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The little Copenhagen Elopement Guide

What is an elopement?

Originally it meant to escape and get married without telling your family and friends.

These days elopements are not so drastic, although this do happen from time to time, in most cases the families do know about it.

Reasons to elope

Couples wanting to elope chose this for different reasons. They want to go to a dream location where you cannot hold a big wedding, or they just want to be themselves and enjoy getting married on their own terms without the hassle of organising a big wedding.

Sometimes couples do include very few guests, like parents, making it into a micro wedding.

Also, sometimes couples organise a big party at a later date when they return home.

One more reason can be money related. The couples choosing to elope might not have the funds to organise a traditional wedding and they instead try to save up for other things in their life ahead.

If a big formal wedding is something you want to avoid, an elopement in Copenhagen might be the best and easiest choice for you.

Why should you elope in Copenhagen?

Copenhagen is a beautiful city. It is a modern and forward thinking capital. Architecture is fantastic, with both classic and modern buildings. Romantic canals and the vicinity of the sea makes it one of the most desirable destinations to elope.

• You don’t need your own witness. Let the registrar know that you don’t have a witness and they can sign your documents for you.
• Same-sex marriage in Denmark is allowed. In fact, Denmark was the first country to grant married status to same-sex couples in the world in 1989.
• Paperwork and documentation is easy and fast.
• easily accessible from all around the world.

The price of an elopement in Copenhagen. How much does it cost to elope in Copenhagen?

The cost of eloping in Copenhagen really depends on your budget. Apart from the official cost and administration fee you can go low-key or you can go all in.

I’m here  to help you as a photographer, and I can recommend you some of the vendors too, including make-up artist and florist.

Here are 2 examples of what you can expect to pay:

High-end elopement package

• Administration fee 217€
• 2-3 night in a hotel 1200€
• photographer 3500 €
• hair make up 250€
• bouquet and boutonniere 250€
• wedding dress and suit 4000€
• total elopement price ~ 8417€

Affordable elopement package

• Administration fee 217€
• 2-3 night in a hotel or Airbnb 600€
• photographer 1800 €
• hair make up 200€
• bouquet  180€
• wedding dress and suit 2500€
• total elopement price ~ 5497€

What is the ceremony like in the City Hall Copenhagen? (Radhus)

It is short (5-10 minutes) but sweet ceremony. It is possible to exchange vows and rings.

At the end you sign your marriage certificate.

To make it seem to last longer I recommend to take portraits in and around the building. It is a very beautiful building with many options.

More reading and info: Familieretshuset

Copenhagen Elopement Photographer

I was so happy when Anni contacted me to photograph their elopement in Copenhagen. I’ve known Anni and Luke for a while now, Anni is a cellist playing concerts all over Europe and Luke is an english teacher in an international school. They lived in Copenhagen for a while when Anni was studying and so when they moved to Budapest they decide when they get married they would do so in Copenhagen the city they both love. What is not to like about Copenhagen? Probably the best cyclist infrastructure in the world, many good cafes and restaurants, and of course the world renown Scandinavian design all makes the capital of Denmark a very pleasant and wanted destination among couples wanting to elope or getting married in Denmark.

Photographing an elopement in Copenhagen is fabulous. It is so nice and such an honour to share a full day with just a couple and no one else.

Wedding photography is all about trust, and it’s even truer when photographing elopements.

Copenhagen has a lot to offer, the City Hall (Radhus) is a beautiful building not only for the official ceremony but for some portraits too.

The wedding day

It was a beautiful day. We only had a few plans for after the ceremony, and we thought we’ll see how things are going and how much time we have to do things. We wanted to go to some of their favourite locations to take portraits, but before we did that, we stopped at the Mikkeller bar for a famous brew beer. After that we passed by the Copenhagen Botanical Garden and ended up at the Copenhagen beach by sunset, where Anni and Luke read out their personal vows to each other. This was definitely the highlight of the day, with the beautiful area, majestic light and emotions flying high too.

In the evening we went to the Meatpacking district and took some final portraits with the neon lights, which felt like we were in a movie. Here is to more elopements!

Castle Wedding Austria – Schloss Ernegg

Truth is, I love Castle weddings in Austria, or  as they call the Austrian castle venues, schloss. They are stylish, full of history, they all have a beautifully kept garden and in most cases a forest around it and as an extra a lake. All perfect backdrops for some portraits and as a whole for a wedding. 

