Netherlands Cancels Wedding Due to Couple's Reliance on AI-Generated Speech
January 14, 2026765 ViewsRead Time: 2 minutes
Font Size:
16
A Dutch court annulled a wedding that took place last year after discovering that the marriage speech used by the couple, which relied on the ChatGPT chatbot, did not include the necessary legal phrases to officially complete the marriage, rendering it legally unrecognized.
How the Incident Happened
The wedding ceremony was held in April 2025 in the city of Zwolle, where the couple appointed a friend to be a temporary civil registrar (eendagsbabs), and the friend chose to use ChatGPT to craft a more romantic and spontaneous wedding speech.
Despite traditional emotional questions such as:
"Will you stand by your spouse today, tomorrow, and all the days to come?"
"Will you support each other in difficult times?"
it did not include the official legal declaration stating that each party accepts the other as husband and wife and commits to the legal duties accompanying marriage, as stipulated in Article 1:67 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The Court's Decision
The municipality of Zwolle informed the public prosecutor's office, which requested the removal of the marriage certificate from the civil registry and declared the marriage illegal.
The court rejected the couple's appeal, which pointed to the significance of April 25 for them, asserting that having an official registrar present during the ceremony was sufficient. The court stated:
"We understand the importance of the date for the couple, but the legal requirements cannot be overlooked."
The court confirmed that the marriage was not legally established, warning of the legal risks of relying on AI-generated content in official and binding occasions.
