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VOICE ONE:
Almost two-and-one-half-million marriages are performed each yearin the United States. June is one of the most popular months forthese wedding ceremonies. I’m Steve Ember with Doug Johnson.
Today we report about weddings on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.
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VOICE TWO:
The music you just heard is called “Trumpet Voluntary.” Everyyear, many Americans hear this music during their marriageceremonies. They are among almost five-million Americans who becomehusband and wife each year.
Some of these people will have a traditional wedding ceremony ina religious center, a hotel or a social club. These couples mayinvite hundreds of people to their celebrations.
VOICE ONE:
Other couples will have a simple ceremony. They will invite onlyclose family members and friends. They may not have the money tospend on a big wedding. Or they may want to save money for a weddingtrip to a faraway place or to help them buy a house.
Americans get married in different ways. But the meaning of allthese weddings is the same. The wedding couple — the bride andgroom — traditionally promise to spend the rest of their livestogether.
VOICE TWO:
Big weddings have created a huge business in the United States. Abig wedding requires lots of special clothing, flowers, foodpreparation, photographs and music.
Traditionally, the bride’s parents plan and pay for the wedding.Sometimes the groom’s parents share this responsibility. Today manyAmericans are older when they get married. So they often organizeand pay for their own weddings.
VOICE ONE:
There are many wedding traditions in the United States. But manyceremonies share common customs. The bride often wears a long whitedress and a white head-covering called a veil. Some brides wear fourother traditional things: Something old. Something new. Somethingborrowed. And something blue. These four things are supposed tobring her good luck.
She and the groom accept each other as husband and wife.Traditionally, they promise to love and honor each other always. Thegroom places a gold wedding ring on the third finger of the bride’sleft hand. In some ceremonies, the bride places a gold wedding ringon the third finger of the groom’s left hand. The person performingthe ceremony declares them husband and wife. Then the bride andgroom kiss.
VOICE TWO:
Many couples ask for special music at their weddings. Somecurrently requested popular songs for weddings include “Ribbon inthe Sky,” written and sung by Stevie Wonder. A musician who playsthe organ at a Bethesda, Maryland, Roman Catholic religious centersays he is often asked to play special music. He says weddingcouples at the church often request classics like “Hornpipe” from”Water Music” by George Frideric Handel.
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach also is a popular choice ofwedding couples. Listen now to Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze.”
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VOICE ONE:
Couples planning their weddings can get advice in many differentways. They can ask their married friends. They can study magazinespublished especially for people getting married. Couples may hire awedding planner to help them with their preparations. For example,the planner helps the bride find a wedding dress. The planner helpsfind a place for the party after the ceremony. This person organizesthe food, the music and all the details for the party.
VOICE TWO:
Couples also can use the Internet computer system to prepare fortheir wedding. The bride and groom can use the Internet tocommunicate with family members and friends who will take part inthe celebration. They can look at pictures of wedding clothes. Theycan choose flowers. They can decide where to hold the wedding party,and what foods and drinks will be served. They can study where totake their trip after the wedding. This trip is called the”honeymoon.” They can buy airplane tickets and decide on a hotel.
VOICE ONE:
Some couples who are planning a wedding also establish their ownWeb sites. This way, they can provide needed information to peopleinvited to the wedding from distant places. The Web site advisesguests about places to stay and things to do in the area. Itprovides maps showing how to reach the place where the wedding willbe. It can help them find the place where the wedding dinner will beserved.
VOICE TWO:
Wedding guests traditionally give gifts to the bride and groom.Computer technology also is making it easier for guests to find theperfect gift. Sometimes guests can do this without leaving home.
For example, people who are getting married can go to a store andchoose gifts they would like to receive. These include things fortheir home like dishes and cooking equipment. The store can print alist of all these things. This list also can be found on theInternet. Guests can buy a gift at the store or on the Internet andhave it sent to the couple.
VOICE ONE:
Sometimes the bride and groom give gifts to their guests. Thesegifts may be small baskets filled with candy and little bottles ofwine. The baskets may contain objects that will help guests rememberthe wedding celebration. For example, a bride from New York Cityloves chocolate candy. Her gift baskets included large chocolatecandies in the shape of hearts. The couple’s names and the date oftheir wedding ceremony were written on the candies.
There is another way that guests can remember a wedding. Thereare small cameras that do not cost much and are used to take onlyabout twenty or thirty pictures. Many couples give such a camera toeach group of guests at the party after the ceremony. The gueststake pictures of all the other guests sitting around their table.Later, the wedding couple or their families develop the film andsend copies of these pictures to all the guests.
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VOICE TWO:
Sometimes people have simple weddings so they can take a costlytrip. Many travel companies offer trips for the wedding couple tofaraway places. For example, a bride and groom can enjoy a weddingtrip to a historic castle in Britain. Or they can sail to islands inthe Caribbean Sea on a large ship.
Some people have nontraditional weddings. They may have theirwedding at home, sometimes in a garden if the weather is nice.Friends may provide food and play music for the party after theceremony. Other couples are married by a judge in a public building.
VOICE ONE:
Still other couples choose a special place for their weddingceremony. For example, a young American bride and her Brazilianhusband were married recently in a historic home owned by theAudubon Naturalist Society. The huge home, called Woodend, is inChevy Chase, Maryland.
John Russell Pope designed the home in the nineteen-twenties fora wealthy couple. Pope was the designer of the Jefferson Memorialand the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D-C.
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Many couples plan weddings that include traditions from theircultures. For example, one recent bride is from Shanghai, China. Sheis finishing graduate studies in the United States. The groom is anAmerican lawyer. Their ceremony honored both his Jewish religioustraditions and her Chinese customs.
A Protestant clergyman in the state of Maryland has performedhundreds of wedding ceremonies over the years. He advises couples toremember that their wedding takes place in a single day.
But he says their feelings for one another must last a lifetime.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced byCaty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Doug Johnson. Join us again next week for another reportabout life in the United States on the VOA Special English program,THIS IS AMERICA.