A Relaxed & Romantic September Wedding on Aeroe Island, Denmark

Yuki and Michael’s September wedding was held on the peaceful Danish island of Aeroe – a place with deep family roots and a strong connection to the sea. It was a day grounded in simplicity, meaning and love, planned with the support of Yuki’s two sisters through their family-run company, Danish Island Weddings.

Yuki wore a beautiful second hand dress and a crown of wildflowers, handmade by her sister, for a day that celebrated everything she and Michael value most – family, music, and a laid back approach to life. With breathtaking coastal views, a heartfelt church ceremony and a joyous reception by the sea, this island wedding was the epitome of fuss-free romance.

Captured beautifully by photographer Camilla Jørvad, this celebration unfolded with warmth and ease. It’s a moving and joyful reminder that a meaningful wedding doesn’t need to be overdone – just honest, relaxed and true to who you are, always. Enjoy!

I got married to my love, UK born Michael, in Ærøskøbing Church on the small charming Danish island called Ærø (pronounced and spelt Aeroe in English).  We chose to marry on Aeroe island, because it is one of the most authentic islands in the south of Denmark, and we are lucky to live and work here. My family heritage is also strongly rooted here, and can be traced back 500 years, or as far as the church records go. 

It was so important to both Michael and me, that our day was to be stress-free and uniquely personal to us. As I know all too well, there is so much preparation and planning that goes into a wedding day so that it can feel completely effortless on the day. I needed to be able to let go of all responsibility for once and just be in the moment with Michael and enjoy every minute together with the people that we love. So keeping things simple yet meaningful were key words for the day.

As an island native our family history is strongly connected to the sea, and my great grandfather and his brothers captained five masted schooners and sailed the Pacific Ocean in the early 1900’s, to places as far away as Japan and Australia, only to retire back home on Ærø just before the first world war. 

My parents followed in their footsteps and have lived and travelled the world with my two sisters, who have also spent most of their adult life abroad. My parents have always told me (with a twinkle in their eye) that I was made in Japan, and I was born there too, hence my Japanese name, Yuki, which means ‘happiness’. 

I lived there until I was five years old, then moved to England and then USA for some years, until my parents decided to return to their roots on Ærø when I was eleven years old. Before I was born, my two sisters and parents lived in Ghana in West Africa for many years too. 

Every summer we would come ‘home to Ærø’, to spend the summer holidays with family and friends, so no matter where we lived in the world, we always knew where we were from.

Our beloved father, Frederik Birkholm Badino, passed away in 2011, and we miss him dearly. We clipped his tie-clip onto my bridal bouquet; “B” for Badino and Birkholm, both family names from his father and mother’s maiden name. With him not being here, I asked my brother-in-law John to walk me down the aisle, and he took on his role of ‘protector of the bride’, with pleasure, as I knew he would. 

Our ceremony was led by Henny Kvist, our local Priest, in our Protestant Church. She was wonderful, and was in on the Flashmob, my friend singing a song and we also made sure the hymns we had chosen ( Danish hymns) were printed out in both English and Danish, and we all sang together in the language we preferred, since Michael’s family are all English speakers and most of my friends come from different parts of the world as well.

We didn’t have any vows, since this is not part of a Danish church wedding tradition. Michael’s mother, Carol, did a reading in the church. It was full of humour and love, essentially explaining how Michael and I in many ways are polar opposites! But how this also can be a strength, as we learn from each others different ways. It was about 2 dinosaurs! Funny and not your typical reading, which both Michael and I liked.

Music is very important to me for my wedding! Being a musician myself (and still playing the occasional gig when I have time outside our wedding planning business), music has always played such an important role in my life. Most of my friends are musicians too. My best friend, Kit, sang for us so beautifully I couldn’t hold back my tears, and there was even a flashmob (by my musician friends) performing “All You Need is Love” in the church as a surprise for our guests.

Our wedding rings are from an old family-run jewelry store in Copenhagen, called Halberstadt. It was actually Michael’s decision. Again, I would have been happy with anything –  not too bothered 😊 but I am glad he took charge, since it is something we will wear everyday for the rest of  our lives. I love rose gold, so my wedding ring is a rose gold ring with little diamonds, and Michael got a plain white gold ring.

