One of The World’s Most Romantic Destinations
Drift Magazine mentions Ærø (and getting married in Denmark with us here at Danish Island Weddings) as one of the world’s most romantic destinations!
Beautiful Article About Ærø on Suitcase
March, 2020
See the full feature here with words by Alexandra Pereira and photos by Emilia Jasmin
New Film About Weddings on Ærø by Nordic Story
May, 2018
A new film about weddings on Ærø being made by a Danish TV channel – fabulous drone scenes of an Ærø lighthouse wedding. Many thanks to Nordic Story who made it, and to our couple, Axel and Jussara.
Article in Forum: Sag “ja” in Dänemark!
July, 2018
A lovely article in German Forum about Louise’s start in the business back in 2008 and the international couples we work with. Read the full story here.
Foto: stock.adobe.com / lassedesignen
Hochzeitsküsse im Zehn-Minuten-Takt - Article in Die Welt
February, 2018
In Germany Die Welt published a piece about us in DIW and Ærø weddings
La Isla De Las Bodas – Article in El Commercio
February, 2018
We had the pleasure of being the subject of this article in Spain published in El Commercio
Video: Love Island – Hochzeitstourismus in Dänemark
April, 2018
ZDF, the German news channel, came recently and filmed this about Louise and Danish Island Weddings.
“Es gibt einen Ort, an dem das Heiraten so schnell geht wie ein Happy Meal bestellen im Drive-In-Restaurant. Und dabei ist nicht von Las Vegas die Rede, sondern von Aero – einer kleinen dänischen Insel, die es geschafft hat, den schönsten Tag im Leben zum schnellsten Tag im Leben zu machen.”
Wedding Video
March, 2017
A lovely home video filmed by the couple’s best man, showing the ferry, the town, Pension Vestergade 44, Mira doing make-up, the ceremony in our wedding room at The Old Merchants House, and the church.
Video: Mød Søstrene Giftekniv fra Ærø
October, 2016
A short video made by the Danish glossy “Ude og Hjemme” of the girls (Louise, Yuki and Anna) at work
Article by Maja Kristine Lorentzen / Video by Jørgen Ploug
Lightfoot Travel Blog Feature
September, 2016
LAS VEGAS IS ABOUT TO LOSE ITS CROWN AS THE WEDDING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD THANKS TO ONE TINY DANISH ISLAND
The Wedding Capital of the World, Las Vegas, has some stiff competition… For in place of the singing Elvis, slot machines and kitsch décor is fishing cottages, cobble-stoned streets and picturesque beaches. The small island of Ærø near Denmark has become a fast-favourite with foreign brides and grooms who want to tie the knot quickly and in style. Read the whole feature here.
The New York Times Article: Where It Is Always Wedding Season
July, 2016
Read the full story by Laura Shaine Cunningham here. A version of this article appeared in print on July 31, 2016, Section TR, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: A Danish Isle That Welcomes Weddings
Junebug Blog Feature
August, 2016
The international destination wedding giant Junebug featured Kirsten and Hardy’s beautiful wedding with us earlier this summer. What a treat! Photos by Camilla Jørvad.
Article in Danish Magazine “Liv”
June, 2016
The magazine Liv is one of the best known glossy mags for Danish women. This month they asked our wedding planner superstar Louise to explain why Ærø is so great and recommend her favourite places.
Article in Neue Zuercher Zeitung
September, 2016
A report about Ærø and us in a Swiss heavyweight, Neue Zuercher Zeitung, by Rudolf Hermann. The headline says “As unbureaucratic as Las Vegas, only much more romantic; the Danish island of Ærø is an internationally renowned wedding capital”.
Dänische Hochzeitsinsel Aerö
Wo im Zehnminutentakt Ja gesagt wird
SO UNBÜROKRATISCH WIE IN LAS VEGAS, NUR VIEL ROMANTISCHER: DIE DÄNISCHE FÜNEN-INSEL AERÖ IST EINE INTERNATIONAL BEGEHRTE HOCHZEITS-KAPITALE.
