Authorities in Copenhagen could face a bill of tens of millions of krone after it emerged that the city had illegally charged wedding fees to about 12,000 couples over seven years.
Most of those who were charged during the period are understood to have been from outside Denmark and did not have permanent residence in the country.
Copenhagen municipality could be forced to repay up to 23m krone (£2.7m).
A fee of up to 4,500 krone was charged for weddings at the city hall at particular times and for weddings at designated outdoor locations.
But under Danish law, the municipality is allowed to charge the fee only if the couple has asked to be married outside the city hall.
Wedding tourism represents big business for the city: last year, about 5,000 international couples were married in Copenhagen, spending as much as 120m krone, according to the Danish chamber of commerce.
Lars Ramme Nielsen, a director at the chamber of commerce, said the situation was “unfortunate”.
“For many reasons, we have been very pleased that so many foreign couples choose Copenhagen as the place to seal their love,” he said. “At the same time, we are not blind to the significant revenue these guests bring with them – everything from hotels, restaurants and the airport, to local photographers, florists and many more. We very much hope a solution can be found.”
Some politicians have called for the law to be changed so that the municipality is legally permitted to charge all non-Danish couples to get married.
Niels Peder Ravn, a Conservative member of Copenhagen’s culture and leisure committee, said that although he was “delighted” the Danish capital had become such a popular international wedding destination, he was outraged that city taxpayers would be left to foot the bill.
“I call it the wedding scandal, as it means Copenhagen taxpayers must now repay 23m krone to approximately 12,000 foreign couples,” he said.
“These are funds we will have to find within the culture and leisure committee’s budget, which will result in fewer sports activities and cultural offerings for Copenhagen’s citizens.”
He added: “I am also deeply concerned about the countless hours of work the administration will need to spend locating these many couples, who, as they do not live in Denmark, may not be so easy to track down.”
Copenhagen’s mayor for culture and leisure, Mia Nyegaard, said the illegal practice, which had continued since 2018 until it was discovered earlier this year, was “really unfortunate and regrettable”.
She added: “How Copenhagen has at the same time been able to market itself as a wedding destination, I simply do not know. I have no answer to that. But I have been informed that the practice started in 2018 and was discovered when the administration, in the spring of 2025, reviewed the financial and legal basis for the wedding office due to the increasing demand for weddings. At that point, the administration became aware of the incorrect practice and stopped it completely.”
No longer being able to charge the fees, she said, “presents a financial challenge” that was expected to grow as demand for weddings increased.
She added: “Therefore, the culture and leisure committee must now discuss how it should be handled. At the same time, the culture and leisure administration is in the process of planning the work for the repayments in collaboration with the city of Copenhagen’s internal audit unit. It is too early to say anything concrete about how this task will be carried out.”
The Danish ministry of social affairs and housing has been contacted for comment.
