Getting married in Aarhus means a ceremony in the wedding room of the town hall designed by the architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller, on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. The earliest date is 14 days after the municipality has received your approval. If you would rather marry at a place of your own choice, you will find fixed prices for a registrar on site on the municipality's page.
Can a couple from abroad get married in Aarhus?
Yes. Aarhus describes two routes on its Danish page (Sådan bliver I gift) and on its English page for newcomers (Getting married). If each of you meets at least one of these conditions, you apply to the municipality: Danish or Nordic citizenship, a permanent residence permit in Denmark or a permanent right of residence under EU rules. If that does not apply to both of you, you apply for the approval, the prøvelsesattest (certificate of marital status), to Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law.
That is the route for couples from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who do not live in Denmark. The Aarhus pages do not name residence in Denmark as a condition for it. What Familieretshuset wants to see is explained in our guides Prøvelsesattest and Documents for your wedding in Denmark.
Do not let one section of the page unsettle you: the notes on original documents from an earlier marriage abroad, on translation and on legalisation appear there under the rules for couples who apply to the municipality. If you have an approval from Familieretshuset, that agency has already checked your documents.
Wedding days at the town hall: Thursday to Saturday
Ceremonies take place in the Vielsessalen, the wedding room of the town hall on Rådhuspladsen. According to the municipality, as of 6 November 2026:
| Item | Thursday and Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremonies start | 10:30 | 10:00 |
| Time per ceremony | 5 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Witnesses | two town hall staff members if you bring none of your own | two witnesses of your own |
Aarhus holds no weddings in weeks 29, 30 and 31 or on public holidays. On top of that there are individual days when the town hall is closed for events. Above all, the short time per couple means one thing: be punctual, with all your guests.
No earlier than 14 days after the approval
The Danish page contains a sentence you should know when planning: “I kan tidligst få en tid til vielse 14 dage efter, at vi har modtaget jeres prøvelsesattest.” In English: you can get a date no earlier than 14 days after the municipality has received your prøvelsesattest. Couples who apply to the municipality state their preferred day and time in their marriage declaration and then receive a letter with the exact time.
The page does not describe in detail how couples with an approval from Familieretshuset state their preferred day. Ask Borgerservice, the municipality's citizen service, on 89 40 22 22 (Monday to Wednesday and Friday 8:00 to 16:00, Thursday 8:00 to 18:00). Aarhus does not publish how long you wait beyond the 14 days. We are often in touch with municipalities and ask on behalf of our couples.
The wedding day in the Vielsessalen
- The room: The walls of the wedding room are painted with floral motifs. There is room for about 50 standing guests.
- Afterwards: You can raise a quick toast at the bistro tables in the town hall's main hall, with drinks you bring yourselves. The municipality asks you not to stay too long, as other couples follow. Guests may only stay on the floor where the wedding room is.
- Confetti and rice: Confetti cannons are banned; throwing rice outside the town hall is allowed.
- Parking: If there is space, the couple may stop in front of the town hall with one car at most. Guests park in the car parks nearby.
Bring the passports you submitted to Familieretshuset and, if needed, your visa or residence permit. How to prove your lawful stay since the EES is explained in our guide EES proof for the wedding. As everywhere in Denmark, you receive two international marriage certificates in five languages after the ceremony; what they are worth at home is explained in our guide International marriage certificate.
Witnesses and language
Two witnesses must be present. On Thursdays and Fridays two town hall staff members are there who can be your witnesses if you bring none. On Saturdays you bring two of your own. When municipalities provide witnesses and when they do not is compared in our guide Witnesses in Denmark.
Aarhus names no ceremony language on either its Danish or its English page, and no rules for interpreters either. So ask Borgerservice before you apply whether English or German is possible. If one of you does not understand the ceremony language, you need an interpreter; what applies is explained in our guide Interpreters at the wedding.
Weddings outside the town hall: registrar or city council member
Aarhus names two ways to marry outside the town hall. A municipal registrar (Giftefoged) marries you at a place you choose yourselves, as long as it is in the Municipality of Aarhus. For this the municipality charges a fee that depends on the time and the witnesses (according to the municipality, as of 6 November 2026):
| Time | with two witnesses of your own | registrar and two witnesses from the municipality |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays, 8:00 to 16:00 | DKK 1,020 (about €137) | DKK 2,684 (about €360) |
| Saturdays 8:00 to 16:00 or weekdays 16:00 to 21:00 | DKK 1,986 (about €266) | DKK 5,366 (about €719) |
The second way: a member of the city council marries you. This costs nothing, because council members do it voluntarily in their free time; each member decides whether they have time. You contact them yourselves and agree on the day and place. The municipality states 14 days of processing time. If you want to marry in a public place, for example in the town hall park or in Mindeparken, you also apply yourselves for a permit for an outdoor event.
