ESL Podcast 939 - Planning a Wedding
wedding - the ceremony in which two people are married; the marriage event
She dreams of having a large wedding with hundreds of guests, but he would prefer to invite only his close family members.
hall - a large room where an event happens
Yevgeny and his fiancée visited more than 10 wedding halls before they found one that they both liked.
far in advance - long before something happens; early; with a lot of anticipation
Pedro is so organized! He always files his taxes far in advance of the deadline.
to set the date - to select the day when a future event will happen
I hope they set the date soon, so that we can buy our airplane tickets before they become too expensive.
save-the-date notification - written communication that lets people know about a future event so that they can avoid making other plans for that day, usually received before an official invitation
As soon as we select the date for the next user conference, let's send save-the- date notifications to everyone who attended last year.
to put off - to delay; to procrastinate; to choose to do something later, not now
Why did I put off writing that essay until the night before it was due?
to take the pressure off - to do something that makes a situation less stressful, especially by lowering expectations or by extending a deadline
Selling this house and moving into a less expensive apartment would really take the pressure off of our finances.
wedding coordinator - a person whose job is to help plan other people's weddings
The wedding coordinator recommended a wonderful baker for the cake and a talented florist for the flower arrangements.
to get the ball rolling - to get something started; to initiate something; to make something begin to happen
What can we do to get the ball rolling and show some progress before the next meeting?
to go into (something) - to be involved in something; to be a requirement for something else to happen
I never realized how much work went into shopping for a house.
reception - a party, usually a formal one, especially one that is held after a wedding or another type of ceremony or event
The museum is opening an exhibit and holding a reception where we can meet the artist.
caterer - a person whose job is to make food for a large number of people and serve it at special events
The caterer is cooking a few different things for us to try, and then we'll pick the one we like best for the actual event.
videographer - a person whose job is to make a film recording of an event
Each year, the company hires a videographer to records each the presentations at the conference.
ice sculptor - an artist who carves (cuts away small pieces to make a certain shape) large blocks of ice into designs
Don't ice sculptors feel sad when their artwork melts?
animal trainer - a person who teaches animals to do certain things or perform certain tricks
Francoise has worked as an animal trainer for years and he has never been attacked by his lions.
swan - a large, white bird with a long, curving neck that swims on lakes, generally viewed as a symbol of grace and elegance
We went to the park to feed the ducks and geese, so we were pleasantly surprised when we saw swans instead.
dove - a medium-sized white bird that is viewed as a symbol of peace, especially when shown with the branch of an olive tree in its beak (the mouth of a bird)
Many Christian churches use a dove a symbol of Jesus Christ.
circus - a type of entertainment provided by a large, traveling group of trained animals, acrobats (people who swing through the air), musicians, and clowns
The most amazing part of the circus was seeing a bear pedal a bicycle.