GUIDE | AMSTERDAM

A Civil Wedding in Amsterdam, from Vows to Photos

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 8 November 2026

Newlyweds kiss under the tent as flower petals settle in their hair, guests behind them, right after their civil wedding in a Weesp garden

A civil wedding in Amsterdam can be a short ceremony at a Stadsloket or a longer one at a place of your own, where the registrar comes to you. Either way, the core is the same: the vows, the signatures and the photos in the minutes around them.

Here are two examples from weddings I photographed. One was a ceremony of a few minutes at Stadsloket Nieuw-West on an August morning. The other was a garden wedding in Weesp in June, with almost an hour under a tent. Weesp is part of Amsterdam, so both belong to my wedding photography in Amsterdam.

The legal side, from giving notice to fixing the date and the place, runs through the City of Amsterdam. This guide is about the day itself.

At a glance

Two examples: A short ceremony at a Stadsloket, or a longer one at a place of your own
The ceremony: About six minutes at Stadsloket Nieuw-West, almost an hour in the Weesp garden
The signing: The couple, then the witnesses, then the registrar (two witnesses at the Stadsloket, four in Weesp)
The photos: Close by, before and after: the Sloterplas five minutes from the Stadsloket, the garden itself in Weesp
My time: 38 minutes for the Stadsloket morning, five hours for the garden day

Stadsloket or a Place of Your Own?

A Stadsloket ceremony is the shortest kind of civil wedding in Amsterdam I photograph. In Nieuw-West, the room had two short rows of chairs and a wooden lectern for the registrar. An orange painting and summer flowers did the rest, and about ten guests fit in easily. That morning is told in full in a civil wedding in Nieuw-West.

Bride and groom seated at a white table in a small Stadsloket room, family on chairs behind them, at the start of their civil wedding in Amsterdam

Stretch tent on a lawn seen from outside, guests on wooden folding chairs facing the couple, a white aisle runner leading in between — Stadsloket Nieuw-West at 11:27, a garden in Weesp at 15:42

A place of your own gives you more room and more time. In Weesp, the couple set up a stretch tent on a lawn, with folding chairs, paper lanterns and a white runner. The registrar led the ceremony from a round wooden table. Their day is in a garden wedding in Weesp.

Then there are the town halls, with an older wedding room and the street right outside. Weesp’s old town hall on the Nieuwstraat is one, with a curved staircase up to the wedding room. You can see it in a summer town hall wedding in Weesp.

What Happens During the Ceremony?

The registrar leads, and you mostly listen, laugh and hold hands. At the Stadsloket, the couple stood hand in hand in front of the lectern for the vows. In Weesp, they stood under a canopy of white drapes and ivy.

Bride and groom stand hand in hand during the vows at a civil wedding in Amsterdam, a bright bouquet in front and guests seated behind

Couple stands side by side under a canopy of white drapes and ivy at the start of their garden ceremony, a wooden bench behind them — Vows at the Stadsloket at 11:29, the start in Weesp at 15:11

A longer ceremony can begin with a walk in. In Weesp, the bride and her father came down the wooden steps of a dike, behind a flower girl with a basket of petals. Then the registrar spoke to the couple and their guests for about twenty minutes. After that, the bride and groom read their own vows into her microphone.

Bride and her father come down the wooden steps of a grassy dike, a woman in a red dress and a little flower girl walking ahead

Registrar with a microphone at a round wooden table speaks to rows of seated guests under a tent, parents listening in the front row — The registrar in Weesp, 15:39

Music is up to you, too. In Weesp, an older lady played a digital piano right beside the tent, and it stayed in view while the groom read his vows.

Groom reads his vows into a microphone over a digital piano with sheet music, the bride listening and rows of guests behind them

How Long Does a Civil Wedding in Amsterdam Take?

At a Stadsloket, a civil wedding in Amsterdam can be over in minutes. In Nieuw-West, the couple walked in at 11:27, and the applause came at 11:33, signatures included. My whole session, from the first frame by a wall of plants to the bouquet toss by the lake, took 38 minutes.

