In short: Foreigners can marry legally in Greece without living there, in a civil ceremony at a town hall. You need apostilled and translated documents, a marriage licence that usually takes about eight days, and a registration step afterwards. Many couples who elope skip that and hold a symbolic ceremony on an island, with the legal part done at home. Go in late May, June or September, and plan around the wind as much as the light.
Who a Greek elopement suits
Greece suits couples who want sea, white walls, warm evenings and a simple dinner at a taverna afterwards. It suits you if you can keep the plan loose: ferries run late, wind changes the hour of a ceremony, and the best moments happen in small lanes, not at famous viewpoints. It is harder if you want a strict schedule across three islands in five days. Our Greece guides cover single islands in more detail.
Manuela & Konstantin · Zakynthos · see the full wedding →Legal civil ceremony or symbolic
Civil ceremony. The mayor, or the president of the local community, marries you. The US Embassy in Greece confirms that you do not need to reside in Greece, that a civil or a religious ceremony is each legally valid on its own, and that the paperwork can take several weeks. Greece opened civil marriage to same-sex couples in 2024.
Religious ceremony. Possible, but arranged directly with the clergy, with a second set of documents and often a baptism certificate. For two visitors it is rarely the simple route. See our guide to church and civil ceremonies in Greece.
Symbolic ceremony. A celebrant or a friend leads it wherever you have permission to be: a terrace, a courtyard, a quiet cove. It has no legal effect, so you sign the papers at home. This is what most eloping couples choose, because it frees the place and the hour.
a Greek marriage is not legal until it is registered at the Lixiarcheio, the local registry office, within 40 days of the ceremony. If you marry legally, do this before you fly home.
Documents and steps for a legal civil wedding
This is the outline as of November 2026. Town halls differ, so write to the one where you want to marry before you book flights, and check the official pages linked here before you apply, because fees and forms change.
- Write to the town hall (Dimarchio) of the place where you want to marry. Ask for its list, its fee and which translations it accepts.
- Order birth certificates with an apostille from the country that issued them, and have them officially translated into Greek. Add apostilled and translated proof that any earlier marriage has ended.
- Get proof that you are free to marry: a certificate of no impediment or a sworn affidavit, depending on your passport (see below).
- Apply for the marriage licence in person at the town hall. If both of you are foreign, each hands in a separate set of documents. Keep proof of when you entered the Schengen area, because the embassy says the town hall checks it.
- Ask about the newspaper notice. Greece’s national registry of procedures still lists a marriage notice published in a local daily newspaper as part of the application. The US Embassy describes it as required when one partner is Greek. Practice for two visitors varies, so let the town hall tell you.
- Wait for the licence. The registry allows one week for objections, and the embassy says the licence generally comes eight days after you apply. It is valid for six months.
- Set the date with the mayor and bring two witnesses with passports or Greek ID. One of them acts as interpreter.
- Register the marriage at the Lixiarcheio within 40 days and ask for certificates.
By passport
- United States. If the town hall asks for an Affidavit of Marriage, you swear it in Greek and English at the US Embassy in Athens, by appointment, for $50 per person. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs then authenticates it against a €30 fee voucher (paravolo). The embassy tells you to plan at least two days in Athens.
- United Kingdom. GOV.UK no longer prints a list for each country. Its marriage abroad service shows whether you need a certificate of no impediment (CNI) or an affirmation and takes the application. You need a valid British passport to use it.
- Australia. The Australian Embassy in Athens says each non-Greek partner needs a CNI. It can come from the embassy or from a DFAT office in Australia, but which one is accepted varies, so confirm first. It is issued in English and has to be translated.
Lead time
- 6 months before: choose the island, write to the town hall, book flights only once it has answered.
- 3 months before: order certificates, apostilles and translations. Start the CNI or book the embassy appointment.
- 1 month before: confirm witnesses and the ceremony date.
- On the ground: eight days for the licence, plus Athens for US citizens, plus registration. The embassy says the whole process can take several weeks. Ask the town hall whether a representative may file your documents before you arrive. We could not confirm that on an official page.
Best islands and regions for two people
We photographed a wedding at a whitewashed chapel above the sea on Zakynthos. The other notes here come from research, not from our own days there.
- Santorini. The caldera, the flooded volcanic crater, faces west, so every evening the rim villages fill up for sunset, and cruise passengers add to the midday crowd. Sunrise is the opposite: about 06:00 in June and 07:00 in mid September, lanes empty, the cliff in soft shade. Expect steps everywhere and no cars on the rim paths. More in our Oia and Imerovigli notes.
- Milos. Sarakiniko is white volcanic rock with no shade, so it works at sunrise or in the last hour and glares at midday. Kleftiko is reached only by boat, weather allowing. Fewer flights and ferries than Santorini. See our Milos notes.
- Paros and Naxos. Bigger, calmer and usually cheaper than Santorini: harbour towns, mountain villages, long beaches. They sit in the windiest part of the Cyclades in summer.
- Crete. A trip of its own with a long season, April to early November. Chania and Heraklion airports are more than two hours apart by road, so pick one side. Famous beaches such as Balos and Elafonisi are far from town and busy by midday.
- Zakynthos. An Ionian island: greener than the Cyclades, outside the main path of the summer wind, with a sunset around 21:00 in late June. Access rules at the Navagio (Shipwreck) viewpoint have changed in recent years, so check before you plan around it.
