Attending a Family Wedding: English Vocabulary, Phrases and Dialogue

Key words and phrases

family functiona general term for a family celebration or event, like a weddingHe mentioned it was an important family function he couldn't miss.

casual leavea type of short-notice leave used for personal or family mattersHe planned to use his casual leave for the wedding.

block of leaveseveral consecutive days taken off togetherHe requested a four-day block of leave for the wedding.

advance noticeinforming someone about something well before it happensHe gave his manager a month's advance notice.

travel arrangementsthe plans made for transportation and accommodation during a tripHe finalized his travel arrangements once the leave was approved.

hand over pending workto pass along unfinished tasks to a colleague before leavingHe handed over pending work to a teammate before leaving.

point of contactthe person others should reach out to while someone is awayHe named a colleague as the point of contact during his leave.

out of officea status or auto-reply indicating someone is away from workHe set up an out of office message before leaving.

extended familyrelatives beyond one's immediate family, like cousins, uncles, and auntsMost of his extended family would be at the wedding.

multiple-day eventa celebration that spans several days rather than just oneIndian weddings are often a multiple-day event.

approval processthe steps required for a leave request to be officially acceptedThe approval process usually takes a couple of days.

return to workto resume regular job duties after being awayHe planned to return to work the Monday after the wedding.

leave balancethe number of leave days a person still has remainingHe checked his leave balance before submitting the request.

team coverageensuring enough people remain available to handle work while someone is awayHe made sure there was proper team coverage before leaving.

plan aheadto prepare for something well before it happensHe always tries to plan ahead for family events.

sentimental valuethe emotional importance something holds, beyond its practical worthAttending had a lot of sentimental value for him.

Useful sentences

Ask Can I request a block of leave for my cousin's wedding next month?
Answer Of course, thanks for giving us this much advance notice.
Ask How many days are you planning to take?
Answer Four days, since it's a multiple-day event with functions before and after.
Ask Do you have enough leave balance for this?
Answer Yes, I checked, and I have more than enough casual leave left.
Ask Who will handle your pending work while you're away?
Answer I'll hand over pending work to a teammate before I leave.
Ask Who should we contact if something urgent comes up?
Answer I'll set a point of contact and an out of office message before I go.
Ask When exactly will you return to work?
Answer The Monday right after the wedding weekend.
Ask Is this side of your family close to you?
Answer Very close, most of my extended family will be there too.
Ask Why does this trip matter so much to you?
Answer It has a lot of sentimental value — we grew up together.

Dialogue

RahulI wanted to give you advance notice — my cousin's wedding is next month, and I'd like to request leave.

Ms. Kapoor (Manager)Thanks for planning ahead. How many days do you need?

RahulAbout four days — it's a multiple-day event with functions before and after.

Ms. Kapoor (Manager)That's fine, as long as you ensure proper team coverage.

RahulI'll hand over my pending work to Aisha and set her as the point of contact.

Ms. Kapoor (Manager)Sounds good. Just start the leave approval process on the portal today.

RahulWill do. I'll also set up an out of office message before I leave.

Ms. Kapoor (Manager)Perfect. Family functions like this matter — enjoy the wedding.

RahulThank you. It means a lot, we grew up together as kids.

Ms. Kapoor (Manager)I understand completely. See you when you return to work.

Common mistakes

Saying "I take leave for wedding" instead of "I'm taking leave for a wedding."
Saying "give advance notice you" instead of "give you advance notice."
Saying "hand over work someone" instead of "hand over work to someone."
Saying "my leave balance have" instead of "my leave balance has" or "I have leave balance."
Saying "return to work Monday" instead of "return to work on Monday."
Saying "family function is important me" instead of "the family function is important to me."

Quick quiz

1. What is "casual leave"?

2. What does "advance notice" mean?

3. What is a "point of contact"?

4. What does "leave balance" mean?

5. What does "hand over pending work" mean?

6. What is "team coverage"?

Practise speaking and listening

The free Day to Day English app turns every lesson into practice with audio, a story you follow and more than 1680 words to learn.

Free for AndroidPractise in the app

menu_book Key words and phrases

forum Useful sentences

chat Dialogue

error Common mistakes

quiz Quick quiz