You can marry in Denmark all year round: municipalities hold weddings on their fixed wedding days, mostly on weekdays. Summer brings long days and an average of 16.8 °C in July and August, but also the highest demand; August has been the most popular wedding month for years. Winter is short and cool with around 7 hours of daylight. For your date, lead time matters more than the weather: documents, the approval from Familieretshuset, which is valid for four months, and the municipality's date (as of 6 November 2026).
This guide helps you choose a period and plan backwards. We do not name dates of individual municipalities; their rules for couples from abroad, such as wedding days and witnesses, are on our page municipality wedding rules.
What is the weather like in Denmark, month by month?
The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) publishes the climate normals 1991 to 2020 as an average for the whole of Denmark (DMI: Danmarks klima 2025). DMI still calls these values provisional. This is the typical year:
| Month | Mean temperature | Mean daily maximum | Precipitation | Sunshine hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.5 °C | 3.6 °C | 65 mm | 52 |
| February | 1.5 °C | 3.7 °C | 50 mm | 69 |
| March | 3.3 °C | 6.4 °C | 46 mm | 131 |
| April | 7.2 °C | 11.2 °C | 39 mm | 188 |
| May | 11.3 °C | 15.6 °C | 47 mm | 237 |
| June | 14.3 °C | 18.5 °C | 64 mm | 227 |
| July | 16.8 °C | 21.2 °C | 66 mm | 228 |
| August | 16.8 °C | 21.2 °C | 82 mm | 198 |
| September | 13.5 °C | 17.2 °C | 75 mm | 144 |
| October | 9.4 °C | 12.3 °C | 83 mm | 99 |
| November | 5.5 °C | 7.6 °C | 70 mm | 54 |
| December | 2.7 °C | 4.7 °C | 71 mm | 43 |
What the figures mean for your planning:
- May to July are the sunniest months with more than 220 sunshine hours each; May is clearly cooler than high summer.
- August to October bring the most rain. A warm late summer is possible, but a plan B for outdoor photos is still worth it.
- Hot days are rare: on average there are only 12 days a year above 25 °C, most of them in July.
- Snow is the exception: on the national average there is snow cover on about 24 days a year, mainly in January and February.
The ceremony usually takes place indoors in a wedding room, so the weather does not decide the wedding itself but the photos, travel and celebration. If you want to marry outdoors, for example on a beach, see our guide Saturday or beach weddings.
Daylight: from 7 to 17½ hours
Denmark lies far north, and you notice it in the light. On the shortest day of the year, according to DMI, the sun rises in Copenhagen at 8:37 and sets at 15:39, so the day lasts 7 hours and 1 minute; in Aalborg in the north it is 6 hours 42 minutes, in Rødby in the south 7 hours 14 minutes (DMI, 21.12.2021). At the summer solstice the day in Denmark is about 17½ hours long (DMI, 19.12.2023).
For your wedding day this means: in December and January it gets dark in the afternoon, so plan outdoor photos around midday. In June it stays light until late in the evening, and you have plenty of time for photos and celebrating after the ceremony.
High or low season: when do most couples marry?
According to Statistics Denmark, August has been the month with the most weddings for many years: in 2025, 5,609 couples married then, 17% of the whole year. May came second with 4,022 couples, and January had the fewest with 1,485 (Danmarks Statistik: Vielser og skilsmisser 2025). The statistics only count couples where at least one partner lives in Denmark; couples who travel in just for the wedding are not included, and no authority publishes how their weddings spread over the year. More figures are in our guide marrying in Denmark in numbers.
- Summer: the best chance of mild weather and long light. Plan accommodation and travel early and stay as flexible as possible on date and municipality.
- Spring and autumn: May and September combine decent temperatures with more light than winter.
- Winter: short days and cold, but far fewer couples marry in Denmark itself. Around Christmas and New Year there are several holidays (table below).
- Saturdays: only a few municipalities marry couples from abroad on Saturdays; most couples marry on a weekday and celebrate at the weekend.
Some municipalities also do not hold weddings in certain weeks, for example in high summer or between Christmas and New Year. This is on each municipality's own page; the rules at a glance are on municipality wedding rules.
Public holidays 2026 and 2027: when are town halls closed?
On the statutory holidays of the Danish national church, authorities and town halls usually do not work, so there are no weddings. The table lists the days on which, according to Danmarks Nationalbank, the central bank and the banks are closed; holidays falling on a Sunday, such as Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday, are not listed separately (Danmarks Nationalbank: Banklukkedage).
| Day | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day (Nytårsdag) | Thu 1 Jan | Fri 1 Jan |
| Maundy Thursday (Skærtorsdag) | Thu 2 Apr | Thu 25 Mar |
| Good Friday (Langfredag) | Fri 3 Apr | Fri 26 Mar |
| Easter Monday (2. påskedag) | Mon 6 Apr | Mon 29 Mar |
| Ascension Day (Kristi himmelfartsdag) | Thu 14 May | Thu 6 May |
| Friday after Ascension (bank closing day, not a holiday) | Fri 15 May | Fri 7 May |
| Whit Monday (2. pinsedag) | Mon 25 May | Mon 17 May |
| Constitution Day (Grundlovsdag, not a statutory holiday) | Fri 5 Jun | Sat 5 Jun |
| Christmas Eve (Juleaftensdag) | Thu 24 Dec | Fri 24 Dec |
| Christmas Day (Juledag) | Fri 25 Dec | Sat 25 Dec |
| Boxing Day (2. juledag) | Sat 26 Dec | Sun 26 Dec |
| New Year's Eve (Nytårsaftensdag, bank closing day) | Thu 31 Dec | Fri 31 Dec |
Four days on the list are not statutory holidays: the Friday after Ascension, Constitution Day on 5 June, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Whether your municipality holds weddings on these days is only stated on its own page; do not count on it. The former holiday Store Bededag was abolished from 2024, so the fourth Friday after Easter is a normal working day (Bekendtgørelse nr. 270 af 07.03.2023).
