How Copenhagen became the Vegas of Europe: Brits, ‘tired’ of planning weddings, are heading to Copenhagen to get married for just £253

Copenhagen has been described as “the new Las Vegas” by those looking for a quick and cheap wedding, thanks to Denmark’s liberal marriage laws for non-citizens.

The Scandinavian country’s efficiency means those looking for no-fuss weddings can have their ceremony in just two weeks for just £253.

This is partly due to the lack of documents needed to get married, especially when compared to the “increasing levels of bureaucracy in the UK visa system” after Brexit.

To get married in Denmark, all couples need is ID, proof of their relationship (which can be as basic as photographs or messages to each other), proof that you are allowed in Denmark on the day of marriage and, if you were already married, a death or divorce certificate.

After asking the government for permission to marry, it only has five days to respond.

This is particularly interesting for couples who have different nationalities and who may face stricter laws in one country.

Denmark’s growing popularity as a wedding venue is also evident on TikTok, where the hashtag Denmark Wedding has some 20.3 million views, as well as numerous videos.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Jesper Hyldal, who heads the City Hall office, said more registrars had been hired and the team was working more hours to meet demand.

According to his figures, when he started working in 2019, there were “2,266 marriages between Danish couples and 2,797 between foreign couples”.

This figure rises to “2,440 Danish marriages and 4,310 foreign marriages” last year.

He said of the rising numbers: “We thought it was a post-corona thing. But this is the new normal now.

A TikTok user who got married in Denmark took to the platform to explain some of the reasons she chose the country, in a clip captioned: “That’s not why we We chose, but it’s still useful!”

In her video, she said: “Did you know that Denmark is considered the Vegas of Europe? And not because of the nightlife.

“But because it’s easy to get married and it’s a popular place to elope.

“Many countries have different rules regarding residency, length of stay, origin of each spouse, LGBTQ issues, etc. But not in Denmark.”

Finally, says the Sunday Times, there are those who don’t want to make a fuss on their big day.

The outlet spoke with one of those couples, British childhood sweethearts Eddie Goncharuk and Claudia Reid, both 27 years old.

He says that after getting engaged, they “spent months worrying about guest lists and costs, playing around with venues.”

After seeing a post on TikTok about how easy it was to get married in Denmark, they said they were so “fed up” with planning a wedding that they decided to “get married at Copenhagen City Hall, with six of their closest friends along for the ride” Tuesday.

Meanwhile, another TikTok creator who goes by the handle @internationallovestory made a video on why she and her partner chose to get married in Denmark.

Describing themselves as an intercultural couple (from Argentina and Germany), she said the short answer to why they chose this country to get married is “because it’s easy.”

She continued: “We looked at other options. We had a lawyer in the United States who did not recommend getting married in the United States, especially if I traveled on my tourist visa and then went to the United States, got married there, and ultimately stayed there. He said it was no no.

“In Germany, (we) like paperwork. Where I’m from, it’s a small town, they couldn’t really give us any information on what paperwork we would need for (her husband) Nacho, so that wasn’t an option either.

“In Argentina you have to take a blood test to make sure you are not related and the results usually take up to three weeks (which) would have taken too long, so (it) was not not an option..’

She went on to explain that an acquaintance told her about a cross-cultural couple they knew who got married in Denmark, which was very simple and required little documentation – and so they decided to get married there -down.