Wedding ceremonies

Berlin Cathedral is a place where many people wish to get married, given its special atmosphere. It's not just members of the Cathedral parish who can celebrate a baptism at Berlin Cathedral, but all couples when at least one person is of a Protestant denomination. Either the large Sermon Church (Predigtkirche) or the smaller Baptismal And Matrimonial Church (Tauf- und Traukirche) (maximum 80 people) are made available.

Dates can be arranged via our parish office.

Please note, however, the following special conditions apply to weddings held at Berlin Cathedral:

Time frame

Weddings are held exclusively on Fridays at 1.30 pm, Saturdays at 10.30 AM and 1.30 PM.

• Wedding ceremonies at Berlin Cathedral are not possible at other times.
• A wedding ceremony at Berlin Cathedral lasts a maximum of 40 minutes.

Requirements

If you wish to marry in Berlin Cathedral, the following prerequisites must also be fulfilled:

• You must first have been married in a registrar's office (Standesamt).
• At least one of the two future spouses must belong to the Evangelical Church.
• You should name your preferred Pastor to lead your wedding ceremony when you submit your date reservation. This is usually the Pastor responsible for you, or the Pastor from your local church. Please tell us the name and the parish / church in which the Pastor is active. In the run-up to your wedding, you will have several marriage talks with your chosen minister.
• For the wedding we need a certificate of de-registration (Abmeldebescheinigung) – also known as Dimissoriale – from your home parish. This can be obtained from your respective parish office (Gemeindebüro). By visiting www.ekbo.de you can find out where your local parish office is located.

Costs

A wedding in the Sermon Church (Predigtkirche) costs €700.00; in the Baptismal and Matrimonial Church (Tauf- und Traukirche) it costs €400.00. However, this amount only covers our actual costs to a limited extent. For this reason, we also ask you and your wedding party for the collection at the end of the wedding ceremony. That means that you cannot determine your own collection cause.

Music

In honour of your ceremony, either our Cathedral organist Prof. Dr. Andreas Sieling or one of the assistant organists will be playing at Berlin Cathedral. They can make the organs produce the most beautiful sounds with the help of specially suited music and their experience. We will send you a repertoire list as soon as it has been determined which of the organists will play at your wedding. You can select musical pieces from this list.

Film recordings and photos

Photography and filming are permitted during the wedding, in consultation with the pastor conducting the ceremony. Please ensure to discuss what the guidelines are during your marriage talk and which restrictions have to be observed. However, it is considered fundamentally undesirable when photographers disturb the course of the wedding, or interfere with the service and prayers by constantly changing their position and coming too near to the bride and groom.

Celebration and follow-up reception

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that no receptions are permitted in the arcades and in the area surrounding the Cathedral. You are naturally free to take family photos on the Cathedral steps, as long as any wedding ceremonies following yours and other visitor traffic are not disrupted. We also kindly ask that you do not strew any flowers in the Cathedral itself but rather from the exit, and that you do not throw any rice, confetti or similar items. Please also ensure to advise your guests.

When looking to reserve the banquet hall in the Cathedral for a reception after your wedding ceremony, we kindly ask that you contact the Events Office either by telephone on (030) 202 69 – 164 or by sending an email to gemeinde(a)berlinerdom.de.

On this website’s download archive you will find the standard letter and registration form for wedding ceremonies. Further important for the wedding can be found in the standard letters.