Getting Married in Amsterdam

When couples who love to travel begin to think about getting married, one of the logical options is to have a destination wedding. It’s not even called eloping all that often anymore, because so many people plan weddings in far-off places and invite their friends and family anyway. Some places, however, make it more difficult than others to get married there if you’re not a resident.

Amsterdam has a unique pull for people wanting to get married, too, as the city is so tolerant of homosexuality - same-sex marriages are performed in Amsterdam on a regular basis. Unfortunately, while the city is open-minded about sexuality, it’s not exactly easy to get married in Amsterdam unless you’re a resident.

The law in the Netherlands that applies to who can get married there includes the stipulation that at least one partner in the proposed marriage must be a Dutch national or live in the Netherlands. In other words, if neither of you is Dutch and neither of you lives in the country, the best you can do is honeymoon in Amsterdam, but you can’t get legally married there.

Just in case you’re marrying a Dutch citizen or someone with the necessary legal standing in the Netherlands to qualify, here are some resources to get a bit more information about what you’ll need in order to get married in Amsterdam.

• The Dutch government’s Netherlands Worldwide site has a page called “Conditions for marriage in the Netherlands” for couples coming from abroad. You have to give notice of your intended marriage to the municipality, and if you both live outside the Netherlands that means the municipality of The Hague, at least 8 weeks before the wedding date.
• The City of Amsterdam has a page called “Marriage and registered partnership” that walks through the steps. Residents can give notice up to a year ahead, before picking a date or a venue.

photo by james.