Santorini, Greece
There is no wonder why thousands of couples each year choose Santorini as their wedding and/or honeymoon destination. With the majestic caldera, stunning volcano views, crystal clear waters, black sand beaches and white and blue domed villages… Santorini makes the dreams of an exotic wedding on an island paradise come to life!
After you’ve set your heart on this wonderland island as the place to express your vows of love, you must be prepared, keeping in mind that getting married on Santorini is not easy.
First, to legally get married here, it takes a lot of planning and paperwork. Do not be discouraged, however, as with a heart’s desires, anything is possible. You just need to know from the start what’s involved. For example, just some of the required documentation needed to marry in Greece is your passports, full birth certificates, certificate of non-impediment to marry from bride and groom, affidavits stating the bride and groom are free to marry, as well as a few more, depending on circumstances.
All documents related to the marriage must be translated into Greek, certified in the Greek embassy or consulate in your home country or certain documents must also have an apostille stamp. Also, keep in consideration that more documentation may be required if you are an American, Canadian, British, Australian, or Chinese citizen. Additionally, all of this paperwork must be translated and submitted in the Greek language.
Honestly, if Santorini is where you will start your life together and you are already incurring the costs of travel, accommodation, wedding fees, and so much more… you should hire a wedding planner.
They make sure you come prepared with all the legal documents, not to mention, wedding planners on Santorini will know the best locations, depending on the time of year for your ceremony and following reception. Also, since they are locals, they will have the connections you will need for possible tailors, florists, restaurants, hotels, and special excursion activities too.
An alternate option that many couples organize is a symbolic ceremony instead of the legal official type that doesn’t require all the legal documentation. The location, vows, ceremony and wedding reception are all the same but without all the extra difficulty of the paperwork and legality side of things. Of course, you would have to take your vows and do the legal paperwork in your home country to make the marriage official, before or after your trip though.
If a Santorini wedding ceremony is not in your cards, you may just want to share this magical Greek island getaway with your new spouse as your romantic honeymoon destination. While many want to share their vows and celebrate the joy of connecting lives with their loved ones, this majestic island may be a place you want to keep for just the two of you.
There is a plethora of romantic moments to be made here. Just some of which could include sipping wine on a catamaran as it sails by the caldera and volcano as the sun sets, enjoying a day at a spa getting pampered with massages while enjoying the views, having a dreamy dinner under the stars overlooking the Aegean sea, taking a private tour of the island with a local expert to uncover Santorini’s beautiful secret places and “must see” or just spending a day on the most comfortable sun lounge beds on the black sand beaches while being catered to by service personnel with food and drinks.
Another worthwhile idea done by many honeymooners is to pack your wedding attire with you and hire a professional photographer to have memorable wedding photos taken at the most picturesque spots on the island. This way, you get to enjoy this paradise solo with your love and have gorgeous photographs to take home to share with family that will last a lifetime.
Whatever your choice may be, this magical Greek island will certainly surpass your dreams of a passionate, romantic destination for your wedding, honeymoon or both. Keep in mind that while you are planning for your island adventure, our tour expert is here and would love to help in any of your preparations.