Denmark wedding cost: what you really pay to marry in Denmark

How much does it cost to get married in Denmark?

The Denmark wedding cost has two parts: the legal wedding, which has a fixed price, and everything around it, which depends on your choices. The legal part runs from €572 with our Essential package and the AFL fee, to €1,590 for Premium with a photographer and hair and makeup included. If you would like a photographer, our team’s first choice is Sla Karvounis Photography.

Every price on our site includes tax and 25% Danish VAT. There are no booking fees added at the end and no surcharges for English ceremonies. What you see on our packages and prices page is what you pay us.

The second part, travel and celebration, can be modest or generous. A couple who fly in for a weekend and celebrate with a dinner for two spend very differently from a couple who bring family for a week. We help with both, and this guide shows what to plan for.

It helps to think of the budget in four layers: the package, the government fee, your home documents and the trip itself. The first two are fixed and known from day one. The last two are where your own decisions make the difference, and where our advice saves the most.

What do the four packages cost and include?

Each package builds on the one before it. The table compares the price, what the AFL fee means for your total and who each option usually suits. The full list of inclusions is on the packages page.

The gap between Essential and Complete is €118 once the AFL fee is counted. For that difference, we process the application and talk to Familieretshuset for you, which most couples find worth it. Our guide to choosing a Denmark wedding package goes through each tier in more depth.

Priority and Premium both build on everything in Complete, but they answer different needs. Priority is about time: a private registrar and, when one is available, an express date, for couples whose dates cannot move. Premium is about the day itself: a photographer, hair and makeup and coordination from start to finish. Choose the one that answers your biggest worry. If you would like your makeup done, our team’s first choice is Nordic Makeup Artist.

What is the AFL fee and who pays it?

The AFL fee is the €282 charge that Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law, takes for reviewing a marriage application from couples who do not live in Denmark. It is a government fee, not an agency fee, and every couple pays it whichever route they choose.

With Complete, Priority and Premium, the fee is part of the package price, so we pay it when we submit your file. With Essential, you pay it directly to the authority when you file the application yourselves, following our instructions.

You can read about the agency on familieretshuset.dk, and our step-by-step guide to the Familieretshuset marriage application explains how the fee fits into the process.

Which costs come before you travel?

Most pre-travel costs come from your home country, not from Denmark. You may need certified copies of documents, apostilles on foreign papers, translations or, for some nationalities, a Schengen visa. These are set by other authorities and providers, so we do not quote their prices, but you should budget for them.

• Passports: renewing one that will expire close to the wedding date.
• Divorce or death certificates: certified copies if either of you has been married before.
• Apostilles or legalisation: on foreign documents, where your checklist asks for them.
• Translations: only where a document is not in a language Familieretshuset accepts.
• A Schengen visa: for nationalities that need one to enter Denmark.

Your personal checklist lists only the documents your nationalities need, which keeps this part of the budget as small as possible. The documents needed to marry in Denmark article explains each one.

How much should you budget for travel and accommodation?

That depends on where you fly from, the season and how long you stay, so we do not publish figures for it. What we can say is how to keep it under control. Because there is no residency period, you choose the length of the trip, from a single day to a full honeymoon.

Copenhagen is compact, and most of what you need on the wedding day is within a short walk or ride of City Hall. Staying central saves on taxis and lets you rest between the ceremony and the evening. Our guide on where to stay in Copenhagen for your wedding compares the neighbourhoods.

Think about guests early, too. Each person who joins you adds flights and rooms of their own, and a wedding for two has a very different shape from one with parents and friends. Our guide to a small wedding with guests in Copenhagen covers how to plan for a group without losing the intimacy.

Ways to keep travel costs down

• Choose a weekday ceremony, when flights and rooms are often easier to find.
• Consider spring or autumn rather than the peak summer weeks.
• Book flexible fares until your ceremony date is confirmed.
• Ask about a town hall outside Copenhagen if it gives you an earlier or better-priced trip.

What optional extras add to the cost?

Extras are where budgets differ most, and every one of them is optional. A Danish civil wedding is complete with two passports, two witnesses and a registrar. Everything else is about how you want the day to feel.

• Photography: included in Premium, otherwise added through our sister brand Artisti Weddings Abroad.
• Hair and makeup: included in Premium, otherwise available on request.
• Flowers: a bouquet and buttonhole, or flowers for a small table at dinner.
• Outfits and rings: your own choice, bought at home or in Copenhagen.
• Celebration: a dinner for two, a lunch with family or a canal boat after the ceremony.
• Transport: a car to an open-air location, or a train to Helsingør or Ærø.

If photography and styling are on your list anyway, Premium can be the simpler choice, because it bundles them with the legal process and end-to-end coordination. Our article on choosing a wedding photographer in Copenhagen helps if you would rather book separately.

What might a full budget look like?

Here are three typical shapes of a Denmark wedding. We show the fixed package and fee figures and describe the rest, because travel and extras depend on your choices and on prices we do not control.

The quick legal wedding

Essential at €290 plus the €282 AFL fee, so €572 for the legal part. You file yourselves with our guidance, fly in the day before, marry at City Hall on a weekday with two witnesses and celebrate with a quiet dinner. The rest of the budget is flights, one or two nights and your home documents.

The relaxed long weekend

Complete at €690 with the AFL fee included. We handle the application, book your date and recommend a photographer for an hour of portraits in Nyhavn. You stay three nights, add a bouquet and a canal boat, and treat the trip as a short honeymoon.

The full experience

Premium at €1,590, with the AFL fee, a professional photographer and a hair and makeup artist included. A few family members join you, we coordinate the day from start to finish, and you continue to Kronborg or the islands afterwards. Travel and the celebration are the only lines you add.

Are there hidden costs to watch for?

Not from us: our prices include tax and VAT, and we tell you about the AFL fee up front. The surprises couples meet usually come from elsewhere, and most of them can be avoided with planning.

• Rejected or incomplete documents that must be ordered again from home.
• Translations ordered before checking whether the document needs one at all.
• Non-refundable flights booked before the ceremony date is confirmed.
• An apostille on the marriage certificate that your home country requires afterwards.
• Express shipping for documents ordered at the last minute.

The single best saving is a document file that is right first time. Our article on mistakes to avoid when marrying in Denmark lists the slips that cost couples time and money most often.

What costs come after the wedding?

Usually only what your home country asks for. Many authorities want the Danish marriage certificate with an apostille from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs before they register the marriage. We can arrange that for you after the ceremony and send the certificate home.

Complete, Priority and Premium include international marriage certificates, which helps when your home authority accepts a certificate in English, German, French or Spanish. Our guide to the apostille for a Danish marriage certificate explains the step, and after the wedding in Denmark covers registration at home.

If you plan to change your name or apply for a residence permit based on the marriage, those processes may carry their own fees at home. Check them before the wedding so they do not arrive as a surprise, and see our guide to a name change after a Danish marriage.

Get a clear total for your own wedding

The fastest way to a real number is to tell us your nationalities, preferred dates and what matters to you. Within 24 hours you receive a free personal checklist, so you know which documents you need and which package fits.

You can compare every inclusion on packages and prices, read how it works, or contact our team by form, phone or WhatsApp. We reply within one business day, from our office in Copenhagen.