Cue Card # 53: A wedding or marriage ceremony

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card # 53

Describe a wedding or marriage ceremony you have attended.

You should say:

  • when and where it was
  • who were getting married
  • what you did

and explain whether you enjoyed it or not.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]


Model Answer 1:

Ah, weddings! Such a happy event, filled with so much happiness and love! I absolutely love going to weddings, especially if someone I care about is getting married. In fact, I feel like the world could certainly use some more of this particular type of celebration in order to bring more people together!

My friend, Nur Amir, had just started his new career a little over a year ago as a Financial Analyst in Kuala Lumpur, and his parents wanted him to get married. But the problem was, my friend wasn’t exactly very interested in getting married that soon as he wanted to focus more on building his career. But, when his parents asked me, as a very sincere well-wisher of their family, to convince their son, I decided to “intervene” and eventually managed to convince Nur. I even took part in starting the “adat merisik” (asking ceremony, or more literally ‘spying custom’), traditional Malay system for “arranged” marriages. Anyway, the bride was chosen, and in no time, the “bersanding” (enthronement) ceremony began with the groom’s procession. It is worth mentioning that I also took an active part in deciding the “court music” as a part of the royal customs in order to “entertain” the “royal couple” for the day!

The Marriage ceremony was over, but a “prolonged-sense” of celebration remained inside me for quite some times as I actually helped two individuals to start a “new life” by tying their knots. It just felt great to see that everybody in the marriage ceremony was in a festive mood not just to celebrate a marriage but also to celebrate “life” and a “new beginning”. However, the best part of the marriage for me was that the bride and the groom actually seemed to be able to transcend earthly concerns of all kinds on that day by getting so happy that it just seemed impossible – to them and to those who stand in witness of their love on that auspicious day – that they could ever be “anything less”.


Sample Answer 2:

I should thank you first before I proceed to describe a traditional wedding ceremony that I have attended because it is an excellent topic. I’d also like to show my gratitude because of the time and opportunity to let me talk about it.

It was perhaps in November 2019 when the wedding was arranged with the consent of the bride and groom and their families. The wedding programme took place at the house of the bride, and the parties involved decided to keep it traditional and short. So only a few close relatives and friends were invited to the ceremony.

My cousin “Rubaba” was getting married to “Harun” in this traditional marriage ceremony. Their wedding was arranged by their family, but both of them were allowed to take time and know each other better before deciding to tie the knot. It was one of the best wedding programmes that I’ve ever attended. Rubaba is my maternal cousin, and she is 4 years senior to me. Harun – the groom, is an architect by profession and comes from a wealthy family.

To attend the wedding programme, I travelled about 250 kilometres by train with my parents who were also very excited to attend the ceremony. We reached there a couple of days before the wedding day, and I had to take leave from college due to this. Once we reached there, I hardly had any time to spare! There were all sorts of works in which I got involved directly or indirectly. I was responsible for sending some last-minute invitations, decorating the house and doing some essential shopping. On the wedding day, I took care of serving a few guests and made sure they were comfortable.

I must say this was an occasion that I will remember for a long because it was exciting, enjoyable and sad at the same time. It was exhilarating because I was happy for my cousin who was getting married. It was a big day for her. I also enjoyed it because I could meet many relatives and dear friends whom I hadn’t met in person for a long. Finally, it was a sad event because our dear cousin was leaving us to start her own family in a completely new city. I wished them luck, and it was an exciting day for me to be a part of such a grand and happy occasion.

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