Hello! Had a question about getting married in Finland. We're planning our wedding for the fall but it recently came to my attention that we may need to get some approval from the Finnish government?
For context my girlfriend is Finnish, I'm American, and the both of us live in the Netherlands at the moment. According to this document: https://dvv.fi/vihkiminen# it also seems like they need to be involved for the actual ceremony?
We have a location booked but it's a bit self service as in it's just the location but catering/music/etc we will look for ourselves but do we also need to ask the government to be there to do the actual ceremony or is that an optional service and we can get someone else (and who would that be?)
Any tips for getting all the legal stuff in order (or just general tips?). TBH it's a pretty small wedding with only direct family but I wasn't aware there were so many other steps involved!
Thank you very much for your advice 🙂
by chungmaster
3 comments
https://dvv.fi/en/marriage-ceremony
For examination of the impediments the non-Finnish spouse must deliver the proof from their home country, as Finnish government can’t access that info.
A DVV representative can come and marry you on your location, but that costs some money. More commonly you just get married in a DVV office in advance and celebrate afterwards.
It’s easier to get married officially in NL and have a symbolic ceremony in Finland. The process is a lot less painful in NL and then you don’t have the hassle with getting the marriage accepted in NL and all that shizzle.