Copenhagen · Denmark
Copenhagen wedding photographer for City Hall weddings and elopements
I am Inna Zaytseva. I photograph civil ceremonies, elopements and small weddings in Copenhagen for couples who are flying in from somewhere else. The ceremony at Copenhagen City Hall takes about ten minutes. Almost everything worth photographing happens around it: the walk in, the signing, the congratulations outside, and the couple of hours afterwards when the city is finally yours.
Recent work
Getting married in Copenhagen from abroad
Most people who marry at Copenhagen City Hall do not live in Denmark. They picked Copenhagen because the paperwork is workable, then found themselves planning a wedding day in a city they have never walked through, in a slot the municipality assigned them, with relatives arriving on different flights.
That is a scheduling problem before it is a photography problem. The ceremony slot you were given decides everything else: where the light is, how long you have before a restaurant booking, and how far it makes sense to walk. So the first thing I ask for is your ceremony time, not your Pinterest board.
Everything can be arranged before you land. Enquiries, planning calls and the wedding day itself run in English, and you will have a route and a rough timeline agreed in writing before you fly.
Copenhagen City Hall, according to the City of Copenhagen
- The ceremony lasts about ten minutes, in the Wedding Room on the first floor.
- You can bring up to 75 guests. Children and your photographer count inside that number.
- Ceremonies are held in Danish, English or German. You choose the language when you book.
- The city always provides two official witnesses. Bringing your own is optional.
- Ceremony times are Monday to Friday 9:10 to 15:50, and Saturday 10:00 to 12:40.
- Guests are welcome to take photographs and record video during the ceremony.
- Address: Rådhuspladsen 1, 1550 København V.
Source: I DO CPH, City of Copenhagen. Details change, so check the official page before you book.
What the day usually looks like
No two of these days run identically, and anyone who tells you otherwise has a template rather than a plan. This is the shape most Copenhagen City Hall weddings take.
Before the ceremony
The city asks you to be at City Hall ten to fifteen minutes before your slot. We usually meet a little earlier than that, outside or in the main hall, which is enough time for arrivals, a first proper look at each other, and the small business of finding your room without rushing.
Inside
Ten minutes, and they move quickly. Rings, the words, the signing. Photography during the ceremony is allowed, so it gets photographed the way it happens rather than staged again afterwards. You are handed two multilingual marriage certificates at the end, in Danish, English, German, French and Spanish combined.
Immediately after
This is the loudest, best part of the day and the easiest to lose. Congratulations, hugs, the first phone call to whoever could not come. If you want rice thrown, it has to happen on City Hall Square: the city does not allow rice or confetti inside the building or on the steps. Helium balloons are not allowed inside either.
Group photographs
Worth deciding in advance who is in them. Ten people takes about ten minutes if there is a list and about half an hour if there is not. A drink and a small cake are allowed in the Great Hall, the ground floor corridors and the City Hall Garden, though not on the first floor or the balcony, so a short toast inside the building is possible without going anywhere.
The walk
Then the part that actually feels like your wedding day: an hour or so of walking through the old streets east of City Hall, photographing as we go. No posing marathon. Mostly the two of you, walking and talking, with occasional interruptions from me.
How much photography time do you need?
The honest answer depends on one thing: how much of the day you want to still have photographs of once the ten minutes are over. These are the three shapes couples usually choose. Coverage is quoted per wedding rather than sold as fixed packages, so the hours can sit anywhere between them.
About one hour
The ceremony, congratulations outside, and portraits in the streets immediately around City Hall. This works if you have a lunch or dinner reservation right afterwards and no group photographs to organise. It is a photoshoot attached to a ceremony rather than a record of a day.
About two hours
The most common choice, and the one I would suggest if you are unsure. Enough for arrivals, the ceremony, congratulations, a proper set of group photographs and a walk through two or three locations without watching the clock. If it rains, there is room in the schedule to wait it out.
Half a day or a full day
Getting ready at the hotel or apartment, the ceremony, portraits, then dinner and whatever the evening turns into. This is what you book if guests have flown in and the day continues after the photographs.
One day of wedding coverage starts at €1,900 and the average booking is €3,800. What is included, album options and the booking terms are on the experience page.
Where to take photographs after Copenhagen City Hall
City Hall sits at the western edge of the old centre, and the good locations are clustered to the east of it, close enough together to be walked in sequence. That geography matters more than any individual location: with a short booking, staying inside that cluster produces more variety than spending a third of your time getting to Nyhavn and back.
The City Hall Garden
Attached to the building, so it costs no travel time at all, and it is the natural place for group photographs and a toast. The garden is open from 9:00 to 16:00 between 1 May and 29 September, and on a shorter schedule the rest of the year, so check the day and hour against your slot.
