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marriage ceremony

marriage ceremony

6 2.3
A formal event where two people promise to be partners
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛrɪdʒ ˈsɛrəˌmoʊni/
translation icon : ceremonia de matrimonio
  • During the marriage ceremony, the couple exchanged vows and rings to symbolize their commitment.
  • marriage ceremony in Igbo culture
  • the marriage ceremony day

Examples

  • In fact, after the marriage ceremony takes place, Julien's family life begins to resemble the life he abandoned.

    Academic text (2003)
  • People believed that engaged couples had ample time to get to know one another after the marriage ceremony.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • There will be a marriage ceremony later in the day.

  • Only your permission is left, and we shall have a marriage ceremony.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • My mother's mother was a picture bride who met her husband a few hours before the marriage ceremony.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Any marriage ceremony without the consent and assistance of kinfolk is impossible.

    Academic text (2001)
  • There is nothing incongruous, for instance, with there being three separate marriage ceremonies: customary, civil, and church.

    Academic text (1993)
  • I'm a mail-order minister, ordained in the Church of Celestial Power and Light, Incorporated, capable of performing legally binding marriage ceremonies anywhere.

  • The couple planned a beautiful marriage ceremony in a garden surrounded by family and friends.

  • Guests arrived early to witness the marriage ceremony that would unite the two families.

Synonyms

wedding
vsmarriage ceremony
1.0

A ceremony and celebration where two people get married

is the formal ritual side focusing on the act of uniting two people
ceremony
vsmarriage ceremony
901 2.5

A formal event that follows traditional rules for a special occasion

is specifically the ritual for uniting two people in a lasting committed partnership
matrimony
vsmarriage ceremony
  • Formal
24 5.3

A formal ceremony when two people become married

is the general formal ritual that does not necessarily involve religious rites
wedding ceremony
vsmarriage ceremony
14 1.1

A formal event where two people promise to marry and exchange vows

is a formal ritual that focuses more generally on uniting two people
civil marriage
vsmarriage ceremony
5 3.2

A marriage ceremony carried out by a government official rather than a religious leader

is the general formal ritual regardless of whether a religious or government authority performs it
nuptials
vsmarriage ceremony
6.6

A wedding ceremony where people celebrate a marriage

is the neutral phrase for the same formal event without poetic tone
solemnization
vsmarriage ceremony
  • Formal
9.5

A formal public ceremony that makes a marriage or other rite official

is the broader event rather than the act that makes the union official
handfasting
vsmarriage ceremony
  • Archaic
9.9

A traditional ceremony where two people join hands to promise to marry each other

is the general formal event rather than this specific historical hand-joining rite
handfast
vsmarriage ceremony
  • Archaic
9.9

An old ceremony where two people promise to marry by joining hands

is the formal public ritual uniting partners rather than an informal pledge
espousal
vsmarriage ceremony
  • Archaic
9.9

An engagement or a wedding ceremony

is the formal event uniting partners, not merely the promise or engagement stage

How Formal

grand affair
1 4.4
marriage ceremony
6 2.3
elopement
3 6.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

marriage + ceremony

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'marriage' (a legally recognized partnership) with 'ceremony' (a formal event); together they straightforwardly denote the formal event uniting two people. This is a common, compositional noun+noun combination found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Marriage ceremony comes from the idea of a public event where two people promise to live together as partners. The word marriage names the joining and ceremony names the formal actions people watch, and imagining vows and rings in front of family shows why the phrase means the formal event that 'unites' two people.