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Wedding "receptions" (parties after the wedding ceremony) can be "elaborate" (with many parts or details) events, especially when they include all of the traditional "components" (parts).

Normally, there is a lot of music and dancing. Traditionally, the "bride" (the woman who has just been married) has the "first dance" (dancing to the first song played) with her father, and then with her "groom" (the man who has just been married).

The "newlyweds" (the two people who have just been married) usually hold a special knife together to cut the first "slice" (piece) of the cake. They feed the first bite to each other with their fingers, but many couples actually "smear" (put something down and move it to make a mark) over the bride's or groom's face as they feed it to each other, having fun by making a mess on each other's faces. They also might drink their "champagne" (special white wine with bubbles) so that their arms wrap around each other as they each drink from a "champagne flute" (a long, narrow glass used for drinking champagne).

Later in the reception, the bride sometimes puts her right foot up on a chair and "raises" (moves higher) the "hem" (bottom sewn part) of her dress to "expose" (allow to be seen) much of her leg. The groom then removes a "garter" (a small piece of elastic worn around the "thigh" (upper part of the leg), traditionally used to hold up stockings). The groom throws the garter toward the "single" (not married) men and the bride throws her "bouquet" (a collection of flowers held in one's hands) toward the single women. The man who catches the garter and the woman who catches the bouquet "are said to be" (are talked about as if they are) the next ones to marry.