The Zwolle court voided a marriage after ChatGPT-generated vows omitted mandatory legal language, underscoring limits on using AI for legally binding ceremonies.
A Dutch court has just delivered a heartbreaking ruling for a couple married in April 2025: their union isn’t legally valid. The reason? Their wedding vows, drafted with the help of ChatGPT, skipped over the mandatory legal jargon required by the state.The ceremony took place in Zwolle, a picturesque city in the northern Netherlands
Seeking a personal and informal atmosphere, the couple asked a close friend to officiate as a “registrar for a day.” To help craft a meaningful service, the friend turned to ChatGPT to draft the wedding vows and the ceremony speech.
However, a Zwolle court ruled this week that the AI-generated script focused far too much on romance and not enough on the law. According to the judgment, Dutch marriage ceremonies must include a very specific declaration where the couple explicitly accepts the legal rights and duties of marriage under Article 1:67 of the Dutch Civil Code.
