A Dutch court has ruled that a marriage ceremony in which the wedding vows were written with the help of artificial intelligence was not legally valid, after finding that the couple failed to meet the formal requirements under Dutch law.
The couple believed they were legally married following an informal civil ceremony held in April 2025 in Zwolle, northern Netherlands. Wanting a non-traditional service, they asked a friend to officiate the wedding, who then used ChatGPT to help draft the vows.
However, a court in Zwolle ruled that the ceremony did not include the mandatory legal declaration required for a valid marriage. Under Dutch law, couples must explicitly state that they accept all legal obligations associated with marriage.
In its decision, the court said the AI-generated vows focused on emotional commitments rather than the legally required declaration outlined in Article 1:67 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The ruling cited portions of the vows, which included promises to “stand by each other today, tomorrow, and forever” and to “laugh together, grow together, and love each other no matter what.”
After answering the questions, the couple were pronounced “not only husband and wife, but above all a team,” language the court said did not satisfy legal standards.
As a result, the court ruled that the marriage was not properly formalized and that the marriage certificate had been incorrectly recorded in the civil registry.
The couple argued that the error was unintentional and said the civil officer present during the ceremony did not flag the issue at the time. They also asked the court to allow them to retain their original wedding date, saying that changing it would cause emotional distress.
The court acknowledged the importance of the marriage date to the couple but said it was bound to uphold the law, ultimately rejecting their request.
