beautiful part of the wedding was the candle ceremony. In- this is a traditional custom. After giving each other rings the bride and groom have to light a candle each. I lit the candle on my right which represented the bride, and my husband lit the candle on his left which represented the groom. We then used these two candles to light a third candle in the middle, and then we blew out the first two candles. So there was just one candle alight and this symbolized that we were now the same body and we were going to share every moment of our lives together. I was so happy I cried! **Meryem:** My wedding, which began with separate celebrations for my family and the groom’s family, lasted five days. During this time we, my husband-to-be and me, weren’t allowed to see each other. Then on the day of the wedding ceremony my girlfriends took my shoes away from me! With a lot of giggling they wrote their names inside the shoes and then gave them back. After the ceremony I took my shoes off and looked at the names. In --- if one of the names is rubbed off and can’t be read anymore it means that this person is going to get married next. When I looked in my shoes I saw that my sister’s name had disappeared, and guess what? She got married six months later!  **Noshilu:** As we grow older, unmarried women can wear more and more jewellery but nothing beats the colourful, beaded necklace that is worn bywomen on their wedding day! As is the tradition my necklace was made by my mother and was presented to me by my father. It was very elaborate and went down to my knees. I wore all my necklaces, earrings and ornaments that day and in fact it was a little tricky to walk. My husband collected me from my parents’ home and took me to his home where I received gifts of cattle. Along with other clothing I now wear a blue cloth which symbolizes being a married woman. **Lin:** In --- red is the most important colour for our wedding ceremonies. For us it symbolizes love, joy and prosperity. Although a lot of brides wear white these days my wedding gown was the traditional red, and so were the invitations I sent out to our guests. Before I was married my husband’s family came to my family’s home with wedding gifts in red baskets. These contained, among other things, personal items for me. Before the evening party started my husband and I went to a nearby park and had a video made. We also exchanged handkerchiefs and wished each other good luck. Each handkerchief had a picture of a mandarin duck on because they symbolize faithfulness as ducks always stay together. And the colour of the hankies? Why, red of course!

**Barbara:** My wedding day was completely unplanned and unexpected! We were on holiday in Las Vegas and having a great time when my husband, my boyfriend at the time, proposed. We had been together a few years and loved each other very much so I accepted. I was then very surprised when he said he wanted to get married there and then in Las Vegas! I wasn’t too sure but he was so enthusiastic that I agreed. During the few hours before the wedding, which was in a tiny chapel, I had to find “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue” to wear at the ceremony! That’s a tradition we have in ---. Old and new were easy, I borrowed a scarf from a friend and my husband gave me a beautiful sapphire ring. The holiday then became our honeymoon! Macmillan Publishers Ltd

 __**Task 2:**__ and do some tasks regarding the reading.

**__Task 3:__** Let's talk about marriage: and here

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 * Have you ever made a wedding proposal? Was it successful? **
 * Take a look at a unique wedding proposal. **

__**A guide to idioms of love. **__

__**Falling in love **__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**catch someone's eye** = to be attractive to someone: "The shy man at the back of the class caught my eye." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to fancy someone (British English)** = to find someone attractive: "My friend fancies you!" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to have a crush on someone** = to only be able to think about one person: "When I was at school, I had a crush on a film star." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to have a soft spot for someone** = to have a weakness for someone: "She has a soft spot for Richard – he can do anything!" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to have the hots for someone** = to find someone very attractive: "She's got the hots for the new office manager." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">to go out with someone (British English) = to date someone: "They've been going out together for years!" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to go steady** = **to go out with someone:** "They've been going steady since their first year at university." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to fall for someone** = to fall in love: "He always falls for the wrong types!" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to fall head over heels for someone** = to completely fall in love: "He fell head over heels for her." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to be lovey-dovey** = for a couple to show everyone how much they are in love: "They're so lovey-dovey, always whispering to each other and looking into each other's eyes." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to have eyes only for** = to be attracted to one person only: "He's dropped all his old friends, now that he has eyes only for Susie." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to be the apple of someone's eye** = to be loved by someone, normally an older relative: "She's the apple of her father's eye." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to be smitten by someone** = to be in love with someone: "I first met him at a party and from that evening on, I was smitten." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**a love-nest** = the place where two lovers live: "They made a love-nest in the old basement flat." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to be loved-up (British English)** = to exist in a warm feeling of love: "They are one loved-up couple!" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to be the love of someone's life** = to be loved by a person: "He has always been the love of her life." __**<span style="color: #b30909; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Types of love **__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**puppy love** = love between teenagers: "It's just puppy love – you'll grow out of it!" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**cupboard love** = love for someone because they give you food: "I think my cat loves me, but it's only cupboard love!" __**<span style="color: #b30909; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Getting married **__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to get hitched:** "They're getting hitched next Saturday." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to tie the knot:** "So when are you two tying the knot?" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to go through a bit of a rough patch** = when things are not going well: "Since the argument, they've been going through a bit of a rough patch." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to have blazing rows** = to have big arguments: "We had a blazing row last night." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**can't stand the sight of someone** = to not like someone: "She can't stand the sight of him any more!" <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to call it a day** = to agree that the relationship has ended: "We decided to call it a day." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**to be on the rocks** = a relationship that is in difficulty: "Once she moved out, it was clear their marriage was on the rocks." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">to have a stormy relationship = a relationship with many arguments: "I'm glad we don't have a stormy relationship." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**a love-rat** = a man who betrays his girlfriend / wife: "He's had affairs with three different women – he's a complete love-rat." __**<span style="color: #b30909; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Sayings **__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Marry in haste, repent at leisure** = if you marry too quickly, you have the rest of your life to regret it! <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Love is blind** = when you love someone, you can't see their faults <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Beauty is in the eye of the beholder** = beauty is subjective <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Let your heart rule your head** = allow your emotions to control your rational side <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Wear your heart on your sleeve** = show other people how you are feeling
 * <span style="color: #b30909; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">If it goes wrong… **

__**<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Homework task: **__ //<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Take a look at this and put **some** of the above expressions into a short story. // __**<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">JUST FOR A LAUGH: **__

//<span style="background-color: #e7acac; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">A: Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger? // //<span style="background-color: #e7acac; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">B: Yes I am, I married the wrong woman. //

//<span style="background-color: #e7acac; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">When I was young I didn't like going to weddings. My grandmother would tell me, "You're next" // //<span style="background-color: #e7acac; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">However, she stopped doing that after I started saying the same thing to her at funerals //