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 helpful Spanish phrases to do with getting hitched.
On announcing their plans to marry, the couple may be teased, similar to English:
¡Vas a cometer el error más grande en tu vida! – You’re going to make the biggest mistake of your life!
Occasionally, if a person isn’t convinced that the couple are a good match, they’ll express their concerns with this Spanish proverb:
Antes te cases, mira lo que haces – Before you marry, look at what you do
I’d imagine it’s not the kind of romantic Spanish phrases sweethearts want to hear!
The Spanish phrase for a wedding is: una boda, and there are two phrases commonly used for marriage: el matrimonio and el casamiento.
El novio refers to the groom, la novia is his bride, and together they are los novios. The best man is el padrino de la boda and bridesmaids are las damas de honor, really simple Spanish phrases you can easily add to your vocabulary.
No wedding is complete without la pareja perfecta – the perfect couple – affirming their love by exchanging wedding rings – los anillos de la boda. Throughout Spain and Latin America, a common custom is for the groom to give thirteen golden coins – los trece monedas de oro – to the bride.
The golden coins are a symbol of the grooms trust and confidence, they are security and are known as: arras. The thirteen gold coins are symbolic of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles. After los novios have completed los votos – the vows – the gold coins will be passed to the bride.
The end of the ceremony is quite different, and you may get a small surprise when the bride and groom are leaving the church. 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 Sylvia – I’m married to Sylvia – Marisol está casada con Eduardo – Marisol is married to Eduardo.
If you just want to say “I’m married” you can say either soy or estoy as both are used in Spanish, it all depends on whether the speaker views marriage as a permanent or a temporary state.
That’s a small selection of common Spanish phrases about marriage that are nice and easy to learn. Play around with them and enjoy making them a part of your Spanish vocabulary!
