II. Vocabulary in context. Many young couples consider their wedding to be one of the most important days of their life

TEXT: WEDDING

Many young couples consider their wedding to be one of the most important days of their life. They save for it and often spend a year planning for it: finding a place, selecting a menu and cake, buying a wedding dress, ordering invitations and sending them to friends and relatives, selecting musicians, and much more. The bride chooses her maid of honor and bridesmaids, and the groom chooses his best man and groomsmen.

Usually the maid of honor hosts the shower. She invites friend and relatives of the bride and groom. A shower is a party for the bride (and sometimes the groom) before the wedding. The purpose of the party is to give the couple gifts that will help them start their new home. Typical gifts are towels, cookware, linens, and small kitchen and household appliances.

The bride and groom want to make this day special for themselves and for their guests.

Wedding traditions are changing. More and more young couples are choosing to create a unique wedding experience for themselves and for their guests. In traditional weddings, a clergy reads the bride and groom their vows. "Do you, Mary Jones, take Roger Smith to be your husband, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death parts you?" The bride and groom simply say, "I do" in response to this question. But more and more couples today are writing their own vows and saying them in their own words. They face the guests while they say or read their vows to each other.

In the United States, when a man and woman decide to get married, they usually announce their engagement to their families and friends. Their families often send an announcement to a newspaper. Many years ago, a lot of people were engaged for several years, but nowadays engagements are usually short. Churches and synagogues are still the most popular places for a wedding. But some couples are choosing to have a destination wedding. They get married on the beach, on a mountain top, or other unusual place.

Another new trend in weddings is to create a wedding based on the couple's ethnic background. For example, in an African-American wedding, some couples want to show respect to their ancestors by jumping overa broom, a tradition coming from the time of slavery. The jumping of the broom symbolizes a new beginning by sweeping away of the old and welcoming the new.

Usually both families participate in the wedding. The mother-in-law and father-in-law of the bride often invite both families to a dinner the evening before the wedding. The bride's parents usually pay for their daughter's wedding and reception. At the reception after the wedding, the guests eat, drink, dance, and talk. Before the bride and groom leave the party, the bride throws her bouquet over her head, and the single women try to catch it. It is believed that the woman who catches it will be the next one to get married. After this celebration, the bride and groom often take a trip. This trip is called a honeymoon.

When children are born, the parents sometimes announce each birth in the newspaper and send cards to their friends. Many years ago, most people had a lot of children, but today families are usually smaller. When people are very unhappy with their marriage, they can get a divorce.

When people get older, they think about retirement. In the United States, many people retire from work when they are sixty-five, but some people continue to work after that age. Retired people have a lot of free time, so they can try new sports or hobbies, take courses, or travel. For some husbands and wives, retirement is a second honeymoon!