An fast jeder Strassenecke trifft man sie auf Aerö an: Frischvermählte, wie hier ein Paar, das sich vor der Familie versteckt, um sie zu überraschen. (Bild: Alexander Wolfe / Redux / Laif)
Genau so hat man sich ein romantisches Liebesnest schon immer vorgestellt: auf einer Insel, nicht anders zu erreichen als mit dem Schiff. Ein Zimmer in einem dieser Fachwerkhäuschen mit leicht schiefen Wänden, kleinen Fensterchen und Blumenschmuck, wie sie entlang der Gasse mit ihrem holprigen Kopfsteinpflaster stehen. Aufgereiht wie Perlen auf der Schnur, bis zum Hauptplatz bei der Kirche. Kurz gesagt, ein Ort genau so wie Aerösköbing.
Aerösköbing, das Hauptstädtchen der beschaulichen Insel Aerö ganz im Süden Dänemarks, ist allerdings weniger ein Ort, wo Liebe aufkeimt oder entflammt – wohl aber, wo sie amtlich besiegelt wird. Und das an manchen Tagen im Zehnminutentakt. In Aerösköbing nämlich wird geheiratet, was das Zeug hält. Mit über dreitausend Eheschliessungen pro Jahr ist es die Hochzeits-Kapitale Dänemarks.
HOCHZEITEN AM LAUFMETER
Davon können etwa Tina Eriksen oder Joan Lykke Ammersböll berichten. Die zwei Frauen sind Teil eines Teams mit einem halben Dutzend Standesbeamten in einer Gemeinde mit gerade einmal sechstausend Einwohnern. Tina Eriksen hat an diesem sonnigen Spätsommertag eben vier Arbeitsstunden mit knapp zwanzig Zeremonien im speziellen Heirats-Trakt im Komplex der Gemeindeverwaltung hinter sich. Joan Lykke Ammersböll hingegen ist vom «Aussendienst» aufs Gemeindeamt zurückgekehrt – sie verheiratete Paare, die sich über eine der Agenturen, die auf Aerö tätig sind, an einem speziellen Ort trauen liessen. Etwa oben auf dem Leuchtturm, am Strand oder im noblen Salon im ersten Stock des historischen Kaufmannshauses am Hauptplatz.
Ehen können in Dänemark auch von Ausländern mit sehr wenig bürokratischem Aufwand geschlossen werden, im Gegensatz etwa zum benachbarten Deutschland.
Im Parterre dieses stattlichen Gebäudes nimmt der Engländer John Moloney vor dem Büro der Agentur Danish Island Weddings gerade zwei Kisten Champagner entgegen, während seine dänische Frau Louise vorbeieilt, um ein neu angekommenes Hochzeitspaar zu empfangen. Ihr ist es vor allem zuzuschreiben, dass Aerö sich von einem Ort, der als Pensionärs-Sommerfrische vor sich hin dämmerte, in eine dänische Liebesinsel verwandelt hat. Vor acht Jahren hatte sie die Idee einer Hochzeits-Agentur, und der Businessplan war denkbar einfach: Ehen können in Dänemark auch von Ausländern mit sehr wenig bürokratischem Aufwand geschlossen werden, im Gegensatz etwa zum benachbarten Deutschland. Von Deutschland aus gut erreichbar, weil praktisch direkt an der Grenze, könnte man Aerö zum Heirats-Mekka aller machen, die in ihren Ländern mit dem Amtsschimmel kämpften, dachten sich die Moloneys.
Es funktioniert hervorragend. Kunden sind zahlreiche Paare, wo mindestens ein Partner von ausserhalb der EU stammt, ebenso aber auch mit beiden Partnern aus EU-Ländern, wo inkongruente bürokratische Anforderungen bestehen. Oder Expats mit Wohnsitz in einem Drittland, was die Sache gleich ein paar Grade komplizierter macht. Ferner gleichgeschlechtliche Paare, denen in Dänemark aufgeschlossen begegnet wird, während sie in anderen Ländern mit Vorurteilen, gesetzlichen Hindernissen oder auch beidem zu kämpfen haben.
