A Danish couple who once asked DR’s radio panel whether they should marry are getting married on Saturday, on a beach by their summerhouse in Odsherred. Both say the main reason is legal, not romantic.
Maria Gade Thomsen and Mathias Kjær say their vows on August 22, 2026, in West Zealand, according to DR. Around 80 adults and a number of children are invited to the ceremony and the party that follows.
The couple, both in their mid-30s, own a flat, a summerhouse and a car together. As reported by DR, they had not consulted a lawyer about inheritance or documents protecting each other in case of death. After the birth of their first child, Boris, relatives, bank advisers, lawyers and even Maria’s knee doctor commented on the missing paperwork.
Roughly three years ago, the couple sent their dilemma to DR’s P4 program “Sara & Monopolet.” Maria wanted a wedding. Mathias did not, arguing that people who are not married cannot get divorced.
The panel told him to grow up
In the episode, actor Iben Hjejle, news anchor Kåre Quist and satirist Frederik Cilius all sided with Maria. Hjejle called Mathias’s resistance childish, and Quist said he should simply marry her.
For Cilius, the format of the wedding mattered less than the legal arrangements. He noted that without a will, a child inherits from a deceased parent rather than the surviving partner. Mathias laughed at the time, but says now that he felt he had no real choice left.
The couple had received a quote of 12,000 kroner from a lawyer for the necessary legal documents. Maria preferred to spend that money on a garden wedding instead. They have since had a second child, Rita, who is eight months old.
The ceremony is conducted by Jette from the municipal council. Maria wears the 1953 bridal gown of her recently deceased grandmother. A reception and a party in a tent on the summerhouse grounds follow.
Maria tells DR that guests keep describing the day as romantic, which she finds odd, since that was not the starting point. She says the decision was not entirely voluntary, and that the pressure grew once they had children. The process made her aware of how much Danish rules on inheritance, property purchases and taxation are built around marriage.
Attorney Therése Kemp, a partner at the law firm Jon Palle Buhl, confirms to DR that it is easier to be married. She describes a scenario in which an unmarried cohabiting parent dies and the couple’s child inherits that parent’s share of a shared flat. The surviving partner may then have to buy the child out or sell the home.
Married couples with shared property can instead remain in an undivided estate, Kemp says. She adds that a will should still follow the marriage. Pressuring anyone into marriage is not acceptable, she says, pointing to cohabitation wills and cross life insurance as alternatives.
Official guidance from Life in Denmark states that couples must first obtain a certificate of marital status, either through their municipality or Familieretshuset. The fee is 2,100 kroner in 2026 for applications handled by the agency, and certificates are generally valid for up to four months.
Municipal civil weddings remain a common route to marriage in Denmark.
