STORY | AMSTERDAM

A Civil Wedding in Nieuw-West, Then the Sloterplas

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 8 November 2026

Groom twirls the bride on the quay of the Sloterplas, a tall fountain and a green shore across the water, after their civil wedding in Nieuw-West

Besa and Arben chose a civil wedding in Nieuw-West, at the Stadsloket a few streets from their home. Their families come from Kosovo, and the closest of them came along on a sunny August morning. From the first kiss to the bouquet toss by the Sloterplas, it all took less than forty minutes.

A civil wedding at the Stadsloket in Nieuw-West is short, so I plan around the minutes that matter: the vows, the signatures, the first hugs. Small days like this one are a real part of my wedding photography in Amsterdam.

A Wall of Plants Before the Ceremony

We met at 11:18. Before the families went in, a dark wall with hanging plants and palms gave us a quiet corner. Besa wore a sleeveless white dress and ballet flats, and she held white roses with baby’s breath. Arben wore a black waistcoat, a white shirt and a bow tie.

Bride in a sleeveless white dress and groom in a black waistcoat and bow tie hold white roses in front of a dark wall of plants

Black-and-white kiss in front of a dark wall with hanging plants and palms, the bride in ballet flats, just before their civil wedding — In black and white, 11:19

Vows in a Small Civil Wedding Room

At 11:27, they walked into the ceremony room together, past their families on two short rows of chairs. A boy in white grinned up at them as they passed.

Bride and groom walk into a small ceremony room past their seated families, a boy in white smiling up at them

The room was small and bright, with an orange abstract painting behind the registrar’s wooden lectern and a bunch of summer flowers beside it. During the vows, the two of them stood hand in hand in front of him. Meanwhile, I stayed low behind the flowers, so their colors would blur across the front of the frame.

Wide view of a civil wedding room at Stadsloket Nieuw-West, the registrar at a wooden lectern below an orange painting, guests seated — The ceremony room, 11:28

When Besa burst out laughing, Arben glanced my way.

Bride laughs while holding the groom's hands during the vows, guests smiling on chairs behind, colorful flowers blurred in front

Signatures and Applause

Then it was time to sign. Besa went first, smiling across the table, and Arben signed right after her.

Bride in white smiles at the camera as she signs the marriage certificate, the groom beside her and a pram in the corner

Groom in a black waistcoat signs the marriage certificate with a smile at his civil wedding, the bride and guests watching behind him

Witness in an olive satin dress laughs as she signs at a white table, white roses blurred in the foreground

Their two witnesses signed next, one in olive satin and one in pale blue. The first could not stop laughing. Finally, the registrar leaned over his lectern and added his own name.

Registrar leans over his wooden lectern to sign last, the bride and groom seated in front of him beside a bright bouquet

Then the room broke into applause. A boy in white was the first to hug Arben. Moments later, a tall friend in a cream suit wrapped Besa in a long hug.

Guests clap and laugh as the newlyweds sit hand in hand after the signing, a boy in white applauding in the back row

Boy in a white shirt hugs the groom right after the civil wedding in Nieuw-West, the bride and a witness in olive smiling beside them

Friend in a cream suit wraps the bride in a long hug in the ceremony room, a witness in pale blue satin smiling behind them

From the Stadsloket to the Sloterplas

At 11:36, everyone stood outside under the red Stadsloket sign, and a few of them waved at the camera. Five minutes later, we were on the wide stone quay of the Sloterplas, the lake of the Sloterpark, where a fountain rose from the water.

Wedding party outside Stadsloket Nieuw-West under its red sign, red canna flowers in the planters, the couple in the middle — Outside Stadsloket Nieuw-West, 11:36

With the fountain behind them, Arben spun Besa around while gulls circled overhead. Then he lifted her off her feet, bouquet and all.

Groom lifts the laughing bride off her feet on the stone quay of the Sloterplas, the fountain rising from the lake behind them

The youngest guest, a baby in a pink dress, got a moment too. Arben held the baby in one arm while he and Besa kissed.

Newlyweds kiss above a baby in a pink dress held in the groom's arm, a round flower bed and the lake behind them

A Civil Wedding Ends by the Water

Away from the group, I came close. Two of those frames work best in black and white, where only the kiss and their faces remain.

Black-and-white close-up of a kiss by the lake, the bride's hand on the groom's chest and her white roses on his shoulder

Black-and-white portrait of the newlyweds cheek to cheek by the water after their civil wedding in Nieuw-West, a gull above them

Next, the rings came out of a little pink box, and Arben slid one onto the finger of Besa, right above the white roses.

Groom slides a gold ring onto the bride's finger above her bouquet of white roses and baby's breath, the lake soft behind them

Close-up of hands with a ring over white roses on the morning of a civil wedding, the blue water of the Sloterplas behind

Couple seen from behind on the edge of the quay, his arm around her, a fountain and wooded shore across the lake, petunias beside them

Then they sat down on the edge of the quay, between the petunias and the water. When I called their names, both looked back over their shoulders and smiled.

Bride and groom look back over their shoulders and smile, sitting on the quay edge of the Sloterplas on their wedding day in Nieuw-West

To finish, everyone lined up along the quay, and Besa lifted her roses high. Her two witnesses kissed her on both cheeks.

Civil wedding party lined up on the quay of the Sloterplas, the bride lifting her white roses high, trees and moored boats across the water

Two friends in olive and pale blue satin kiss the bride on both cheeks by the lake as she holds her bouquet and smiles

Last came the bouquet. Besa turned her back to her friends and threw it over her head, and her witness in pale blue caught it. At four minutes to twelve, their civil wedding in Nieuw-West ended with arms in the air.

Bride throws her bouquet backward over her head as a friend in pale blue and a boy in white reach up for it, the lake behind them

Friend in a pale blue satin dress holds the caught bouquet high and cheers, the bride laughing beside her, the fountain behind — The bouquet toss, 11:56

How a short ceremony at a Stadsloket compares with one at a place of your own is in my guide to a civil wedding in Amsterdam.

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