Dutch Court Cancels Marriage Over AI-Generated Wedding Vows

Dutch Court Cancels Marriage Over AI-Generated Wedding Vows

2026-01-11 data

Netherlands, Sunday, 11 January 2026.
A Netherlands court invalidated a couple’s marriage after their wedding officiant used ChatGPT to create personalized vows that failed to meet strict legal requirements. The January 2026 ruling found that the AI-generated ceremony, which asked couples to promise to ‘laugh together’ and ‘support each other,’ did not include the mandatory declaration under Dutch civil code where spouses must formally accept each other as husband and wife and pledge to fulfill all marital duties required by law.

The Wedding That Never Was

The ceremony took place on April 19, 2025, in Zwolle when the couple chose a friend to serve as their ‘eendagsbabs’ - a one-day wedding official authorized specifically for their ceremony [2][4]. The couple wanted to keep the ceremony lighthearted, but their chosen officiant used ChatGPT to create alternative wedding vows that deviated from the mandatory legal language [6]. Instead of the required declaration under article 1:67 of the Dutch Civil Code, where couples must state they ‘accept each other as husband and wife’ and ‘will faithfully fulfill all duties which the law connects to their marital status,’ the AI-generated script asked entirely different questions [1][6].

AI’s Creative but Legally Insufficient Vows

The ChatGPT-generated ceremony included personalized questions that asked the groom to promise ‘to stand by his wife today, tomorrow and all the days to come, to laugh together, grow together, and love each other - whatever life brings’ [6][9]. The bride was asked whether she would ‘choose her partner again today, to continue supporting each other, continue teasing each other, continue holding each other - even when life gets tough’ [6][9]. The officiant then declared them ‘not only man and wife, but above all a team, a crazy couple, each other’s love and each other’s home’ [4][6]. While emotionally resonant, this language completely bypassed the specific legal requirements that make a marriage ceremony valid under Dutch law [6].

The irregularity came to light when a municipal civil registry employee reviewed the audio recording of the ceremony and noticed the absence of the mandatory legal text [3]. The municipality was then legally obligated to notify the Public Prosecution Service, which subsequently requested the court to invalidate the marriage certificate [2][3]. On January 5, 2026, the district court of Overijssel in Zwolle ruled that ‘no marriage between the man and the woman has been established’ because the ceremony failed to meet the requirements of the Dutch Civil Code [1][2]. The couple had requested to keep their original wedding date for emotional reasons, but the court denied this request, stating it ‘cannot ignore what the law states’ [2][9].

Disputed Claims and Industry Impact

The couple has since disputed the extent of ChatGPT’s involvement, claiming the AI was only used to verify whether their friend’s text was legally valid, not to write the entire ceremony [3]. They hold both the officiant and the municipal wedding official responsible, arguing that the municipal representative present during the ceremony should have intervened to correct the error [2][3]. This case highlights broader trends in AI adoption for wedding services, with a 2025 Zola survey of nearly 6,000 couples finding that 74% were comfortable using AI for wedding toasts and speeches [1]. However, wedding industry professionals remain divided, with independent celebrant Eleanor Willock noting that while ‘people using ChatGPT has undoubtedly been on the rise over the past year,’ many celebrants are ‘dead against it’ because writing personalized ceremonies is central to their professional role [1].

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artificial intelligence legal validity