After the church ceremony, all the guests were whisked out in old-timer cars to the venue called Strandskoven – which is a beautiful place, right by the sea. 

All the stunning photos are by our dear friend Camilla Jørvad, who kindly offered to come out of wedding photography retirement for this one day only, so our other dear friend Neli Garnet (who is our super talented regular house photographer) could relax and just be my friend and guest for the day.

My sisters and I have worked with Camilla for many years, and I had always hoped that she would photograph my wedding some day. Not only is she a dear friend but a FABULOUS photographer, so just knowing she was there, capturing all the moments, made me feel totally at ease. And so much fun too!  

The confetti we were showered in was from dried flower petals gathered during the summer months. Michael’s mum even brought some petals over from her garden in the UK. We made cones from 100-year-old piano music sheets that once belonged to our great grandmother. And since both Michael and I, and several of our family members play golf (at the local seaside golf course, which my father was the main force behind founding before he passed away) our guests surprised us with a golf club arch as we exited the church 🙂

My brother-in-law’s old pink German Trabant, also known as Der Pinker Stinker, played its part of our day whisking us away after the ceremony for a few portraits with our fur baby, Ukranian rescue dog, Ivana.

I am very laid back and honestly not too bothered about certain colour schemes or themes. Like my sisters say, “Yuki would have been perfectly happy if we had just served Champagne in abundance, lots of crisps and an awesome live band” – that’s it! I like to keep things simple and focus on what’s important.

I have seen A LOT of weddings, and how determined some brides can get, to the point where they get completely lost in their own obsession and forget what the day is actually about.

I left it in the best hands of my sisters to organise, because they know what I love anyway. Lots of colours and a natural, relaxed style! And I have to say, the decorations were STUNNING! I am so unbelievably blessed to have two older sisters who always look out for me.

Our wedding dinner was provided by Resume Restaurant. We had a buffet style setup. Delicious! Late night food provided by our absolute favourites Kraut & Koala.

It’s a Danish tradition for guests to take a popular melody and change the lyrics to tell a story about the bride and groom. My sisters wrote a song for us, using the melody “Fernando” by Abba, because our father always liked that melody. 

However, the Danish tradition for speeches at weddings can go on and on and frankly take all night!!So with this regard, I said from the very beginning, that this Danish tradition was not for us. So Michael and I chose to do speeches the ‘English way’ – i.e. far fewer and shorter so there was much more time to party! 😉

I wrote and composed a song for Michael called “April Afternoon”, and my performance opened the dance floor after dinner. We had a 2-man band, Barry and Romas, which are good friends of mine too, and a local DJ Lau, an old school friend of mine as well, and they kept the dance floor going to the early hours.

We did not have a first dance. In Denmark it is tradition to dance a particular wedding dance, and it has to be done before midnight. It is an old song, and the guests form a ring around the couple, gradually closing in on the couple, until we are completely squeezed and cannot dance anymore. Then all the men lift up the groom and cut a hole in his sock! We of course stuck to this tradition, to Michael’s horror haha! 

Our entertainment was to ‘Off The Rails Duo’, by Barry & Romas. These guys really kicked off the party! This was followed by a jam session with me and all my friends – it was just magical!

My old school friend, Lau, set up his DJ equipment and when the musicians needed a break, he kept the party going. No website.     

My advice would definitely be, to take a deep breath and remember WHY you are creating this day. Do not get stressed about the ‘small stuff’. This day is about you and your future spouse – for you to have an unforgettable celebration together with your closest family and friends, and for it to be FUN!

Of course things need to be planned and organized, but make it into an exciting process, make it a happy planning process – and if you cannot get the right coloured napkins, or a certain type of wedding cake, then don’t stress about it.

Nobody else would have noticed anyway! People are there to celebrate you, and if you get caught up in minor hiccups, you will lose focus of what is important. And most importantly, you will create unnecessary stress for yourself over something, that in the big scheme of things of what is happening in the world, really doesn’t matter. Your love for each other is what matters. 

There is nothing I would have done differently. It was the PERFECT day. Perhaps I should have ordered more bottles of Champagne, as we ran out pretty quickly!!

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