We often get asked if we could arrange weddings off the island, but our wedding planning concept is so intertwined with our love of Ærø island and our local roots that it simply would never be the same anywhere else. And the three venues that we offer have been chosen for a reason. Over three posts we will share our main wedding venues and our family’s connection to those unique places. We’re starting with perhaps the most unique wedding venue of all: the lighthouse!

A real island must have a lighthouse, and in our view, the epitome of a romantic elopement is to say ”yes” at the very top of a tower. Our island’s lighthouse, Skjoldnæs Fyr, has fairytale vibes with its spiral staircase, rusty banister and quirky odd sized doors. It almost has a feeling of being on a ship, since the views of the sea stretch out before you for miles.

According to our father, “a real island must also have a golf course”, so when our parents moved back to Ærø, after 30 years of living abroad, he committed himself to creating Denmark’s best seaside golf course, right on the most western point of the island, where the surrounding buildings of the lighthouse double as a club house.

It ended up taking three painstaking years, negotiating with 21 different farmers as well as politicians to get the necessary land and permissions to make it happen. In 2004, the course was completed, and since then many club members and volunteers have worked hard to keep the club going.

Our father passed away in 2011, and if you happen to see a bench on hole 4 with the name “Frederik Badino” on it, you will find that it was placed there in his memory. Danish Island Weddings are of course also proud sponsors and have the exclusive rights to the use of the iconic lighthouse for weddings, which means that we coordinate with registrars to come and perform the ceremony there, and have the right to close it off during a ceremony, so you have it all to yourself and don’t get disturbed by other lighthouse fans.