Magstræde
One of the oldest streets in the city, cobbled, low houses in warm colours, a short walk from City Hall. It is narrow, which means the light stays even for most of the day rather than going harsh at noon. It is also the most photographed street for weddings in Copenhagen, so on a Saturday you may be sharing it with another couple. The cobbles are genuinely uneven, which is a shoe question rather than a photography one.
Christiansborg and Marmorbroen
The Marble Bridge and the palace courtyard give you the grand, symmetrical, stone version of Copenhagen: an obvious change of register after the small coloured houses. The arcades along the courtyard are covered, which is why this stretch tends to become the plan when the weather turns.
Bibliotekshaven, the Royal Library Garden
An enclosed garden behind Christiansborg, and the quietest central location in the city. Surrounding buildings keep most of it shaded, so it stays usable at the hours when open squares do not. Best from late spring through early autumn when it is planted. In February it is a garden of bare branches, which some couples like and some do not.
Nyhavn
The postcard, and worth it if you want the postcard. The catch is crowds: from mid morning the quay fills with tourists and does not empty again until evening. If Nyhavn matters to you and your ceremony is in the afternoon, the better plan is usually a separate short session early the next morning rather than fighting the crowd on the day. Watch the bicycle lanes, which are used at speed.
Amalienborg and Frederiksstaden
The most architecturally composed part of Copenhagen: an octagonal square, matched facades, columns. It is further out than the rest, so it belongs to longer bookings. The changing of the guard around noon draws a crowd, which is either something you want in the photographs or something to schedule around.
What if it rains on our wedding day?
It might. Copenhagen rain is usually light and moves through rather than settling in for the afternoon, so the practical approach is to wait it out rather than cancel anything.
In practice that means keeping covered options in the route from the start rather than improvising: the arcades at Christiansborg, doorways and passages in the old streets, and the interior of City Hall itself, where the main hall and the ground floor corridors are open to you. A black umbrella photographs better than a transparent one. Wet cobbles and grey light are not a disaster, they just look different, quieter and more contained than the same street in sunshine.
The one thing that does not survive rain is a tight schedule. Two hours of coverage has slack in it. One hour does not.
Who you would be working with
I am Inna Zaytseva. I am based in Munich and I photograph weddings across Europe, in Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Greece and Morocco, which means I spend a good part of the year arriving in cities as a guest rather than a resident. That turns out to be a useful habit for this kind of work: I plan a day the way someone has to when they cannot rely on knowing a place by heart, in writing, with the timings checked.
My background is in fashion and art photography and it shows in how the pictures are made, but the coverage itself is documentary. I photograph what happens. I am not going to run a two hour posing session at your wedding.
On being awkward in front of a camera: almost everyone is, and the people who say they are not are usually the ones who freeze. Walking helps. Having something to do with your hands helps. Being left alone to talk to each other helps most, and I work quietly and at a distance for a good part of the day.
I take a limited number of weddings each year. You can read more about me, see the 35mm film work, or follow a civil ceremony day from start to finish in this Standesamt Grünwald wedding.
What is included
- Coverage on digital, with 35mm film available alongside it
- Around 600 or more edited photographs from a wedding day, and around 100 from a couple session
- A preview set within 72 hours of the wedding
- The full gallery within 6 to 8 weeks, in a private password protected online gallery
- Help with the timeline, the photo route and vendor suggestions during planning
- Handmade albums from Italy, from €800, if you want prints rather than files
One day of coverage starts at €1,900. Multi day weddings start at €3,800, and a second photographer is available for those. A booking is confirmed with a 45 percent retainer. Full detail is on the experience page.
How booking works from another country
- Send me your wedding date and your City Hall ceremony time, if you already have one. If you do not have a slot yet, send the date range you are working with.
- I reply within 48 hours with availability and a proposal.
- We talk on a video call or WhatsApp, which is usually the point where the schedule stops being abstract.
- A contract and a 45 percent retainer confirm the date.
- Before you fly, we agree the timeline and the photo route, and I send suggestions for anything else you still need in Copenhagen.
- After the wedding: previews within 72 hours, the full gallery in 6 to 8 weeks.
Getting married in Denmark as a foreigner
I photograph weddings. I am not an authority on Danish marriage law, and your eligibility depends on your nationalities, your residence status and your history, so treat what follows as orientation and check the official pages yourself.
For international couples the approval is handled by Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law, not by the municipality. You apply online for a certificate of marital status, each partner submitting their own part of the application, and the fee in 2026 is DKK 2,100. The agency states that a complete application is normally processed within five working days, and that the certificate is valid for four months from the date it is issued.
