Traditionally the first step towards marriage<\/strong> is getting engaged. <\/strong>In days gone by, a man would ask<\/strong> his prospective father-in-law for his daughter\u2019s hand in marriage<\/strong>. Nowadays, people tend just to propose<\/strong> or pop the question<\/strong> directly. The proposal<\/strong> is then followed by an engagement <\/strong>(perhaps marked by the purchase of an engagement ring<\/strong>). The bride<\/strong> and groom-to-be<\/strong> are for the moment fianc\u00e9s<\/strong> (this is a French term, so he\u2019s a fianc\u00e9<\/strong> and she\u2019s a fianc\u00e9e<\/strong>). Then the focus is on organising the nuptials<\/strong> (the wedding ceremony<\/strong>) and everything around it. The first step is to name the day <\/strong>and choose venues <\/strong>for both ceremony <\/strong>and reception <\/strong>(the post-ceremony party). <\/strong>And the ceremony<\/strong> itself could be religious <\/strong>at a church<\/strong> or civil <\/strong>at a registry office. <\/strong>It doesn\u2019t even have to be a marriage service \u2013 a commitment ceremony<\/strong> is where two people publicly state their\u00a0commitment to each other in a union that is similar to a marriage but without legal status.<\/p>\n Before the wedding day itself there are also other traditional events that can be held, such as the stag night\/party<\/strong> for the groom<\/strong> and his party and the hen night\/party<\/strong> for the bride<\/strong> and her friends. In Britain at least, these tend to me quite raucous affairs, with the participants in fancy dress<\/strong> and drinking too much alcohol. Because of this, some pubs and bars actually ban stag<\/strong> and hen dos <\/strong>(a do <\/strong>is a colloquial British term for a party or celebration).On the other side of the Atlantic, a bride can enjoy a bridal<\/strong> or wedding shower<\/strong> where she receives presents from her friends. It definitely seems to be a slightly more civilised affair.<\/p>\n Weddings<\/strong> take a lot of organizing and there\u2019s a lot of pressure to make it the happiest day of your life. A term that\u2019s arisen in the last few years is bridezilla<\/strong>, used to describe a bride who becomes so obsessed with her wedding that she turns into a monster. I\u2019m also happy to see (to balance it out) that the term groomzilla<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0exists too!<\/p>\n So we come to the day itself when the happy couple ties the knot. <\/strong>Accompanying the bride <\/strong>we have her father, who will give her away<\/strong>, and the bridesmaids<\/strong>. With the bridegroom\/groom <\/strong>there is the best man. <\/strong>Apart from giving support to the groom, his main function is to give a speech<\/strong> at the reception, <\/strong>most often including embarrassing anecdotes from the groom<\/strong>\u2019s past. There will also probably be ushers<\/strong> (UK) or groomsmen<\/strong> (US), whose job is to show (usher) guests to their seats before the ceremony. If all goes well, the couple exchange their vows<\/strong> and the vicar pronounces them man and wife. <\/strong>Hopefully, neither party has got cold feet <\/strong>(got too scared and changed their mind) and jilted<\/strong> the bride\/groom at the altar <\/strong>(just not turned up!). No, most of the time everything goes wonderfully, the newlyweds<\/strong> leave the church in a cloud of confetti<\/strong>, later go on their honeymoon<\/strong> and then live a life of wedded bliss<\/strong>!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/virtualcampus.kingstraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Pop-The-Question.jpg\")
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