This Country Lets A Tourist Marry A Local For A Day: But There’s A Hitch

Amsterdam: In all the activities you plan for visiting Amsterdam, there's an unusual thing too that you can do in the tourist city. You can marry an Amsterdammer for a day and the idea behind that is to bring locals and tourists together and also encourage tourists to explore the lesser-known parts of the city.

Amsterdam has a huge fallout of tourists. Just the last year, it has about 21 million people visiting the Dutch capital. So, as an antidote to the problems of overtourism, Untourist Guide to Amsterdam, a book and a website launched in the city lets you try marrying out an Amsterdammer for a day.

Talking about the idea, Jona Rens, founder of Wed and Walk, the shop-cum-chapel in Amsterdam’s De Pijp district says that the tourist not only enjoy the city but build a people's connection.

A tourist Deborah Nicholls-Lee married Julian du Perron (30) who is an Amsterdam local and she narrated her story to the Guardian.

She says that she was wearing the vintage bridal gown and her groom was in a top hat. She recounted that she was a little nervous as they had just met.

"Eventually, I relax into it. After all, the wedding is as fake as the flowers that frame the arch above us, and our marriage is for just one day," the bride said.

The marriage is sealed by a hug and not a kiss.

"My marrying Julian for the day probably isn’t going to make Amsterdam a better place but, symbolically, this union between a resident and a tourist does have a strange poignancy. The red aisle that I walk down, the music, and the exchanging of thrift-store rings creates a powerful mood – although it’s a hug, not a kiss, that seals the ceremony," the groom said.

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