Wedding in Budapest: benefits of choosing the Hungarian capital for your wedding
As we promised in our previous blogpost about weddings in Hungary in general, in this writing I'd like to give information about weddings in Budapest.
Location and access
As you surely know already, Budapest is the capital of Hungary, a small country in Europe being also the part of the European Union. Its central location within the old continent often allows a perfect choice for multi-cult couples coming from total opposite corners of the World. It happened several times that the main reason of choosing Budapest as a wedding destination was that it's at half way between Asia and America.
Budapest has one international airport handling more than 14 million passengers in a year. It receives the flights of the most European and several overseas companies. For short trips within the continent you also can choose from low-cost airlines. From the nearby countries you also can reach the Hungarian capital by train, car or international bus lines. Or even, on River Danube you can arrive also by boat!
Public transport, taxis, car rental
Once in the city it's not difficult to get from A to B. Budapest has suburban trains, subway system, trams and buses. At the airport and at several downtown locations you will find the biggest car rental companies known worldwide. Taxi service is fair enough completed by the services of Bolt and having Uber being about to return soon.
As you can see you needn't worry about your wedding guests preparing to their very first trip to Hungary. They will easily manage to get to the city and find the venue(s) of your Budapest Wedding Weekend.
Hotels, B&Bs and other accommodations
In total there are appr. 27 thousand hotel rooms in Budapest in 2024. From low-budget hostels and cost-effective Airbnbs through 3- and 4-star hotels and guesthouses up to the biggest international brands' 5-star hotels your wedding guests will find the right one fitting their needs. What's more, we also have special accommodation types like boat hotels and campsites within the city.
Wedding venues
Now knowing your weddings guests are safe, let's talk about your opportunities as an engaged couple planning your wedding in Budapest! If Hungary has 1000 faces - as we used to say - then Budapest has at least 100. The Hungarian capital is a quite diverse city covering more than 50k hectares. Divided by River Danube into two parts, Buda and Pest, it offers so different experiences for visitors. Buda is like an old elegant lady and Pest is a modern, energetic young man, we could say.
The architecture of Budapest is really amazing. Some of the iconic buildings (e.g. Fisherman's Bastion, Párisi Courtyard, Gerbeaud Palace, Gundel Restaurant and lots of museums, etc.) also can be rented as a wedding venue. On top of these classical choices you will find countless other styles of wedding venues: restaurants, hotels, function rooms, villas, gardens, roof-top bars, industrial buildings, ruin bars or even moving or standing boats.
Churches
In Budapest you will find several Christian churches: mainly Roman Catholic and protestant ones, but also Greek Catholic and Orthodox. Among the Roman Catholic ones, Matthias Church (Castle District) and Saint Stephen Basilica are the most popular for weddings. We also have synagogues in Budapest, however Jewish weddings are rather held open-air.
Registrars, official wedding
Official weddings are held by the registrars. Budapest is divided into districts having a major's office in each of them. This is where the registrars work, and you need to apply for your marriage license in the same district, where your wedding ceremony venue is located. Weddings can be held out of the registry halls also, so you freely can think in having your wedding in the garden of a restaurant, on the terrace of a hotel and at several other unique spots of the city.
Foreign citizens also can get married in Hungary without obligatory stay before the wedding. The procedure is not really difficult, but it takes time. For foreign citizens a special permit is needed and it takes appr. 2-3 months to get it after applying for the marriage license. The language of the office administration (and the wedding itself) is Hungarian, so you might need some help. About the process of marriage of foreign citizens in Hungary we have another blogpost HERE.
Wedding vendors
Hungary has so many talented wedding vendors. Among the 2 million inhabitants of the capital you will find several experienced and professional vendors of all fields of wedding planning. However the county is so small that you freely can choose someone living in the countryside too. A significant number of Hungarian wedding vendors speak at least in English, so you needn't worry about not speaking the language of the country.
Wedding planners
When planning a wedding in Hungary it's recommended to involve a local wedding planner. Things are just easier this way and you really need to live and work here to have the experience, knowing the venues and vendors, the procedures and customs. In the world of nice websites and AI-generated marketing texts you need to be careful who to trust. There are some of us speaking and offering wedding planning services in English. An English-speaking, experienced wedding planner really a big help for all international clients planning their wedding in Hungary.
We at HungarianWeddings .com are on the market for wedding planning for 17 years now. The majority of our clients are foreign or multi-cult couples, so maybe we can say we have the experience you need. We can help you in the paperwork of the official wedding in Hungary, we know countless good and trustful venues and vendors.
The first consultation is free of charge and it doesn't oblige you to anything. But if you choose us as your wedding planner, we will serve you with passion.
Ask our offer and let's talk about your wedding in Budapest:
Before writing to us, you also can check our standard wedding planning packages HERE (pls. note that we are more than happy to calculate a tailor-made offer for you, if none of the packages fit your needs).