Popping the question

Getting married is not just about one special day. It’s been a very busy few weeks for Andy, and it’s left him feeling quite frazzled. The bad news is it’s not going to get any quieter anytime soon.

Here's a little test for you.  I'm going to give you the name of a famous British actor, and I want you to think of the first film that comes to your mind.  Okay?  Are you ready?  Don't think for too long about it, just put it out there.  Right then, here we go....

Hugh Grant.

So, which film did you think of?  The chances are you either thought of Four Weddings and a Funeral or Notting Hill.  They're his most popular films here in the UK, and when I tried this little test just now in the trainer's room, these were the two films which came up.  They both have something in common - relationships and in particular, weddings, or the idea of the grand ceremony in a huge church with all the flowers and the bride in white and the groom in a dark suit. Now, what with teaching all day and writing this blog it's a miracle that we have time to do anything else, let alone get married.  But that's exactly what I'm doing in a couple of months, when, after almost eight years with my wonderful fiancée, we're taking the plunge and tying the knot.  The thing is we're not going to walk down any aisle, as we're not having the traditional Hugh Grant British wedding.  We're going somewhere much more exotic.

My fiancée Natasha (or Anastasia to give her her proper name) is half-Greek. This means that we're going to have our wedding service on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea.  Sounds great doesn't it?  A bit like the movie Mamma Mia, or perhaps even My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  I can't wait to get married, not just for what it means to both of us but also, if I'm honest, so I can have a little rest after all the running around I've been doing recently.  Preparing for the big day is a full time job.  For example, last week I had a week off, but it was far from relaxing.  I organized the necessary paperwork here in London, organised the wedding gift list, booked the honeymoon, went shopping for my suit before flying to Athens for the Greek bureaucracy and red tape as well as organising the wedding reception.  And all of this was on my holiday.  I'm exhausted now! 

And there’s still so much to do, but of course it’ll be worth it all.  Now I really must be going – we still need to buy our wedding rings!

By Andy

Glossary

to pop the question - (idiom) to ask somebody to marry you / to propose (more formal)

frazzled - (adj.) informal, to feel stressed or tired

to come to mind - (idiom) when you think of something

to put it out there - (idiom) to say something, even if you're not sure it's right or appropriate 

to come up - (phr.v.) to occur / to happen

fiancée - (n.) a woman who is engaged to be married

to take the plunge - (idiom) to make a big decision which will change your life

to tie the knot- (idiom) to get married

exotic - (adj.) of foreign origin

to run around - (idiom.) to be very busy and do a lot of things

bureaucracy - (n.) / red tape - (idiom) both expressions refer to the administration the government requires you to do in order to get married or get a visa etc.