wedding

The word “wedding” means a ceremony in which two people are formally married. In plain terms, the event where a marriage is officially celebrated, as opposed to the ongoing state of being married.

“Wedding” is pronounced WEH-dihng (/ˈwɛdɪŋ/ in IPA).

Here is “wedding” used in a sentence: “Their wedding was held on a beach at sunset.”

“Wedding” is a noun.

The word “wedding” comes from Old English. From Old English weddung ("betrothal, pledge"), built from wed plus the -ing ending.

“Wedding” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

A wedding is the ceremony — the single event where two people are formally married, with vows, guests, and celebration. A marriage is the relationship and legal status that begins at the wedding and continues afterward, potentially for life. Put simply, the wedding is the day; the marriage is everything that follows.

The wedding is the ceremony in which the couple exchange vows and are officially married. The reception is the party that follows — the meal, speeches, drinks, and dancing held to celebrate. The ceremony makes the marriage official; the reception is the social celebration of it, often at a separate venue.

Common types include civil weddings, held at a registry office or licensed venue; religious weddings, following the rites of a faith; and traditional or cultural weddings with their own customs. There are also small, informal elopements. They differ in setting and ritual but all formally unite two people.

A wedding anniversary marks the yearly return of the date a couple were married. Each year is often linked to a traditional material — paper for the first, silver for the twenty-fifth, gold for the fiftieth — which couples use as gift themes to celebrate their years together.