- Corfu. Also Ionian: a Venetian old town, green hills, direct summer flights from many UK and German airports, and more rain in May and October than the Aegean.
- The Peloponnese. Mainland, so no ferry risk. Nafplio is about two hours by car from Athens and the rock town of Monemvasia about four. Stone villages, empty beaches, lower prices.
Manuela & Konstantin · Zakynthos · see the full wedding →Best months, the meltemi and time of day
| Months | What to expect | Wind |
|---|---|---|
| April, May | Mild and green, cool sea, some island places still closed | Changeable |
| June | Warm, long days, sunset about 20:35 | Meltemi can start |
| July, August | Around 30°C or more, peak crowds and prices | Meltemi at its strongest |
| September | Warm sea, calmer islands, sunset about 19:25 mid month | Easing |
| October | Quiet, shorter days, small islands close down | Storms possible |
The meltemi
The meltemi is the dry north wind of the Aegean summer. It is most frequent in July and August, tends to build through the day and can blow for several days in a row. The Cyclades are the most exposed. The Ionian islands and the western Peloponnese mostly escape it.
- Veils and hair. A long veil becomes a sail. Choose a short one, pin it well, or wear it only for portraits in a sheltered lane.
- Audio. Wind ruins vows on film. A small microphone with a wind cover on each of you helps, and so does standing behind a wall or on the south side of a building.
- Boats. Ferries, fast ones first, are cancelled in strong wind, and small boat trips stop. Arrive two days before the ceremony and never plan a ferry on the day.
Our meltemi playbook goes further. For light, plan the ceremony 60 to 90 minutes before sunset, or at sunrise if you want an empty village. Midday is for shade and lunch. Our Santorini light table has times by month.
in July and August choose the sheltered side of the island first and the view second. A calm courtyard with a slice of sea gives you better photos and film than a famous terrace in a gale.
What it costs
Our prices. Photo and video cost the same, each on its own: up to 5 hours €1,390, 6 hours €1,590, 7 hours €1,790, 8 hours €1,990, a full day with no time limit €2,190. Photo plus video is the plain sum, so €4,380 for a full day. Travel to and from your venue is included, and a 20% deposit reserves the date. You get a sneak peek within days, the gallery in 3 weeks and the film in about a month.
Official fees we could verify.
- US affidavit at the embassy in Athens: $50 per person.
- Authentication of that affidavit by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs: €30.
- Licence fee: the national registry lists €18 for a licence issued to a foreign national living in Greece. Ask your town hall what applies to visitors. The embassy notes that some town halls add their own fee.
Everything else has no fixed price. Apostilles and official translations are charged per document. Terraces on the Santorini caldera charge the most for a ceremony slot, and July and August cost more everywhere. Paros, Naxos, Crete and the Peloponnese are easier on the budget.
A sample day: mid September in the Cyclades
Sunset is at about 19:25. Five hours of coverage run from 16:00 to 21:00.
- 14:30 Hair and make-up, shutters closed against the heat.
- 16:00 We arrive. Details, letters, getting ready.
- 17:00 First look in the courtyard, out of the wind.
- 17:30 A walk through the village lanes before the sunset crowd.
- 18:15 Ceremony on a sheltered terrace, about 20 minutes.
- 18:40 A toast and calls home.
- 18:50 Portraits in the last light.
- 19:45 Blue hour, when white walls turn soft and lamps come on.
- 20:15 Dinner for two at a taverna.
For Santorini, mirror the day: start at 06:30, hold the ceremony just after sunrise and be at breakfast before the first tour groups.
Nacho & Bea · Mallorca · see the full wedding →Common mistakes
- A ferry or a tight flight connection on the day of the ceremony.
- A long veil, candles and an open clifftop in August.
- Expecting privacy at a public sunset viewpoint in Oia.
- Marrying legally and flying home without registering at the Lixiarcheio.
- Documents without an apostille, or translated by someone the town hall does not accept.
- Three islands in one week. Choose one.
FAQ: eloping in Greece
Can foreigners legally get married in Greece?
Yes. You do not need to live there. You need a licence from the town hall, a ceremony with two witnesses and registration within 40 days.
How long does a Greek marriage licence take?
Generally eight days from the application, according to the US Embassy. It is then valid for six months.
Do we still need a newspaper notice?
It is still listed in the national registry of procedures. Whether your town hall asks two visitors for it varies, so ask in your first email.
Can same-sex couples marry in Greece?
Yes, in a civil ceremony. The 2024 law on equality in civil marriage is part of the legal basis the national registry lists for the licence.
Which Greek island is best for an elopement?
Santorini for the caldera, if you accept crowds and go at sunrise. Milos, Paros or Naxos for quieter Cycladic villages. Zakynthos or Corfu for green hills and less wind. The Peloponnese if you would rather drive than sail.
Is September a good month to elope in Greece?
It is one of the best: warm sea, easing wind and fewer people than in August.
Still choosing a country? Compare the best places to elope in Europe and check where foreigners can legally marry. To plan the hours of the day, use our timeline for the best light.
Planning yours?
We are a team of six photographers and filmmakers with one documentary style. We follow the day and do not stage it. We work across the islands and the mainland as a wedding photographer in Greece.
Tell us your date and the island you have in mind. Check your date here and you will hear from us within 24 hours. Prices and a calculator are on our investment page.