Only once the certificate is approved do you get access to the City Hall booking system. The City of Copenhagen warns that demand is high and the wait for a ceremony date can be up to four months, which is worth reading next to that four month validity window. The two figures leave less room than they look like they do.
Documents usually include colour photographs of every page of your passports, proof of your legal right to enter and stay in Denmark, a certificate of marital status from your country of residence, and documentation of any previous marriage ending. Foreign documents have to be translated into Danish, English or German by an authorised translator, and documents from some countries need an apostille or legalisation before you apply.
Rules change, and the Danish language pages are updated before the English ones. Check these before you book anything:
Tell me about your Copenhagen wedding
Your date, your City Hall time if you have one, how many people are coming and how much of the day you want photographed. That is enough for me to tell you whether I am free and what it would cost. I reply within 48 hours.
Copenhagen wedding photography FAQ
Questions couples ask before booking a City Hall wedding or an elopement in Copenhagen.
Do you photograph weddings at Copenhagen City Hall?
Yes. City Hall ceremonies, elopements and small weddings are the main reason couples book me in Copenhagen. I travel in for the wedding, so send your date and your ceremony time and I will come back with availability and a proposal.
Do you work with international couples, and can we communicate in English?
Yes. Most couples marrying at Copenhagen City Hall are travelling in from another country. Enquiries, planning calls and the wedding day itself run in English. The ceremony can be held in Danish, English or German, and you choose the language when you book with the city.
Can a photographer come inside Copenhagen City Hall?
Yes. The City of Copenhagen states that guests are welcome to take photographs and record video during the ceremony, and your photographer counts inside the limit of 75 guests. The ceremony, the signing and the moment you are handed your certificates are all photographed as they happen.
How long does the Copenhagen City Hall ceremony take?
About ten minutes, according to the City of Copenhagen. That is why the photography is planned around the ceremony rather than inside it: arrivals before, congratulations after, then portraits in the streets nearby.
How long should we book a photographer for?
One hour covers the ceremony and a short set of portraits right around City Hall. Two hours is the most common choice and leaves room for group photographs, a proper walk and bad weather. Half a day or a full day is for weddings where guests have flown in and the day continues into dinner.
Where can we take wedding photos after the ceremony?
The strongest locations sit just east of City Hall and can be walked in sequence: the City Hall Garden, Magstræde, the Marble Bridge and the Christiansborg courtyard, and Bibliotekshaven, the Royal Library Garden. Nyhavn and Amalienborg are further out and busier, so they suit longer bookings or a short session early the next morning.
What if it rains on our wedding day?
We keep covered locations in the route from the start rather than improvising when the sky turns: the arcades at Christiansborg, doorways and passages in the old streets, and the interior of City Hall itself. Copenhagen rain usually passes, so with two hours of coverage the answer is normally to wait ten minutes rather than change the plan.
Can you photograph an elopement with just the two of us?
Yes, and it is a good format in Copenhagen. You do not need to bring witnesses, because the City of Copenhagen always provides two official witnesses. With no guests to organise, almost the whole booking goes into portraits and the walk afterwards.
We are awkward in front of the camera. What should we expect?
Very little direction and no long posing session. Most of the coverage is documentary. Where I do step in, it is usually to put you somewhere with good light and give you something to do, then step back. Walking is easier than standing still, which is one reason the photo walk works as well as it does.
Can you help us plan the photography timeline?
Yes, that is a normal part of booking. Once I have your ceremony time we agree the route, how long each stop takes and where the group photographs happen, and you get it in writing before you travel. I can also suggest other vendors and help with a mood board.
When will we receive our photographs?
A preview set within 72 hours of the wedding, and the full gallery within 6 to 8 weeks, delivered in a private password protected online gallery. A wedding day is usually around 600 or more edited photographs.
How much does wedding photography in Copenhagen cost?
One day of coverage starts at 1,900 euro and the average booking is 3,800 euro. Multi day weddings start at 3,800 euro and a second photographer is available for those. Handmade albums start at 800 euro. A date is confirmed with a 45 percent retainer.
How far in advance should we book?
As soon as you have a date. In Copenhagen the constraint is usually the city rather than the photographer: your certificate of marital status has to be approved before you can book a ceremony slot, and the City of Copenhagen says the wait for a date can be up to four months. I also take a limited number of weddings each year.
Check availability for your Copenhagen wedding
I reply within 48 hours, usually the same day.
- You can also reach me at m@innazaytseva.com
- Or message me directly on WhatsApp