Unlike most of the West, many couples in Spain and Latin America will choose to marry rather than living together, and church weddings are still commonplace. In these countries, the church has a large influence and soon, a great couple I know from Venezuela will marry so this is an ideal time to share a small selection of practical Spanish words and phrases to do with getting hitched.
On announcing their plans to marry, the happy couple may be teased, similar to English:
¡Vais a cometer la equivocación más grande de tus vidas - You're making the biggest misconception of your lives!
Sometimes, if someone has concerns about the couple, they may say a common Spanish idiom:
Antes te cases, mira lo que haces - Before you marry, look at what you're doing
I'd imagine it's not the kind of romantic Spanish phrases sweethearts want to hear!
Una boda is the Spanish word for a wedding, and el casamiento the phrase for the marriage, and you may also hear this as: el matrimonio.
The bride and groom are los novios, el novio and la novia respectively. Further simple Spanish phrases for your continually increasing vocabulary are: el padrino - the best man and la dama de honor - the bridesmaid.
Then there is the moment when the perfect couple - la pareja perfecta - show their commitment to each other by swapping wedding rings - los anillos de la boda. One tradition you'll probably come across at weddings throughout the Hispanic world is the groom handing over thirteen gold coins - los trece monedas de oro - to the bride.
These coins are called: arras - security, and are a sort of dowry. The thirteen gold coins are symbolic of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles. Once los votos - the vows - have been taken, the bride will be handed los monedas de oro.
When the happy couple come out of the church, be prepared for a quite a different scenario than usual. Instead of being greeted with confetti, they are greeted with the bangs and smoke of petardos - firecrackers - making for a somewhat noisier affair!
There's a little change in Spanish because you're married with your partner instead of to, as we say in English. Por ejemplo:
Estoy casado con Isabel - I'm married to Isabel - Anita está casada con Felipe - Anita is married to Felipe.
To simply state "I'm married, can be a tad confusing, as both the Spanish words for I am - estoy and soy - are used in this context as it is dependent on how a particular person regards marriage as a temporary stage or a permanent one.
These common Spanish phrases concerning weddings are so simple and useful to know. Play around with them and enjoy making them a part of your Spanish vocabulary!
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