At a place of your own, the ceremony sets its own pace. In Weesp, the bride walked in just after three. The couple walked out through a cloud of petals at three minutes past four, almost an hour later. In between came a talk by the registrar, their vows, a reading by a witness, the rings and the signatures.

Witness in a navy suit reads a few words while the bride laughs, two more witnesses and the groom standing beside them under the canopy — A witness reads a few words in Weesp, 15:56

Rings, Signatures and Witnesses

On both days, the signing went in the same order: first the two of them, then the witnesses, and last the registrar. At the Stadsloket, two witnesses signed at a white table in turn. In Weesp, four witnesses signed at a small folding table on the lawn, with a jar of white wildflowers beside them.

Witness in a pale blue satin dress signs at a white table during a civil wedding in Amsterdam, white roses blurred in the foreground

Witness in a pink dress and pearls signs the certificate at a wooden table on a lawn, a man in a blue shirt standing behind her — Witnesses signing at the Stadsloket at 11:32 and in Weesp at 15:58

The registrar signs last. In Nieuw-West, he had first passed the document across the table for them to sign. In Weesp, she signed with a smile, a few minutes before the couple walked out.

Registrar hands the bride and groom the marriage certificate to sign at a white table during their civil wedding in Amsterdam, family behind

Registrar in a black dress smiles as she signs last at a wooden table, a bottle vase of white wildflowers beside her in the garden

From experience

The minutes right after the signing are often the most unguarded of the day. At the Stadsloket, a boy in white got to the groom before anyone else. In Weesp, the bride laughed with her face to the sky as they walked out through the petals. So I stay close then, because nobody is thinking of the camera.

Open pink ring box with a gold band resting on the bride's palm, the groom's hand with a ring beneath it and white roses at the edge

Rings can come during the ceremony or after it. In Weesp, a small ring bearer brought them to the canopy in a blue velvet box. By the Sloterplas, the rings and their little pink box came out for a few close frames, with the water behind.

Two gold wedding rings on a white cushion in an open blue velvet box, beside a wildflower bouquet on a weathered stone ledge

Where Do the Photos Happen?

Close by, before or after. At the Stadsloket, the portraits came after, five minutes away on the quay of the Sloterplas. There was a fountain, there were gulls, and the whole family fit in one row. A short ceremony leaves most of the hour for this.

Newlyweds raise their arms and the bouquet on the quay of the Sloterplas in Amsterdam, a fountain behind them after their civil wedding — The quay of the Sloterplas, 11:42

In Weesp, most portraits came before the ceremony, in the garden between half past one and two. That left the rest of the day free for their guests.

Bride and groom stand close in a flowering garden before their ceremony, her colorful wildflower bouquet held low at her side

Newlyweds stand with an older couple on the quay by the lake, the bride holding white roses, small sailboats on the water behind them — The garden in Weesp at 13:35, the Sloterplas at 11:54

Some couples marry outside the city and come to Amsterdam for the portraits, as in a town hall wedding in Hoorn, then Amsterdam.

Others walk to the water near their own Stadsloket, like the couple in a civil wedding at the Stadsloket in Haarlem.

From experience

For one photo with everyone, I look for a little height. In Weesp, the steps of the dike gave me just enough to see every face. At the Sloterplas, the wide quay let the whole family stand in one row.

How I Photograph a Civil Wedding

During the vows and the signing, I stay quiet and out of your guests’ view. So I move before a moment, not during it. At the Stadsloket, I stayed low behind the flowers. In Weesp, I worked from the sides of the tent and from behind the round table, with its little wooden gavel.

Bride and groom stand under the canopy during their civil wedding in Weesp, a small wooden gavel and a glass blurred on the table in front

Afterward, I guide more: where to stand, when to walk, a twirl by the water. For a Stadsloket ceremony, the Civil Ceremony Photoshoot covers an hour. In fact, the morning in Nieuw-West needed only 38 minutes of it. A longer day at a place of your own suits the Wedding Photoshoot, with extra hours up to six in total.

Planning your own civil wedding in Amsterdam? Discover how my wedding photography in Amsterdam works.