Requirements for getting married in Norway

For many and varied reasons, there are many couples who want get married in Norway. We are talking about couples who want to start a new life together in the Scandinavian country or who are already living there and decide to formalize their situation. There is also the case of couples in love from other countries who dream of a wedding in a different, beautiful and evocative destination: the land of the fjords.

All of them will be very interested in the information we bring today. We will review the legal and bureaucratic aspects required to marry in Norway as well as some of the traditions and uses linked to this ceremony. All with the aim that everything goes well on this happy day.

Legal requirements

Couples wishing to marry in Norwegian territory must complete the following procedures:

• Count on both passports in force and have birth certificates valid.
• Contribute a marriage license from the country of origin (certificate of single status or, if applicable, divorce or death of the spouse in the case of widows and widowers) to certify that there are no obstacles to celebrating the marriage.
• Communicate with the court of the county corresponding to the place where the link will be held in order to receive a marriage authorization issued by the authorities. This process takes about two weeks, if there are no unusual circumstances. To get this authorization you have to pay a small fee.

It is common that people who want to get married in Norway are not in the country to carry out all these procedures. They also do not have a Norwegian personal identification number. In these cases, you should first go to the National Registry Office (Sentralkontor for folkerregistering, in Norwegian) whose headquarters are in the country's capital, Oslo. This is their official website: skateetaten.no.

Procedures for civil marriage ceremonies in Norway are carried out by a notary public. In the case of foreign citizens, the most agile and comfortable way to carry out all these bureaucratic procedures is to first contact the Norwegian embassy in the couple's country of residence.

Neutral marriage

Norway is one of the most liberal and open countries in the world. In January 2009, it modified the marriage legislation to adapt it to social demands that required legal recognition of all types of couples.

Since then, thanks to changes in the law, the marriage has Neutral gender. In other words, the documentation required to enter into marriage is exactly the same, regardless of whether it is for people of the same or different sex.

Getting married in Norway: rites and traditions

Beyond the cumbersome and boring legal procedures, it is interesting to know some of the old traditions and customs of weddings in this country. It may be a good idea to incorporate them into the ceremony for those who want to get married in Norway. These are some of the most popular:

Clothes and dresses

Tradition dictates that Norwegian brides wear their hair up and wear on their head a crown of gold or silver from which small spoon-shaped bracelets dangle.

As for the bride and groom, the classic attire is a handmade wool suitor, called ass. This traditional clothing consists of a white shirt, vest, coat, shorts and a pair of knee-length socks. It is the typical costume, but not all Norwegians dress like this on their wedding day and opt for more conventional costumes.

Music

The couple's departure from the ceremony site, or their entrance to the banquet site, is accompanied by the sound of the traditional Hardanger violins, the most charismatic instrument of the Norwegian folk music.

The piece of music that is performed at almost every wedding is a tune called Come to the wedding, the Norwegian equivalent of the classic wedding march.

Nuptial rites

Despite the passing of the years, there are a series of rites that are still respected today when it comes to getting married in Norway. Although weddings in this country are generally intimate and only the closest family and friends are invited, the custom of throw grains of rye and barley at newlywed couples. The more pimples a girlfriend can catch, the brighter the couple's future will be.

Already in the tranquility of the home, the couple must carry out a series of rites called to lay the foundations of a long and happy marriage. For example, the day after the wedding the morgengave or "morning gift." Generally a jewel with which the groom entertains the beloved

It is also customary for newly married couples to plant together a fir on either side of your driveway. In Norway these trees are believed to be the symbol of the couple's desire to start a family.