Article in Finnish “Raggarimorsian”
June, 2016
Louise with her sister Yuki in the “nerve centre” of Danish Island Weddings.
Louise’s husband John is also a big part of the success story that is Danish Island Weddings. Despite being a wonder woman who can magic up a wedding in the matter of hours, Louise does not seem frazzled or stressed and neither do the rest of her family. They seem the perfect team for the job.
DANISH ISLAND WEDDINGS – FAIRYTALES FOR 150 NATIONALITIES
What does a Finnish woman living with an Australian man in Dubai do if she wants to get hitched? She contacts a wedding agency on the Danish island of Aeroe. In fact today she could contact four of them. Louise Moloney runs the oldest one, Danish Island Weddings, founded in 2008 when there were 200 weddings on the island per year. Today, with around 3000 weddings on Aeroe per year, she employs her husband, two sisters and a part-time beautician and stylist.
Louise Moloney with her company mascot. Nice choice of colour!
Louise is an Aeroe girl born and bred. After working as an air hostess for Japan Airlines she returned home to the island for the Aeroe life – no crime, stress or traffic jams – the kind that is hard to even imagine. Unless you live in Denmark, the happiest country in the world.
– I always thought this place was perfect for weddings. And after 1300 of them we certainly know how to take the stress away from couples so that they can enjoy and learn to “let go”. It’s back to basics here on Aeroe really, back to what’s really important in life, Louise knows. It doesn’t take long to understand why everyone on the island loves her so much.
The good thing about getting married on Aeroe is that you can get married whenever and wherever you want – no-one is going to get an allergic reaction if you pack your own ideas with you. There are the gardens that make you feel like you’re in Tuscany, the beach with the colourful wooden beach huts, the lighthouse, even a plane that can take you up in the clear blue skies for your vows. Unless you own your own private jet, of course (which some of Louise’s more extravagant customers do).
On Aeroe the new social reality really comes to the fore: non EU brides and grooms marrying each other, rich Russian and German men marrying much younger women, rock stars wanting to get married in secret, a poor Albanian couple sleeping in their car just to get the official part over and done with. Louise and her colleagues on the island have seen it all. On the wall in Louise’s office is a world map with pins on it to mark the 150 nationalities Danish Island Weddings have joined in matrimony, so far. Where you are from really has little significance on this island.
The world map in Louise’s office.
Danish Island Weddings is also very popular with same-sex couples. Rebellious Bride had the joy of witnessing the wedding of Rona and Michelle whose story I will share with you here as soon as the happy couple are back from their honeymoon. Usually couples arrive on the island the day before the wedding and leave the day after – and come back for a holiday after falling in love with it.
The island of Aeroe offers many a romantic setting for making things official.
“With goodness you always get goodness back” – Louise Moloney
With so many weddings each year, how do Louise and her family team manage to make all the couples feel special and not like they’re on a marriage production line?
– It can never be routine when it is someone’s wedding. We always look forward to meeting all of our couples and so are the residents on the island. They actually know many of my couples by name and always make sure they feel welcome, which is lovely. Everyone here sees the weddings as an opportunity to make something good – and with goodness you always get goodness back.
– I see last minute requests as a challenge and the end result always inspires me. Our record is 36 hours from first contact to exchanging rings. If there is ever a tricky situation with a wedding dress, I call my mother, says Louise.
Transferwise Business Feature
May, 2016
FAIRYTALE WEDDINGS IN DENMARK
This edition of #WiseStories tells the story of Louise Badino Moloney, a wedding planner on the beautiful Danish island of Ærø.
Couples come from all over the world to marry on “bryllups-øen” – Wedding Island, as the Danish media have dubbed it.
