Unit 9: The big wedding
Present continuous and 'going to' for future
Select a unit
- 1 Nice to meet you!
- 2 What to wear
- 3 Like this, like that
- 4 The daily grind
- 5 Christmas every day
- 6 Great achievers
- 7 The Titanic
- 8 Travel
- 9 The big wedding
- 10 Sunny's job hunt
- 11 The bucket list
- 12 Moving and migration
- 13 Welcome to BBC Broadcasting House
- 14 New Year, New Project
- 15 From Handel to Hendrix
- 16 What's the weather like?
- 17 The Digital Revolution
- 18 A detective story
- 19 A place to live
- 20 The Cult of Celebrity
- 21 Welcome to your new job
- 22 Beyond the planets
- 23 Great expectations!
- 24 Eco-tourism
- 25 Moving house
- 26 It must be love
- 27 Job hunting success... and failure
- 28 Speeding into the future
- 29 Lost arts
- 30 Tales of survival
Session 4
Time to sit back and enjoy a film about Indian weddings in this session. Don't worry, there's also some work to help you practise 'going to' and the present continuous!
Activity 3
News Report
How to have a wedding on a budget
Weddings can be expensive. Very expensive. So how can you save money?
In this week's News Report hear about a way to cut the cost of your wedding by 50%.
You'll hear examples of the present continuous and going to for future plans. If you need extra help, there's a transcript to read while you listen – or if you're feeling brave, listen without the transcript.
After you've listened, why not try being a newsreader yourself? Read the transcript out loud, record yourself and play it back. Try to copy the newsreader's pronunciation – you can do it!
Listen to the audio and complete the activity
Up to a-quarter-of-a-million couples will get married in the UK this year. On average, this will cost them £21,000 each - not including a honeymoon or the rings.
Tessa O'Sullivan is getting married in a few months, and she's surprised at how much anything wedding-related costs.
"Every time I call a supplier – for example, a florist, or the printers - the quotes are always much higher than I expect," she says.
But experts say such pricing is justified.
"There's so much more emotion and work involved in a wedding than for any other party," says Sandy Moretta, a wedding planner.
However, it's possible to plan a wedding on a budget, without losing any of its emotional impact.
Negotiating with suppliers is essential, and reducing the guest list is another great way to cut the final bill.
One of the best ways to limit costs is to have a winter wedding. A wedding on a Tuesday in November could be up to 50% cheaper than a Saturday in June.
Finally, you can often save money by asking friends to supply flowers and make-up.
But Tessa is going to pay the high prices. "I've dreamt of my wedding for years and I want it to be perfect," she says.
Download
You can download News Report on our Unit 9 Downloads page.
Vocabulary
couple
(here) two people who are in a romantic relationship
honeymoon
a holiday, which a couple takes immediately after they get married
supplier
a person or an organisation that sells something or provides something
florist
a person or a shop that sells flowers
quote
(here) a statement of the price of some goods or services, so the customer can decide whether to buy them or not
justified
if there is a good reason for something, we can say that it is ‘justified’
emotional
having strong feelings
impact
effect
on a budget
with a limited amount of money available to spend
negotiate
have a discussion about something, and try to reach an agreement
essential
necessary
Related story
This story is based on an original BBC News story.
End of Session 4
That's the end of this session. We hoped you enjoyed it! In Session 5 we join Phil and friends in our drama, The Race. Phil goes shopping for souvenirs in Tahiti before setting sail for the incredible Panama Canal. Everything's going according to plan... or is it?
Session Vocabulary
couple
(here) two people who are in a romantic relationshiphoneymoon
a holiday, which a couple takes immediately after they get marriedsupplier
a person or an organisation that sells something or provides somethingflorist
a person or a shop that sells flowersquote
(here) a statement of the price of some goods or services, so the customer can decide whether to buy them or notjustified
if there is a good reason for something, we can say that it is ‘justified’emotional
having strong feelingsimpact
effecton a budget
with a limited amount of money available to spendnegotiate
have a discussion about something, and try to reach an agreementessential
necessary