Schloss Ernegg is a 12th century home located in the foothills of the Austrian Alps. A little road through a tiny village leads up to the castle. Kind of hidden, the whole building can only be seen from a distance form a nearby golf club. It features a charming courtyard and a garden at the back of the building. Both of these are really nice spots for the wedding ceremony and/or to welcome the guests.

Barbara and Lukas chose the garden as the location of the wedding ceremony and I think it was the best choice. Surrounded by nature but the Castle as the backdrop just looked and felt stunning. 

It was an early autumn day and the sun was shining through the  leaves of the huge trees. The majority of the guest were coming from Austria, particularly from Vienna.

I have arrived a day earlier and as always, i drove around to see if I can find some spots for portraits. Just 5 km away I did find a really nice location, on top of a hill by the road. The setting sun was well visible on the rolling hills, and on the wedding day we drove out from the castle just 20 minutes before sunset to take my favourite shots of the day.

The wedding dinner was on the second floor of the castle in the so called ,Drawing Rooms’. After the few heartfelt speeches and the delicious dinner provided by the castle the guests continued the celebration once again on the ground floor in the bar area.

You might want to check out this other wedding from a beautiful chateau in Slovakia: Wedding in Slovakia

Esküvő az Etyeki Hernyák Birtokon. 

Egy felújított füvészkert / üvegház ami téli kertként is funkcionál, présház, gyönyörű panoráma, szőlő ültetvény, helyi kiváló borok.

Mindez teszi ezt az etyeki esküvő helyszínt tökéletessé mindenkinek, aki Budapesthez közel keres természetközeli “boros” helyszínt.

Sana és Ági nagy napja egy forró nyári napon került megrendezésre. 

Korán érkeztem Etyekre, hogy le tudjam fotózni a dekorációt még a vendégek nélkül. Sűrű volt a program , tudtam hogy később erre nem lesz lehetőségem.

A polgári szertartás is a helyszínen volt, egy nagy füves részen a prés ház mellet.

Ez a rész egy kissé a szőlős fölé emelkedik így nagyszerű a kilátás innen. 2 szertartás is volt rögtön egymás után, előbb az önkormányzattól jött ki az anyakönyvvezető, majd őt felváltotta egy pap, és egy ” Etyeki templomi szertartás” is volt.

A közelben több panzió is van így aki nem akar éjjel hazautazni könnyen talál szállást magának. A birtok melletti Flamingó Panzióban készülődött egyébként a pár, jó választás lehet mert mindössze 50m-re van a szertartás helyszínétől.

Etyek kreatív fotózás

A környék tökéletes portréfotókra, van tisztás, szőlős, szép házak háttérként. Én mindenképp a lemenő napot ajánlom, még akkor is ha csak fél óra van néhány portréra. A hangulat teljesen más ilyenkor és sokkal jobban ki lehet használni a környező terület adta lehetőségeket.

Az üvegház egyébként gyönyörű és a rengeteg növénnyel úgy érzi az ember hogy a természettel van körülvéve. A dekor erre rá is erősít illeteve az is hogy üvegház lévén 360 fokban ki lát az ember.

Jó szívvel tudom ajánlani a Hernyák Birtokot!

Több Budapest Környéki Esküvő Helyszínért kattints ide.

Hotel Chateau Bela Wedding – Viktoria & Brad

It is my absolute pleasure to share this Hotel Chateau Bela wedding from Slovakia. Chateau Bela was built in the 18th century and it was recently renovated. It is located in southern Slovakia near the Hungarian border. The hotel is surrounded by a forest on one side and it has expansive views over the nearby fields on the other. It is a fabulous setting for a wedding venue in Slovakia.

You can reach the reception through an atmospheric courtyard. The Chateau offers a spacious wedding ball room which is lit beautifully by natural light through the huge windows. Chateau Bela is such a perfect wedding venue in Slovakia. The whole wedding party can be accommodated at the hotel and there are different areas where  different part of the wedding day can be organised and held. You can have welcome drinks in a beautiful room connected to a terrace overlooking the garden with a lake. There is a small charming Chapel too attached to the chateau so there is no need to travel afar for a church ceremony.

Viktoria and Brad organised their wedding in Chateau Bela for a couple of reasons. Viktoria is originally from Slovakia. Though she didn’t grow up in Slovakia, she does speak Slovakian because of her mum. They both love classic buildings and they wanted their wedding guests (for many of whom came from overseas) to have and unforgettable experience in a classic environment.

They spent the whole day at the hotel, and whilst Viktoria was getting ready Brad welcomed the guests. There was such a positive vibe from the start with people cheering laughing and giving big hugs to each other. There were many friends who haven’t seen each other for years and now the got to spend a weekend at this magical palace.

