What does a legal marriage ceremony entail?
In order for your marriage to be recognised by law you will need to have a legal marriage ceremony. This can be officiated in a religious building (eg church) by an ordained minister, in a register office or at a licensed venue by a council registrar. In all cases you and your partner will be interviewed separately beforehand by the official and after the legal process you will be provided with a marriage certificate.
The legal process is the marriage and the celebration ceremony is the wedding – the wedding is the part where you may want to consider engaging the services of an independent celebrant who can create and conduct an amazing, bespoke ceremony for you that reflects your wishes, beliefs and personalities.
What are the pro’s and cons of marrying in the UK?
Clearly if travel is difficult for you, for practical reasons or in terms of the amount of time needed, then having your legal marriage ceremony in the UK is the favourable option. You can arrange a legal marriage ceremony at any register office of your choosing, it doesn’t have to be your local office, and the cost for a basic statutory service with two witnesses is around £50-£60, depending on the area .
However, statutory services are not particularly well promoted by local councils and many couples find they are offered a larger room where they can invite more guests, which obviously is more expensive. Costs are anywhere between £100 and £400 depending on the area and the room size. So getting married on a mini break in Denmark is pretty good value and a lot more interesting!
Many councils only offer statutory services on one morning each week so it can be difficult to book the exact date you want. In addition, some areas will only let you book a statutory service 3-4 months in advance of your wedding date. This makes is quite stressful for when you have your venue, celebrant and other suppliers all booked, and many couples like be legally married before their celebrant ceremony.
The great advantage of a quick and easy statutory service is that it’s just that….very quick (around 10 minutes) and once you’re there you just repeat the declaratory words after the registrar and that’s it – all done. One of the issues some couples are facing though is that registrar services are understaffed and under pressure to fit in the large numbers of couples wanting to get married.
This is leading to couples getting very frustrated at not hearing back from their register office, or not being able to contact them in the first place to make a booking. You may decide that it’s time to get creative, be adventurous and look at other options for your legal ceremony.
Why have your legal marriage ceremony in Denmark?
Denmark is easily accessible and affordable from the UK and with regular flights from London you can be in Copenhagen in 1 hour 50 minutes. Denmark is one of the easiest countries to get married in, the process is simple and speedy with minimum bureaucracy. It’s also one of the most popular countries for LGBTQ couples, having legalised same sex marriage back in 1989.
In addition of course, Denmark is a beautiful country with lots to see and do, so you can combine your legal marriage ceremony with a mini break in Copenhagen or chill out in one of the country’s idyllic rural retreats. Doesn’t that sound more exciting than popping to the local register office in your lunch hour?
Once you have completed the legal process you are then free to enjoy your beautiful bespoke celebrant ceremony with your family and friends – wherever you wish and whenever you wish.
How do we go about it?
The company Marry In Denmark will basically arrange everything for you. Their fees range from €290 to €995 depending on which package you choose, and you can complete the whole process in as little as 10 days! Now that’s speedy! Just contact them and they will give you a free consultation to explain how it all works.
Wherever and however you decide to complete the legal registration of your marriage, I would love to chat with you about how we can create a bespoke wedding ceremony with a touch of sparkle – just get in touch today.