Wedding traditions of Amsterdam
Dutch weddings of Amsterdam are civil first, with a town hall ceremony and a canal boat party.
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to open civil marriage to same-sex couples, on 1 April 2001. Amsterdam couples marry at the Stopera or at one of many licensed locations.

A wedding here
The couple makes a civil marriage in front of a registrar, who may be asked to speak in English. Guests may be asked to make speeches or perform short songs.
Dutch touches
A bruidstaart and a bruidssuiker, sugar-coated sweets, are shared. A traditional gift is a collection of money for the couple in a card.
Wedding customs of Amsterdam
Also part of it, and being written: Wedding (Dutch weddings.), Bruidstaart (The bride's cake.), Canal boat (A popular party venue.).
A wedding trail idea for Amsterdam
- Stopera The city hall where many couples marry.
- Westerkerk A well-known church.
- The Jordaan A canal-side quarter.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, venues and wedding-season dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands: Jeffpw, CC BY 3.0, source
- Same-sex marriage: Stefano Bolognini, CC BY-SA 3.0, source