If a few years ago marriage outside the church or registry office seemed exotic, now it can be called a kind of norm. More and more young couples are choosing to get married in the open air, on the seashore, in a favorite place, in their grandmother's apple orchard or in the courtyard of a castle. However, if you want to make your special day even more special, then you need to think outside the traditional boundaries when looking for your perfect wedding ceremony location.

The portal Līgavām.lv collected 10 non-traditional places for an unrepeatable marriage ceremony:

1. FOREST, MEADOW OR APPLE ORCHARD. If you have decided that you want to get married in the open air, then you should remember that Latvia is full of wonderful places and landscapes. The ceremony does not always have to take place on the popular seaside to get its own special atmosphere. The recent trend is to get married in deep forests, beautiful meadows, apple orchards or even tree nurseries. All this is possible, because it is allowed not only by Latvian nature, but also by legislation. Why not combine the seemingly different?

   For example, in the middle of the forest, put white canopies and sofas for guests to sit on, thus combining the majesty of nature with the feeling of comfort so necessary for humans. Of course, when planning an outdoor wedding, you will have to think about various practical issues, but nothing is impossible.

2. EVEN THE SWAMP IS NOT AN OBSTACLE! Nature is much more than forest, sea and plains. Nature includes even swamps. Skudras Metropolis manager Gundega Skudriņa remembers the wedding, where the marriage ceremony took place in a deep swamp and thickets on the 196-meter footbridge built by the groom himself! Especially for the brave, this option will be perfect!
3. MARRIAGES ON AND UNDER WATER. Latvia is not only the land of amber seas, but also the land of blue lakes and calm rivers, so couples who like the proximity of water, but do not want to get married on the traditionally popular seashore, can choose to get married on the water. It can be on a raft in a Latvian lake or river, where the guests arrive and spend the entire ceremony sitting in boats, or the particularly brave can wear scuba diving and get married underwater (this could be more complicated from a legal point of view). If the wedding is planned for winter, Arta Bondare, creative director of event agency Oga Events , recommends considering the idea of a frozen lake. Why not literally skate in your marriage? This solution will be suitable for a couple who is ready to catch the right moment, knowing how unstable Latvian winter weather tends to be.
4. AT DAWN, SUNSET OR IN THE BLACK OF NIGHT. One of the trends of recent years is not only marriage ceremonies outside of traditional places, but also at different times of the day. If you have decided that you could get married near the often so traditional choice - the sea, then it could be a marriage ceremony at dawn on the seashore. Why not place the rings in the middle of the forest in the dark of night? Lanterns all around, a warm blanket for each guest and the right mood will be guaranteed. If the forest might seem too unconventional a choice, then a church full of candles will look especially intimate and exciting late at night.
5. HAY IN THE FIELD - WHY NOT? A marriage ceremony in a particularly important and intimate place for a couple will gain even greater meaning. It could be a church where the parents or grandparents of the bride or groom once got married, or the yard of the family home, a hay field, where summers were spent in childhood, or the lakeside boardwalk, where the two had their first date. The organizer of the celebration, Inga Bērziņa/ Bannte , remembers the marriage ceremony that was held in the yard of a university - symbolic and especially for the couple themselves, because that is where the two met.
6. AIR BALLOON OR AIRCRAFT. For couples with their own special sense of style and interests, it will not be an obstacle to organize both a romantic wedding ceremony in a hot air balloon or a rented plane, as well as a hippie-worthy wedding in an old, decorated bus. It can also become a special annual tradition of the new family - on the wedding anniversary, for example, going on a hot air balloon ride.
7. MANORS, CASTLES AND ISLANDS. If, however, you have decided to hold the marriage ceremony in one of Latvia's beautiful palaces or manors, then an unconventional approach is also possible there. For example, the ceremony can take place on an island. On the other hand, Inga Bērziņa/ Bannte remembers the marriage ceremony in the linden alley of the Rūmene manor, which was very different from the manor's island or garden, often favored by couples. Even seemingly traditional places can be made unconventional by choosing the right location.
8. FOR ANIMAL LOVERS. Those couples who are close to nature and animals might like a marriage ceremony, for example, in the nature park of Lake Engure, where wild horses and cows graze freely, or in one of Latvia's deer gardens. The wedding ceremony could just as well take place in the Riga Zoo - why not get married with a penguin in the background? But after saying the name YES you will be able to go and feed, for example, one of the zoo's giraffes.
9. PUBLIC EVENTS. Social and society-loving couples would certainly not mind marrying even among apparent strangers. It could be the ever so popular summer festivals.
10. ON THE BIG STAGE! If you want to fulfill your dream and step on the big stage someday, why not do it on your wedding day? The opera house, the large halls of theaters or one of Latvia's beautiful concert halls can turn out to be a great choice for a beautiful, tasteful and certainly unconventional marriage ceremony.