Weddingbee Blog

When we applied to get married we had a few options for the location of the civil ceremony, also known as the “Traulokale” in the city of Zürich.

Stadthaus:

(Images via Stadt Zürich)

We would have preferred to get married at the Stadthaus, but it was closed for construction until the autumn, which was too late for us to be married and safely apply for a residence permit. Rats.

Verwaltungszentrum Werd:

(Images viaStadt Zürich

Verwaltungszentrum Werd was the next free choice in lieu of the Stadthaus. Very exciting. (It’s basically a municipal center.)

Zoo Zürich:

(Images via Zuerich.com)

Weddings in the Masoala Rainforest Hall must be beautiful, but the cost was $750 for 20 people not including marriage fees and I imagine the food would have been pretty pricey up there as well. We’re not really zoo people anyway…

Zunfthaus zur Waag:

(Image viaStadt Zürich

Built in 1287, this restaurant is in the heart of the city. Prices ranged from $175-415 to rent a room and enjoy delicious traditional Swiss food.

Weinschenke (Wine Cellar):

(Images via Stadt Zürich)

The wine cellar cost around $300 to rent, again, not including ceremony or eating fees. This also looked like an intimate romantic place to get married, but completely horrible for lighting.

Some of the Traulokale might be fun ceremony locations if you wanted a big celebration with friends and family, but we didn’t want to make a big song and dance about this union so we chose the Verwaltungszentrum Werd because it was free. (Meaning it didn’t have extra costs in addition to what we were already paying for the actual ceremony.)

We debated inviting local friends and family, but Mr. Funnel Cake really wanted to keep it private, so we only invited our parents and Mr. Funnel Cake’s brother who would be acting as Mr. Funnel Cake’s witness. We didn’t let anyone else know when or where the ceremony would take place. Our main priority was to keep this low key.

With our location and “guest list” set, we just had to wait for the big day to arrive.