Saturday or beach weddings are possible for couples from abroad too: on Saturdays in Copenhagen, Kolding and on Fanø, on the beach on Fanø and in Aabenraa. You often need your own witnesses. Tønder and Aabenraa list no Saturdays for couples from abroad.
Getting married on a Saturday in Denmark: the official options
For couples who do not live in Denmark, these municipalities list Saturday dates on their official pages:
| Municipality | Saturday | Witnesses | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen | 10:00–12:40 at City Hall | always provided by the city | waiting time up to 4 months |
| Kolding | 9:00–12:00 at City Hall | bring two of your own | registration on the Friday before |
| Fanø | every 3rd Saturday of the month | provided at the town hall on request | next free dates in November (as of September 2026) |
Copenhagen
At Copenhagen City Hall, ceremonies take place Monday to Friday from 9:10 to 15:50 and on Saturdays from 10:00 to 12:40. The city always provides two witnesses; your own are optional. Ceremonies are held in Danish, English or German, which you choose when booking. Up to 75 guests may attend, children and photographer included.
The catch is the waiting time: up to four months, according to the city. For 2026, 40 % of the dates are also reserved for couples in which at least one partner lives in Copenhagen. You only receive the booking link with Familieretshuset's approval, which is valid for just 4 months, so this can get tight.
There are also individual open-air weddings, but the Saturday on 24 October 2026 at the Museum of Copenhagen was already fully booked at the end of September. More in our Copenhagen guide and in the comparison Copenhagen vs. Tønder vs. Ærø.
Kolding
Kolding marries couples at City Hall on Mondays and Fridays during opening hours and on Saturdays from 9:00 to 12:00. On Saturdays the municipality provides no witnesses there, so you bring two of your own. Ceremonies are held in Danish, English or German, and you must both understand the language.
Important for your travel plans: all foreign couples register at Borgerservice at Nytorv 1 before the wedding, with a passport and, depending on the case, a visa or residence permit. For a Saturday wedding this happens the day before, on Friday between 10:00 and 14:00. Kolding holds no weddings in calendar weeks 28 to 30 or between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Fanø
On the island of Fanø off Esbjerg, weddings take place on the third Saturday of each month; at the old Navigation School the municipality plans dates continuously according to demand. At the town hall in Nordby, in the council chamber or, weather permitting, in the courtyard, the ceremony is free on these Saturdays, and the municipality provides witnesses on request.
Dates are booked through the municipality's online portal. As of September 2026, the next free dates are in November. Fanø does not state a ceremony language.
Beach weddings in Denmark: Fanø and Aabenraa
Fanø and Aabenraa, for example, explicitly offer ceremonies on the beach on their official pages. In both cases you bring two witnesses of your own.
On Fanø, instead of the town hall, you can marry at a place of your choice, for example on the beach at Fanø Bad or Rindby, at Børsen in Sønderho, on the pier or at your holiday home. The municipality charges its actual staff time for this, per started hour; for the beach it gives a guide price of DKK 700.
Aabenraa offers beach weddings, but only to couples who bring their own witnesses. The municipality publishes no days, times or costs, and no Saturdays for couples from abroad either. Ask at vielser@aabenraa.dk before you apply. Everything about dates and the day itself is in our guide Getting married in Aabenraa.
What a ceremony outside the town hall may cost
The rule has been clear since August 2025. A legal review by the City of Copenhagen found that, by law, a municipality may only charge if the couple itself asks for a ceremony outside the town hall and this causes extra costs. It was not a court ruling. According to the Danish broadcaster DR, Copenhagen has to repay up to DKK 23 million to around 12,000 couples who had paid up to DKK 4,500 since 2018.
For you, this means: the ceremony at the town hall costs nothing. You only pay if you want a different place, and then only the extra cost. These examples are published:
| Municipality | Cost |
|---|---|
| Fanø | DKK 350 in Nordby, DKK 700 in Fanø Bad, Rindby and Sønderho (guide prices, charged per started hour) |
| Haderslev | DKK 550 plus travel costs |
Haderslev gives this amount on its Danish page, and the other place must be agreed before you submit your application to Familieretshuset. The English page for couples from abroad, however, only mentions ceremonies at the town hall on Fridays from 10:00 to 12:00. So check with the municipality beforehand whether another place is possible for you; more in our guide Getting married in Haderslev. Our cost comparison 2026 shows every cost.
No Saturdays in Tønder, Aabenraa and other popular places
Four of the six municipalities that international couples named most often as their wedding place in 2024 marry couples from abroad only on weekdays:
- Ærø marries couples Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 15:00.
- Aabenraa marries couples Monday to Friday.
- Tønder marries couples only on Tuesdays and Thursdays: from 9:30 to 12:00 with the municipality's witnesses, on Tuesdays from 13:00 to 14:00 and on Thursdays from 13:00 to 15:00 with your own.
- Sønderborg marries couples only on Fridays from 8:30 to 14:00, in Gråsten or Nordborg.
If the Saturday matters mostly for the celebration, there is a simple way: have the civil ceremony on a weekday and celebrate on Saturday. Our guide Marrying near the border compares all wedding times close to the border, and everything about Tønder is in our guide Tønder registry office.
How to plan a Saturday or beach wedding
Choose the municipality that fits your wish
Saturday with the municipality's witnesses: Copenhagen or Fanø (at the town hall). Saturday with your own witnesses: Kolding. Beach: Fanø or Aabenraa, each with your own witnesses. You name the municipality in your application to Familieretshuset.
Arrange two witnesses of your own
For Saturdays in Kolding and for beach weddings, your own witnesses are mandatory. Who can be a witness is explained in our guide Witnesses in Denmark.
Check the 4-month window
The approval is valid for 4 months from the date of issue, and your Saturday must fall inside that window. Fanø has only one Saturday a month.
Submit a complete application
Familieretshuset usually decides complete applications within 5 working days. Follow-up requests cost months: at the end of September 2026 it was working on cases from July.
Book and plan the journey
Copenhagen sends the booking link after the approval, on Fanø you book through the municipality's online portal, and in Kolding you ask at bs@kolding.dk. For Kolding, add the registration on Friday and an overnight stay.
Sources and status
The rules come from the official pages of the municipalities and Familieretshuset:
- Copenhagen: City Hall wedding and open-air weddings (English), committee decision of 20 February 2026 (Danish)
- Kolding: International marriages (English)
- Fanø: Marriage (English) and German page
- Aabenraa: Marriage Registry Office (English) and Vielse (Danish, for residents)
- Haderslev: Marriage (English) and Vielse og ægteskab (Danish)
- Tønder: Marriage (English) and Når I vil giftes (Danish, for residents)
- Sønderborg: Wedding (English); Ærø: Marriage (English)
- Familieretshuset: application, fee and validity and processing times (Danish)
- Press background: DR, 12 August 2025 (fee refunds in Copenhagen), TV Syd, 24 August 2026 and Dansk Erhverv, 10 August 2026 (debate on funding), and Dansk Erhverv, 14 February 2026 (2024 ranking based on Familieretshuset figures)
As of September 2026. Municipalities sometimes change wedding days, venues and prices at short notice. Check the municipality's current page before you apply.