Since Louise started Danish Island Weddings in 2008, the number of international weddings on the island has
ballooned from 200 to over 3000 each year. International couples come to Ærø for two reasons:
1) Denmark has the simplest bureaucratic requirements in Europe.
2) The island is breathtakingly beautiful. The historic town of Ærøskøbing provides the perfect backdrop for a romantic wedding – it is filled with timbered houses and cobbled streets, like something out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Plus, there are spectacular views out to sea and the surrounding islands.
Louise’s family-run business (including her sisters and husband) is all about making the wedding romantic and stress-free for the couples.
But, as with any wedding, occasionally the unexpected can happen: “A German/US couple had just finished their ceremony and were enjoying champagne with their guests. I went to get the wedding cake in the kitchen. What I found was no cake…but a very happy Labrador covered in icing, and a horrible sticky mess on the floor. Luckily the couple saw the funny side to this situation”.
Weddings across borders.
Having hosted couples from 150+ different nationalities, Louise has experienced the frustration of international payments. For years, Louise was outraged and felt helpless paying the high fees and exchange rates charged by banks. But that all changed when a customer suggested TransferWise to her last year. In addition to the savings, which Louise estimates at more than £950, TransferWise’s Request Money feature has also reduced the business’ accounting burden. Couples can now pay the exact amount regardless of where they are from (instead of trying to guess how much to allow for fees). Danish Island Weddings is all about trust – couples arrive on Ærø from all over the world and trust Louise and her team in planning the most important day of their lives. Now with TransferWise, they also won’t be charged an arm and a leg for their big day.
The Oldie Magazine Article: On This Island I Thee Wed
February, 2016
The Oldie magazine in the UK ran an article in their February edition about us and the island.(Apologies for the quality – We will improve this when we can)
Rick Steves Recommends
January, 2016
Rick Steves’ is perhaps the USA’s best known travel writer and broadcaster, and loves Ærø. He tries to visit every year or so, staying at Pension Vestergade 44, and also brings lots of tourists to the island every year. This year his groups will receive a guided tour of our own Old Merchants’ House, including the Wedding Room! It was lovely to see him award Ærø a 3rd place on his Sunsets On the Road: My Top Ten with a view of the iconic beach huts, only surpassed by Santorini and the river Nile:
“3. On Denmark’s Aerø Island, warming myself by a beach fire while children splash in the shallow waters of the bay, and parents sit peacefully on the porches of tiny beach cabins.” - Rick Steves
Article in Danish Magazine “Billed Bladet”
October, 2015
Billed Bladet is a glossy Danish magazine a bit like “Hello”, with lots of pictures of the Danish Royal family (rightly adored throughout the country) and national and international celebrities. As a result of the DR1 documentaries (see below) they decided to run a feature on Louise and Danish Island Weddings. The headline is “Ærø is my world”, and the pictures show Louise in the trabi with John, also with their two sons Max and Charlie, in the Wedding Room, and in front of the Old Merchant’s House.
Documentary on Ærø
October, 2015
DR1 DOCUMENTARY “BUSINESS PÅ BRYLLUPSØEN” (BUSINESS ON THE WEDDING ISLAND)
The Danish national broadcasting network, DR1, broadcast a 3 part documentary about Louise, Danish Island Weddings, and Ærø. It was on at prime time on Thursday evenings in Oct 2015 and attracted an enormous amount of positive interest:
https://www.dr.dk/tv/se/business-pa-bryllupsoeen/business-pa-bryllupsoeen-1-3
https://www.dr.dk/tv/se/business-pa-bryllupsoeen/business-pa-bryllupsoeen-2-3
https://www.dr.dk/tv/se/business-pa-bryllupsoeen/business-pa-bryllupsoeen-3-3
Although they are mostly in Danish (some English too) there are some great scenes of Ærø, Louise, Lone, John, and Yuki. It features weddings in the Old Merchant’s House and also in the garden of the Badehotel in Ærøskøbing. They are only 25 minutes each and fun to watch.