Denmark Engagement/Marriage Records

Back to Denmark Page►

Finding the engagement and marriage records for your Danish ancestors is an important step in building the family story. You will find the entry of your ancestors’ engagement and marriage in the parish records where the engagement and marriage took place.

Background
Christian V Danske Lov of 1683 made marriage in the church the only legal method of getting married. Beginning in 1851 a person had the choice of a civil marriage (depending on the circumstances). Up until 1799, a couple had to be legally engaged before they could be married. This meant the couple along with 2 bondsmen (acting as witnesses) had to meet with the priest to discuss the details. The witnesses would testify that the couple was not related to each other, and were not otherwise engaged to someone else. The bondsmen were often relatives to the bride or groom. Getting engaged was legally binding.

Once engaged the couple’s next step was to have the banns publicly announced. The public announcement would be done by the priest during the Sunday services for at least 3 Sundays before the wedding. As of 1824 the banns had to be announced on 3 successive Sundays before the wedding. The purpose of the banns was to publicly announce the engaged couples desire to marry. If anyone in the congregation knew of reasons as to why the couple should not marry, they could meet with the priest privately to discuss them. The priest could then meet with the couple to address the concerns. The final step was the wedding, which was usually performed soon after the final banns were announced.

Engagments Records Pre-1814
You will get:


 * The name of the bride and groom.
 * The marital status (single, widow, or widowed) of the bride and groom.
 * Possibly the occupational information of the bride and groom.
 * The place of residence of the bride and groom.
 * The date of engagement.
 * The names of the bondsmen (witnesses for character reference). One for the groom and another for the bride.
 * The place of residence for each of the bondsmen.

Marriage Records Pre-1814

 * The name of the bride and groom.
 * The marital status (single, widow, or widowed) of the bride and groom.
 * Possibly the occupational information of the bride and groom.
 * The place of residence of the bride and groom.
 * The date of the marriage.

Marriage Records 1814 – 1890

 * The name of the bride and groom.
 * The marital status (single, widow, or widowed) of the bride and groom.
 * Possibly the occupational information of the bride and groom.
 * The place of residence of the bride and groom.
 * The age of the bride and groom.
 * The names of the bondsmen.
 * The date of the marriage.
 * Whether the marriage was performed at home or the church.
 * Sometimes a reference to the small pox vaccination.
 * A reference to the general index.

Tips

 * Pay attention to the names of the bondsmen and their place of residence. Often they are relatives of the groom or bride.
 * In the Pre-1814 parish registers you will find that sometimes the engagement and marriage information is altogether in one entry. Other times the priest kept separate sections of the parish register for the engagement and marriage information. If you are working in the Pre-1814 registers, make sure you get all the information.
 * If you do not know where the marriage took place:
 * Check in the parish where the bride is from.
 * Check the parish where the first child is born.
 * Check the parish where the groom is from.