The Process
You will need to have two witnesses to the marriage but you can have a total of four if you choose. The witnesses will need to supply you with a copy of their passports. Once you’ve gathered all the documents you must go to the town hall of the place where you live (gemeente) and enter into ‘ondertrouw’ which translates roughly to ‘intent to marry’. There are no costs for entering into ondertrouw but there are fees depending on when and where you get married and charges for the marriage documents you receive once you are married. Once you declare your intent to marry to the city you can be married after two weeks, but no later than a year from the date of declaration. The city acts as your adviser on how to proceed, and when you enter into ondertrouw they will let you know all of your options for wedding locations and give you a book called a trouwgid (wedding guide) with information on everything from florists to honeymoon suites. If there is any documentation you don’t have yet or that isn’t properly attested they will let you know.
Once you are in ondertrouw you can choose the date you wish to be married. Remember the civil ceremony can be as big or as small as you want it; if you wish to combine it with your celebrations at the same location it’s possible. If you wish to have a small civil ceremony in the city hall and then organise your own religious ceremony or other celebration elsewhere it is totally up to you.
The civil ceremony is conducted by a city official and is very short, usually lasting no more than 15 minutes. Some time before the ‘big day’ you will meet with the person who will marry you so you can talk about what you would like him or her to say and even request that they speak in English. The cost of the civil ceremony varies and can be anything from €40 to €850 depending on the day, time
and the location.
In the Netherlands you can also enter into a registered partnership, which has exactly the same legal consequences as marriage excluding parental rights. In a registered partnership the father must legally recognise the child at the city hall before he is entitled to parental rights. If you do choose to marry you can decide whether or not to change your name: this applies to husband as well as wife, but your original name must still be included on official documents.
Once you are in ondertrouw you can choose the date you wish to be married. Remember the civil ceremony can be as big or as small as you want it; if you wish to combine it with your celebrations at the same location it’s possible. If you wish to have a small civil ceremony in the city hall and then organise your own religious ceremony or other celebration elsewhere it is totally up to you.
The civil ceremony is conducted by a city official and is very short, usually lasting no more than 15 minutes. Some time before the ‘big day’ you will meet with the person who will marry you so you can talk about what you would like him or her to say and even request that they speak in English. The cost of the civil ceremony varies and can be anything from €40 to €850 depending on the day, time
and the location.
In the Netherlands you can also enter into a registered partnership, which has exactly the same legal consequences as marriage excluding parental rights. In a registered partnership the father must legally recognise the child at the city hall before he is entitled to parental rights. If you do choose to marry you can decide whether or not to change your name: this applies to husband as well as wife, but your original name must still be included on official documents.