Viktoria was not only gorgeous but she wore a stunning Hayley Paige wedding gown.

Their church wedding ceremony was in the chapel which is part of the chateau. The chapel was just big enough for all the about 90 guests. It was a beautiful and emotional ceremony after which we all walked back to the courtyard for dome family formals and group photos with friends. 

Taking the portraits of them was so easy. They look fabulous and their incredibly kind personality made this part of the day so enjoyable. We just walked down to the garden of Chateau Bela and stopped along the way a few times. We also took some portraits inside the chateau as we wanted to show more of the beauty of the interior too in the photos. 

The wedding dinner reception was held in the ball room of Chateau Bela. 

As I mentioned earlier Viktoria has Slovakian origins so they wanted to show some of the traditions of a Slovakian wedding.

Slovak Traditional Wedding Cepcenie Ceremony

The bonnet wedding ceremony.

It is an important folklore wedding tradition. It is held at midnight where the unmarried woman is welcomed by married women. 

The participants are dressed in traditional costumes and they sing wedding folk songs. The bride wears a wreath and it is replaced by a headband. 

Brad and Viktoria were one of the most welcoming couple I have met and I’ll be forever grateful for it. 

If you liked this story maybe you would like to see an other similar one .. click here for it.

Matthias Church Wedding Photography, Budapest

Certainly, the most important part of the day was the wedding ceremony in St. Matthias Church up in the Castle district. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much.

This is a wedding I am particularly proud of. Felicia and Fredrik are from Stockholm. They chose Budapest for their wedding day partly because Felicia has family roots here, and partly because of the beautiful views, locations and wedding venues Budapest offers.

They planned a big wedding. With many guests arriving from abroad, they organised a pre-wedding night get together in one of the ruin bars in the centre of the city. This was a great idea to meet and greet everyone and set the mood for the weekend.

Their wedding day started on the Buda side in an old beautiful villa – the Writer’s Villa. Most of the close friends and family members got ready there and that is where Felicia and Fredrik also had their first look.

As I mentioned before, their wedding ceremony was in Matthias Church. The church has a history of over a thousand years and even King Matthias had his wedding there.

This and possibly the best location in Budapest, makes it one of the most popular and best churches in Budapest in which to get married. It is surrounded with a beautiful square and narrow cobblestone streets. The view from just a few steps away is amazing. When you are up there, you are on top of Budapest.

Before the wedding ceremony began, the guests gathered in front of the church waiting for the bride to arrive. They all looked fantastically elegant as this was a black tie wedding.

The ceremony was beautiful in the old historical church and I loved seeing so many guests enjoying watching the couple exchange vows.

After the ceremony, they had a little, hour-long, reception on top of Fisherman’s Bastion to relax and to take in the beautiful panorama.

Following this event, the wedding dinner was held in Wenckheim Palace, which is mostly known as the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library. On weekdays it is the main branch of the largest library network in Hungary.

As typical of a traditional Swedish wedding, they had a very long dinner, which lasted around five hours. The dinner was filled with speeches from friends and family. This made an even very large wedding party, very intimate and emotional.

Razzett L-Abjad Wedding Photography Malta | Catie + Mike

The party of the year starring Catie and Mikey

Razzett l-Abjad, one of the best wedding venues in Malta, is where both the ceremony and the dinner reception was held. There is this reoccurring thing at weddings I photograph – which I love – where the couples are from different countries.

This time, for example, Catie is from Australia and Mikey is from Sweden. As Catie has some ancestors in Malta they chose this semi-neutral location for their wedding. Their only wish was that they can spend as much time as possible with their friends.

So we decided to go for some couple portraits in the middle of the day before the ceremony. Well, this is obviously not a good idea especially in the summer heat in Malta, but a very good friend of mine who has just bought an old dilapidated palace in Zejtun was kind enough to let us in and use it as a beautiful backdrop for wedding portraits.

The palace has beautiful features and a lot of character which I love and although it was quite messy with lots of old furniture everywhere the light and the mood was just perfect. The ceremony, dinner and the party were all outside underneath vine leaves.

The guests created a fantastic atmosphere. In fact, Catie and Mikey chose not to have a wedding cake which would have interrupted the party. It was a testimony of how wonderful it is when two cultures come together and celebrate. The result was a wonderful and joyful wedding.

The following day Catie and Mikey went to Gozo, the other main island in Malta for a short honeymoon, and we met up on one of the evenings to create some timeless wedding portraits by the sea.

This wedding from Malta was featured in the excellent wedding blog of Bride and Breakfast. Click here for the article.