The page describes both ways using the example of couples who submit their marriage declaration to the municipality. Whether and how they work with an approval from Familieretshuset is not stated there. Ask Borgerservice before you submit your application. In addition, Aarhus offers weddings at special venues on individual days, in 2026 for example at the open-air museum Den Gamle By. Which municipalities explicitly offer couples from abroad a beach, a garden or a boat is compared in our guide Special places to get married.
How it works: from the application to saying “I do”
Contact Aarhus before you apply
Call Borgerservice (89 40 22 22) and ask how you state your preferred day with an approval from Familieretshuset, whether English or German is possible and, if you wish, whether a registrar can come to you at another venue.
Application to Familieretshuset
You apply for the prøvelsesattest and name Aarhus as the municipality. You pay the fee of DKK 2,100 (about €281) when you submit; it is not refunded (Familieretshuset). The agency usually decides complete applications within 5 working days. If it asks for more documents, the case joins a queue: as of 6 November 2026 it is working on such cases received in August 2026 (processing times).
The approval goes to Aarhus
The minimum of 14 days until the earliest date runs from the day the approval arrives at the municipality. The municipality tells you the exact time.
The wedding day
Be at the town hall on time, with your passports, if needed your visa or residence permit and, on Saturdays, two witnesses of your own. Straight after the ceremony you receive the marriage certificates.
Which documents your case needs is shown by our free eligibility check. How a Danish ceremony generally works is described in our guide The wedding ceremony in Denmark.
What does a wedding in Aarhus cost?
Aarhus states no fee for the town hall ceremony. Since August 2025, Danish municipalities generally no longer charge for town hall weddings, after the City of Copenhagen found no legal basis for such fees in its own legal review. For a venue outside the town hall a municipality may charge the costs involved; Aarhus gives the prices above for this.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Familieretshuset fee (mandatory) | DKK 2,100 (about €281), not refundable |
| Ceremony at the town hall | no fee stated |
| Registrar at a venue of your choice | DKK 1,020 to 5,366 according to the municipality, depending on time and witnesses |
| Ceremony by a city council member | free of charge if the member is willing |
Add travel and possibly a night's stay. In the Essential package (€249.99) you pay Familieretshuset's fee yourselves; in the Complete package (€649.99) it is included. Everything else is on our prices page and in our cost comparison 2026.
Getting to Aarhus
By car: Aarhus is on the east coast of Jutland on the E45 motorway. From Hamburg it is about 340 km via the A7 and the E45, from the border at Padborg about 175 km. From Copenhagen you drive about 300 km via the toll bridge across the Great Belt (Storebælt); alternatively there is a ferry connection from Zealand to Aarhus.
By train: Aarhus has a large station with long-distance trains from Copenhagen. Connections from Hamburg, Austria and Switzerland, with journey times and changes, are shown by Rejseplanen and Deutsche Bahn. The town hall is a few minutes' walk from the main station.
By plane: Aarhus Airport near Tirstrup is about 40 km by road north-east of the city, Billund Airport about 95 km south-west. From Copenhagen Airport you continue by car or train.
Aarhus does not mention registering the day before. With a morning ceremony and a long journey, an overnight stay is still more relaxed.
Aarhus as a short trip: what to see
- The town hall itself: The building by Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller with its clock tower is one of the well-known buildings of Danish modernism. The town hall park next to it is good for photos.
- ARoS: The art museum with the round, colourful walkway “Your rainbow panorama” on its roof is a few minutes from the town hall.
- Den Gamle By: The open-air museum shows Danish town houses from several centuries.
- Latinerkvarteret and the harbour: The old lanes north of the cathedral and the new harbour district Aarhus Ø are within walking distance.
Aarhus or another municipality?
Aarhus suits you if you are looking for a big city that is easy to reach, want to marry between Thursday and Saturday or are looking for a venue of your choice with a published price. The language remains an open question, because the municipality names none. For comparison (as of 6 November 2026, according to the municipalities' pages):
| Municipality | Wedding days for couples from abroad | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Aarhus | Thu and Fri from 10:30, Sat from 10:00 | no earlier than 14 days after the approval arrives; your own witnesses on Saturdays; language not stated |
| Randers | Fri and Sat, from 10:00 | witnesses from the municipality; Danish, English or German according to the English page |
| Ringkøbing-Skjern | Tue and Thu, 13:30 to 15:00 | ID check the day before at the latest; weddings in nature possible |
| Kolding | town hall Mon, Fri and Sat | Danish, English or German; your own witnesses on Saturdays |
| Odense | Mon to Sat, from 10:00 | two months' notice; at least one witness of your own on Saturdays |
Details are in our guides Getting married in Randers, Getting married in Ringkøbing-Skjern, Getting married in Kolding and Getting married in Odense. The rules of many more municipalities are on our page Venues and rules by municipality, and an overview of lead times is in our wait time comparison 2026.
If your approval is already with another municipality and there is no suitable date there, only Familieretshuset can forward it to Aarhus; it stays valid for 4 months from issue. We take care of this step as a change of municipality; more on it in our guide Approved but no date. Aarhus sometimes changes wedding days and rules at short notice, so check the municipality's current page before you apply.
