Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ClarissaMach]

Wedding/Marriage/Wedlock/Matrimony. In which cases should we use each one of these words?

[LucentShade]

Wedding=the ceremony / party to celebrate the union of two individuals
"Their wedding was last Saturday, and the food was great."

Marriage=general term for the state or legal condition of married people
"Their marriage has lasted for ten years."

Wedlock=used to describe if a child's parents are married or not. If a child's parents are not married, it can be said that he/she was born "out-of-wedlock." Usually, "wedlock" is used as part of that phrase.

"According to national statistics, out-of-wedlock births are decreasing."

Matrimony=means the same thing as "marriage," but only used by religious officials, as in a priest's opening words like, "We have gathered here today in the presence of God to join Steve and Linda in holy matrimony." (Matrimony is almost always holy, but marriage is frequently...uh, "different" ) <-Short version: don't use "matrimony " in casual conversation.

[ClarissaMach]

I kind of expected this answer; I had already noticed that "wedding" is almost always used in sentences refering to the "wedding day". About wedlock, the setence in which I first read this word was exactly the way you described!

My great concern was the difference between "matrimony" and "marriage"; from what you've wrote I figure out "matrimony" is a more formal expression, isn't it? In fact, it happens to be very simmilar to portuguese... well, thank you very much! You were great!