23 votes

Denmark has become a wedding destination for people looking to tie the knot without too much paperwork

15 comments

  1. arqalite
    Link
    For some reason this kinda has me conflicted, but I haven't been able to put a finger exactly on why. I guess I'm thankful for Denmark doing this, and resentful that, as a gay Romanian, I cannot...

    For some reason this kinda has me conflicted, but I haven't been able to put a finger exactly on why. I guess I'm thankful for Denmark doing this, and resentful that, as a gay Romanian, I cannot marry my partner in my own country, having instead to deal with traveling to the other side of Europe, should we ever choose to get married.

    I'm also skeptical of the 'worldwide recognition'. I'm sure it applies to straight couples, but for queer couples I'm sure there will be some opposition. I know in my country some institutions refused to accept/recognize marriage certificates between two men, and denied the benefits they would be entitled to as a married couple. (I believe 11 couples filed a lawsuit together, and the ECHR fined Romania for it, but nothing changed since.)

    But still, good on Denmark for doing this, and I hope anyone that decided to get married there gets to have an unforgettable moment alongside their loved one.

    19 votes
  2. [11]
    sparksbet
    Link
    My spouse and I got married in Denmark! It really was a very easy process. We were already living together in Germany and long-term committed but realized we needed to tie the knot officially to...

    My spouse and I got married in Denmark! It really was a very easy process. We were already living together in Germany and long-term committed but realized we needed to tie the knot officially to help with my visa situation. Both Germany and Norway (my wife's home country) would have required both mine and my wife's birth certificates, and getting married in Germany would have delayed it by months and months. I've also found out later that if we'd married in Germany they would have only run the ceremony in German, which neither of us is fluent in.

    Meanwhile, since we were flexible about which city, it only took a little over a month to get everything sorted to elope in Denmark, and all we needed was our passports, my residence permit, and the application (along with a little packet of evidence that we were in fact in a romantic relationship, which isn't strictly required but which we were advised the Danish authorities would ask for later anyway if they suspected a marriage of convenience). The man at the city hall who performed the ceremony let us choose to have it in English, and our wedding certificate is in four languages in addition to Danish, meaning we didn't need to have it translated to get it recognized by the Germans.

    18 votes
    1. [3]
      arqalite
      Link Parent
      That's actually awesome, seems like they've thought of a lot of little details like this one. Getting stuff translated (and worse, sometimes converting/getting it recognized by the state) can be a...

      our wedding certificate is in four languages in addition to Danish

      That's actually awesome, seems like they've thought of a lot of little details like this one. Getting stuff translated (and worse, sometimes converting/getting it recognized by the state) can be a huge hassle sometimes.

      11 votes
      1. [2]
        sparksbet
        Link Parent
        Oh yeah this was one of the biggest benefits. The Germans are serious about certifying translations, so getting it translated would've been expensive.

        Oh yeah this was one of the biggest benefits. The Germans are serious about certifying translations, so getting it translated would've been expensive.

        8 votes
        1. llehsadam
          Link Parent
          I’m in the same boat! It really saved us a bunch of paperwork!

          I’m in the same boat! It really saved us a bunch of paperwork!

          3 votes
    2. [7]
      GenuinelyCrooked
      Link Parent
      My husband and I got married in Gibraltar, and all we needed was our passports and proof from the hotel that we'd spent the previous night together. There were several other couples there getting...

      My husband and I got married in Gibraltar, and all we needed was our passports and proof from the hotel that we'd spent the previous night together. There were several other couples there getting married on the same day. They're ahead of Denmark on this one.

      5 votes
      1. [4]
        sparksbet
        Link Parent
        I suspect it would have been somewhat more difficult to get my marriage certificate recognized in Germany if we'd gotten married in Gibraltar. It was also cheaper travel for us, of course. And...

        I suspect it would have been somewhat more difficult to get my marriage certificate recognized in Germany if we'd gotten married in Gibraltar. It was also cheaper travel for us, of course. And fwiw, when we checked in with the citizen service center the morning of our wedding there were also several other international couples there to get married!

        6 votes
        1. [3]
          GenuinelyCrooked
          Link Parent
          Why would it be more difficult to get it recognized in Germany? We had no trouble getting it recognized in the US. The cheaper travel definitely makes sense, though.

          Why would it be more difficult to get it recognized in Germany? We had no trouble getting it recognized in the US.

          The cheaper travel definitely makes sense, though.

          2 votes
          1. [2]
            sparksbet
            Link Parent
            Because Germany requires any document submitted for official purposes like this to be translated into German if it isn't already in German, and I'd need to pay a certified translator to do it. The...

            Because Germany requires any document submitted for official purposes like this to be translated into German if it isn't already in German, and I'd need to pay a certified translator to do it. The Danish marriage certificate was multilingual, so it was already "in German" for those purposes.

            8 votes
            1. GenuinelyCrooked
              Link Parent
              Ah, that makes a lot of sense. We only needed it to be in English, so doing it in a UK territory worked well for us.

              Ah, that makes a lot of sense. We only needed it to be in English, so doing it in a UK territory worked well for us.

              4 votes
      2. [2]
        MimicSquid
        Link Parent
        Is Gibraltar still part of the EU? I had thought that it was UK territory, but admit I haven't kept up with the technicalities since the early 1900s.

        Is Gibraltar still part of the EU? I had thought that it was UK territory, but admit I haven't kept up with the technicalities since the early 1900s.

        3 votes
        1. GenuinelyCrooked
          Link Parent
          It is UK territory, but we got married when the UK was still in the EU. I think Brexit was either looming or the vote had just recently passed because people there were pretty stressed about it.

          It is UK territory, but we got married when the UK was still in the EU. I think Brexit was either looming or the vote had just recently passed because people there were pretty stressed about it.

          5 votes
  3. [2]
    steezyaspie
    Link
    I had no idea it’s so involved to get married in much of the EU. Here in the US we just went to our town hall to get our marriage license. The only requirements were to both be physically present...

    I had no idea it’s so involved to get married in much of the EU. Here in the US we just went to our town hall to get our marriage license. The only requirements were to both be physically present to fill out the form, and then pick it up after a 3 day waiting period - maybe we had to show ID? Our officiant was just a friend of ours, who signed the license at the ceremony and then we dropped it back off the next day to be processed. It was basically the easiest and quickest government process I’ve ever been through.

    8 votes
    1. sparksbet
      Link Parent
      I think a lot of the people getting married in Denmark are people for whom it is more complex than average, like international couples.

      I think a lot of the people getting married in Denmark are people for whom it is more complex than average, like international couples.

      5 votes
  4. llehsadam
    Link
    Ah funny, I just got married in Denmark a few days ago exactly because of this. It’s nothing new though, Denmark has always been the Las Vegas of Europe when it comes to marriage. The 1936 treaty...

    Ah funny, I just got married in Denmark a few days ago exactly because of this. It’s nothing new though, Denmark has always been the Las Vegas of Europe when it comes to marriage. The 1936 treaty it has with Germany makes it particularly beneficial to anyone living in Germany - it’s automatically recognized without extra paperwork.

    5 votes