You don’t have to learn to say “yes, I do” in Danish (convoluted language) to get married in Copenhagen on the fast track, Las Vegas-style, because even the municipal official on duty speaks perfect English. You don’t even have to be a resident of the country. It is enough to apply for a license online, bring your passport or ID card, have a tourist visa in order (European Union and UK citizens not even that), pay 295 euros, and in no time one has a marriage certificate in his hand in five languages ??(including Spanish) and is obliged to love and care for another person, “in happiness and in pain, in fat cows and in lean cows, until death – or divorce – do you part”.
The City Hall of the Danish capital is an imposing “national romantic” style building in the center, with a clock tower 105 meters high, a souvenir shop to celebrate with a last-minute gift, a flower shop where you can rent a bouquet for 25 euros and a couple of hours if the bride and groom aren’t feeling particularly romantic that day, and a cafe where you can give the matter one last thought before it’s too late. But of course, the kitsch of the more than fifty wedding chapels in Las Vegas is missing, and you can’t get married through the window without getting out of the car or boasting that you got married in the same place as Frank Sinatra , Judy Garland, Michael Jordan, Demi Moore, Britney Spears, Mike Tyson or Andre Agassi…
It also doesn’t have dozens of casinos where you can spend the night in a discounted bridal suite (provided you leave your paycheck in the slots or roulette) or an all-you-can-eat buffet for five bucks or – already installed – to buy a handgun or a semi-automatic rifle, which in Nevada you only need to be eighteen years old, not be an illegal, a fugitive or a drug addict, or have been convicted of domestic violence, or have spent more than a year in prison, or being generally unwell (although the latter is open to various interpretations).
There is one casino, the one in Copenhagen, one of the seven in Denmark, and an evening in its halls is part of the packages offered by agencies specializing in organizing express weddings for just over 500 euros (flights apart). Its business has soared since Brexit because of increased bureaucracy and red tape in the UK, and because British civil servants have taken office allergies and are trying to do everything from home, in their pyjamas , with the delays this entails. In Denmark you have the ring on your finger or the certificate in your hand sooner than it takes to put a stamp on you in Manchester.
Denmark has one of the most liberal and simple laws for marriage, be it between people of the same or different sex, and of any nationality. It’s just about proving that the relationship is real, that’s why photos or WhatsApp messages are enough, and prove that he’s widowed or divorced if that’s the case. When applying online, authorization is either accepted (almost always) or refused in up to five working days, but it’s also possible to delegate the red tape to an agency that handles everything except saying Yes , I do ( ha eg gor , yes I want it).
In 2019, the City Council issued 2,266 marriage certificates between Danes and 2,797 (almost the same) between foreigners; but last year the first figure was reduced to 2,440, and the second shot up to 4,310, almost double, which led to the city being nicknamed the Las Vegas of the Baltic. Although more than a hundred thousand fast track weddings are held annually in the oasis of Nevada, another league…
Brexit has made life very difficult for international couples in Great Britain, even if they are European. On the one hand, the obligation to present the original birth certificate, with the Hague stamp, and to give 28 days’ notice. Separately, if a German or Spanish citizen does not meet the minimum salary requirements for an immigrant visa, he can marry a special bride or groom, but without the right to work and possible problems every time he goes visiting
The tradition of getting married in the Nordic country began after World War II, when American soldiers stationed in Germany crossed the border with their brides. Today there are many civilians everywhere who say jeg elsker dig (I love you).
