Say yes in Switzerland

Elopements and symbolic weddings in Switzerland

You want to get married in beautiful Switzerland and are looking for an English speaking wedding officiant / celebrant? Look no further, you found her. I specialize in emotional but relaxed wedding ceremonies and elopements anywhere you want. Let me tell you about myself and my services and let’s find out how I could support you with designing YOUR day.

Get in touch!

Getting married in Switzerland

Destination weddings and symbolic ceremonies

In my symbolic ceremonies I put you as a couple and your love for each other in the limelight. I talk about love in general, your love in particular and highlight your lovestory: how you met, fell in love, how you lived and loved together, how you decided to get married and what your plans for your future are.

In most ceremonies I include an individual unity ritual and of course there can (don’t have to be) your personal vows, I do’s, a ring exchange and a kiss. I try to walk the thin line between humour and emotion and – of course – laughter and humor. This creates a warm, relaxed but heartfelt and unforgettable atmosphere for you and your guests.

If you need someone to conduct a full blown wedding ceremony with 11-150 guests in English somewhere in Switzerland, I’m your gal. I work with an easy flat rate of CHF 2800 and this includes all the preparation work (in person or via zoom), a bespoke wedding ceremony of 30-45 minutes, and my professional PA so everyone can hear your lovely vows.

You can book your symbolic ceremony on every weekday throughout the year, depending on my availability.

Drop me a message or book a discovery call and let’s get started!

What’s a symbolic ceremony?

Symbolic ceremonies aren’t legally binding, you won’t be married before the law if you choose to do one. Legal marriages are only possible in Swiss registry offices (see box to the right).

My ceremonies are also non-religious as I am no member of any church. I rather focus on you as a couple, your love, your friends and family, community and making memories. There won’t be any sappy poems, empty phrases and kitschy stories – unless you decide to include them.

Getting married in Switzerland

If you want to get legally married in Switzerland, you have to go to a registry office and do more or less paperwork, depending on your nationality and your country of residence. This can take several months to organise. And: You can’t get married outside the very building of those registry offices, so there won’t be any legal marriage on a mountain top. I suggest skipping the bureaucracy, get legally married at home and just enjoy a fun, emotional and memorable wedding day when and where you want with a symbolic wedding ceremony.

Why is it so expensive?

Symbolic ceremonies in Switzerland tend to cost a lot more than wedding ceremonies conducted by officiants or ministers for example in the US. Well, we live in one of the most expensive countries in the world – and I got the grocery bills to prove it. But wedding ceremonies here tend to be more elaborate (30-45 minutes) and highly personalized. For example: I won’t ask you the standard question to answer with „I Do“. I’ll come up with a question that fits you as a couple and really makes sense for the two of you. And that’s just one little detail.

Getting married in Switzerland

Intimate elopements

If you want to travel to Switzerland from abroad just the two of you, it gets even better. To make ceremony planning as easy and fun as possible for you, I teamed up with two lovely collegues and founded Our Swiss Elopement. We specialize in planning and coordinating elopements in Switzerland you won’t forget for the rest of your life.

Get your experienced photographer and celebrant in one place, with the possibility of upgrading to videography, hair and makeup or a llama carrying your backpacks. You can find more info (but no llama pictures, sadly) on the Our Swiss Elopement website.

You can book your elopement ceremony from Monday to Thursday during high season (May-October) or on any weekday for the rest of the year, depending on my availability.

Elopement days differ a lot for every couple. Some only want me to be there to do a short 15 minute speech, others use our services to plan a whole day of adventure and love. Get in touch and we’ll talk about your options and send you an individualized quote!

Get in touch

What is an elopement?

Elopements are very intimate weddings, most of the time there won’t be any guests, just the couple, maybe an officiant like me and a photographer. Many couples choose to elope to another country and combine their wedding day with travelling and exploring. Switzerland is a fantastic country to do an elopement, thanks to the impressive scenery, beautiful nature and great public transport.

When is the best time to elope in Switzerland?

Every season has its advantages, to be honest. Of course a winterwonderland-elopement is best planned between December and March, while summer (June to September) is usually the sunniest and warmest. Keep in mind: Because of the mountains the weather can change quickly and we’ll always talk about a plan b.

Where should we do our elopement ceremony?

There are countless possibilities in Switzerland. Literally any corner of this country is within reach in only a few hours. There are vibrant cities like Zurich or Geneva, you can choose a lake as a backdrop or a dramatic mountain scenery of course. The Bernese Highlands (Lauterbrunnen, lake Oeschinen and the Interlaken region) are very popular. Maybe you want to see the famous Matterhorn with your own eyes and go to Zermatt, or you choose lake Lucerne, Blausee or Engelberg as your location. Together we’ll find the right spot!

Swiss Queer Wedding Association

Get married in 5 easy steps

Elope in Switzerland

Getting married and planning your ceremony with me is rather easy. I’ll make sure you enjoy every moment. The most important step: Get in touch! We’ll figure out the rest on the way.

Get in touch

Get in touch via e-mail or contact form. I'll answer as quickly as possible, normally within 24 hours.

Hop on a call

Let's set up a short zoom call. We'll get to know each other and you can tell me about your plans and visions.

Let's get started!

If we are a perfect match, we'll start our ceremony preparation process. We'll set up a Whatsapp-group, I'll send you questionnaires to fill in, we'll schedule some more calls and craft your ceremony step by step.

Tie the knot!

On the day if your wedding, I'll arrive two hours before your ceremony starts. I'll set everything up, talk to your musicians, and calm your nerves. And then the big moment arrives!

Celebrate!

We'll celebrate together after your wedding ceremony, before I pack up and let you enjoy the party of your lives. And hopefully we'll meet again!

Testimonials

See what others say about me

Simone, you were much more than a celebrant to us throughout the entire process. You were a scout, a guide, a wedding planner, a calmer of nerves and a laugh machine, plus when push came to shove, you handled everything like a true professional. Honestly, I probably couldn’t afford to pay you what you were really worth. Thank you again for everything you did in the lead up to and on the days of our Swiss trip. We genuinely felt SUPER lost until you came around, and we both feel incredibly lucky to have found you.

Nicole & Kris

My husband and I are English and Australian (although based in Switzerland) and so really wanted a native English speaker as there is a lot of nuance and humour that we wanted to bring in to our ceremony. We knew immediately from our first call that Simone would be a perfect fit. She is a real natural and funnily enough, I now work with someone she went to high school with and he said „she was always so excellent with her words…with poetry etc“ and I found that still relevant today!
Simone was really flexible and gave us lots of help in shaping the ceremony of our dreams – she really encouraged us to think outside of the box and I had numerous guests come up to me afterwards and say how fantastic she was.
We couldn’t have asked for anything more – the whole experience was easy and felt like working with a friend. Thank you, Simone!

Jess & Matt

Couldn’t have asked for a better experience! I’m so glad I found Simone because I honestly cannot imagine anyone else making our ceremony as magical as it was. She suggested the perfect location, her ceremony is very unique and emotionally powerful. She takes the time to get to know you and your partner beforehand which makes the experience so much more personal. Thank you SO much Simone, words cannot describe how happy we are. I cannot recommend her enough!

Courtney & Richard