Lovers head to 'Europe's Vegas'

Denmark is becoming known as the Las Vegas of Europe, where Germans dodge red tape for quick, easy weddings.
 
When Benjamin and Natsuko met in Berlin two years ago, they had no idea their budding romance would lead them to tie the knot in what has become known as "Europe's Las Vegas".

Benjamin Krause is a 37-year-old German who met his Japanese girlfriend Natsuko Kubota, 32, while she was "couch surfing" at his Berlin flat via an informal bed and breakfast network.

As their relationship blossomed and talk turned to a life together, they quickly learned that Germany has some of Europe's highest bureaucratic hurdles to marriage, particularly if one partner is not German.

They may lack the drive-thru wedding chapels and Elvis-impersonator pastors of the US gambling mecca, but many cities and towns of southern Denmark have collectively won the nickname "Europe's Las Vegas" for offering a quick, simple alternative to couples getting hitched.

And because Denmark is an EU country, the marriages are subsequently recognized abroad, usually with little fuss or red tape.

Read more: Lovers head to 'Europe's Vegas' | News.com.au