How much lead time do you need?
Your possible period follows from three steps: how quickly you have the documents together, how quickly Familieretshuset decides, and when your municipality holds weddings. On top of that, the approval, the prøvelsesattest, is only valid for four months.
| Step | Duration according to the authority | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the documents | depends on the issuing country | apostille and translation take extra time; what your case needs is shown in our rules by country of origin |
| Schengen visa, only for partners who need one | apply no earlier than 6 months before the trip; decision usually within 15 days, at most 45 (Visa Code) | Familieretshuset requires the visa already in the application, see marrying on a Schengen visa |
| Application to Familieretshuset | complete applications usually within 5 working days; after a request for more documents the agency is currently working on applications from August 2026 | submit both parts within 14 days of starting, otherwise the case is closed; fee DKK 2,100 (about €281) |
| Approval (prøvelsesattest) | valid for 4 months from issue, for one municipality | shorter if passport, visa or residence permit expire earlier |
| Date at the municipality | depending on the municipality, a few weeks to several months after the approval | wedding days and rules of each municipality are on its page |
| After the wedding | two international marriage certificates immediately; apostille if needed, about 5 to 7 working days | see married in Denmark, what now? |
Two mistakes cost time. The first is applying too early: the four months run from issue (Familieretshuset: Ansøg om prøvelsesattest), so if you receive the approval in February you can no longer marry with it in September. The second is incomplete documents: a request for more documents currently delays the decision by months (Familieretshuset: Sagsbehandlingstider, as of 6 November 2026). How fast it can go in the best case is shown in our guide fast wedding in Denmark; the order of all steps is in the step-by-step checklist.
Marrying before 31 December: what does it mean for tax?
For couples living in Germany, the date has a tax side. Spouses can choose between individual and joint assessment if both have unlimited tax liability and do not live permanently apart; these conditions must have existed at the start of the year or arisen during the year (§ 26(1) EStG). So anyone who marries on 30 December can choose joint assessment for the whole year. Income splitting then applies: the tax is twice the amount due on half of the joint income (§ 32a(5) EStG). The effect is noticeable mainly when your incomes differ a lot; with similar incomes it changes little.
The German tax classes change as well:
- Automatically IV/IV: when you marry, both of you automatically get tax class IV (§ 39e(3) EStG). The data come from the registration office. If you married in Denmark, have the marriage entered in the population register at your citizens' office; the City of Nuremberg, for example, asks for the original foreign certificate (City of Nuremberg).
- III/V or the factor method: only on a joint application to the tax office, online via ELSTER or on paper. According to the Bremen tax office, a change takes effect from the following month, a change of the automatically set classes from the month of the wedding, and for the current year the application must be made by 30 November. For a wedding abroad you enclose the foreign marriage certificate (Bremen service portal).
- Partner still abroad: anyone without residence in Germany usually does not have unlimited tax liability there. For EU and EEA citizens whose spouse lives in another EU or EEA state, there is a special rule on application (§ 1a EStG).
So a wedding at the end of December still counts for the whole year, even if an application for new tax classes comes too late for it; you choose joint assessment in the tax return. Whether it pays off depends on your incomes. We do not give tax advice; clarify this with a tax adviser or a wage tax assistance association (Lohnsteuerhilfeverein). When planning, remember that there are several closing days around Christmas and New Year and that the approval must be issued in time.
And in Switzerland?
In Switzerland married couples are currently taxed jointly, for the whole tax period in which they marry, if they are married at the end of the period; this is how the tax practice of the canton of Thurgau describes it, for example (Canton of Thurgau, StP 12 no. 1). Whether that is cheaper or more expensive for you depends on income and canton. On 8 March 2026 voters approved individual taxation; the Federal Tax Administration's page does not state when it will apply (ESTV: Individualbesteuerung, as of 6 November 2026). Ask your cantonal tax office.
How to plan your period
- Choose a period: summer for light and mild weather, winter for fewer weddings; leave out the holidays from the table.
- Clarify the documents: the free eligibility check shows what your case needs.
- Visa first: if your partner needs one, apply before the application to Familieretshuset.
- Time the application: so that the four months of the approval cover your period.
- Arrange the date: as soon as the approval is there. How the day itself works is in our guide the wedding in Denmark: how it works.
- Book the trip: travel and accommodation once the date is confirmed.
If you would rather not apply on your own: in the Complete package for €649.99, including the Familieretshuset fee, we check your documents and file the application for you; one change of municipality is included. All packages are on our prices page.
