'Herzlichen Glückwunsch!': Germans flock to the west coast of Jutland to get married
A veritable 'wedding boom' is taking place in Ringkøbing-Skjern, where foreign couples are turning up in large numbers to tie the knot at the town hall.
Ricarda-Simone Wember and Jürgen Anton Schäfer from Germany were married at the town hall in Ringkøbing on a beautiful, warm summer day on June 25, 2026. (Photo: © Rasmus Hagelskjær, DR)
By
Rasmus Bæklund Hagelskjær ( [email protected] ) 52 minutes ago
Romance is flourishing at the town hall in the West Jutland town of Ringkøbing.
In five years, the number of civil weddings has increased by 65 percent, according to figures from Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality.
It is especially foreign couples, primarily from Germany, who are heading to the west coast of Jutland to get married.
Germans Ricarda-Simone Wember and Jürgen Anton Schäfer are one of the couples who have traveled north to wed.
- I had never been to Denmark before, so it was obvious to take the opportunity to combine the wedding with a holiday. We have rented a house together, and it is very peaceful here in Denmark, says Jürgen Anton Schäfer.
In the video below, you can see what it looked like when the German couple Ricarda-Simone Wember and Jürgen Anton Schäfer were married at the town hall in Ringkøbing:
The increase in the number of weddings keeps the registrar in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality, Vivian Holm Høgsberg, busy, but she is certainly not complaining about it.
- It's fantastic. I meet so many happy couples.
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Keeping it a secret
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The newlywed German couple does not have much family in Germany, but they do have family in both Egypt and England.
Furthermore, they wanted a 'secret' wedding, so it was obvious to 'run away' north rather than get married in their home country, they explain.
- It would all be too complicated. And they might get offended if they weren't invited, says Ricarda-Simone Wember.
- We haven't told anyone, only my daughter and her husband, and we won't announce it until two or three weeks later. We'll send a nice card where we write something like 'Ha! We're already married!'. Then no one can be upset.
* Ricarda-Simone Wember and Jürgen Anton Schäfer sort out the paperwork at the town hall in Ringkøbing. (Photo: © Rasmus Hagelskjær, DR)
* (Photo: © Rasmus Hagelskjær, DR)
* Registrar Vivian Holm Høgsberg photographs the newlywed couple. (Photo: © Rasmus Hagelskjær, DR)
1 / 3 Ricarda-Simone Wember and Jürgen Anton Schäfer sort out the paperwork at the town hall in Ringkøbing. (Photo: © Rasmus Hagelskjær, DR) 1 / 3 (Photo: © Rasmus Hagelskjær, DR) 2 / 3 Registrar Vivian Holm Høgsberg photographs the newlywed couple. (Photo: © Rasmus Hagelskjær, DR) 3 / 3
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Especially foreign couples want to marry on the west coast
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* In 2020, a total of 287 couples stepped before the registrar in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality and confirmed that they wished to marry.
* In 2025, that number had risen to 474 couples. That is an increase of 65 percent.
* It is especially foreign couples that are the reason for the increase. In 2020, there were 51 foreign weddings, but in 2025 that number had almost quintupled to 242 foreign weddings.
Source: Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality
Here, the German couple explains why they chose Denmark specifically when planning to get married.
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Paperwork is more 'lenient' in Denmark
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While on Bornholm there has been dissatisfaction with many foreign weddings because they require many resources, the atmosphere at the town hall in Ringkøbing is more positive.
Read also: Foreigners want to get married on Bornholm: Now the municipality says stop ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/udlaendinge-vil-giftes-paa-bornholm-nu-siger-kommunen-stop )
The couples - especially the German ones - are literally queuing up to get married in the council chamber in Ringkøbing, says Tina Vium, head of citizen services in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality.
- It's about the fact that it is much easier to get the paperwork in order under Danish conditions than it is in Germany.
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More people are getting married at the town hall
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* In 2025, there were 21,428 civil weddings in Denmark.
* That is an increase of nearly 30 percent compared to 2015, when there were 16,505 civil weddings.
* In the same period, the number of church weddings has decreased slightly.
Source: Statistics Denmark
- Denmark has simply become a place that Germans go to, and we are experiencing a significant increase.
The date June 25, 2026, will forever stand as a very special day for Ricarda-Simone Wember and Jürgen Anton Schäfer.
And even though the registrar in Ringkøbing-Skjern has many weddings on the schedule, it has certainly not become a boring routine.
- I am just super happy because I could feel how much it meant to them. Then you get a little hug - it's so lovely, says Vivian Holm Høgsberg.
There is up to a three-month waiting time to get an appointment for a civil wedding at the town hall in Ringkøbing - here you can hear the registrar explain what the German couples appreciate:
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