Get married When people fall in love and stay in love, they eventually decide that it's a good idea to get married. This couple is going to get married bride

a shotgun wedding
= a wedding that happens quickly and suddenly because the woman is pregnant; the couple wants to be married before the baby is born.
an open marriage
= a marriage in which the husband and wife are free to have sex with other people!
a marriage of convenience
= when two people get married not because they love each other, but because they can gain something, for example when a non-citizen marries a Canadian so that they can stay in Canada.

Engagements and weddings - synonyms or related words

bachelor party

 noun
american
a stag night

banns

 noun
an official announcement in church that two people intend to get married

best man

 noun
the male friend who helps a bridegroom at his wedding

betrothal

 noun
an old word meaning ‘engagement’ to get married

betrothed

 noun
an old word meaning ‘the person you are engaged to’

bottom drawer

 noun
british
old-fashioned
things for the house that a woman collects before she gets married

bridal

 adjective
relating to a bride (=a woman getting married) or a wedding

bridal party

 noun
people at a wedding who arrive or sit with the bride, for example her parents and bridesmaids

bridal shower

 noun
mainly american
a party for a woman who will soon be getting married, at which she receives presents

bride

 noun
a woman who is getting married, or who has recently married

bridegroom

 noun
a man who is getting married, or who has recently married. The bridegroom is often simply called the groom.