- Your birth certificate with an Apostille stamp certifying the copy
- The official Apostille translated alt.com into Greek.
- A copy of the newspaper where your marriage declaration was published
Note that translations can happen with a certified lawyer, the Greek Consulate of your country or by sending the official documents to your wedding planner to have them do it locally. For example, US couples can try visiting the Greek embassy USA, for more information on the translation process.
3. ESTIMATION OF FEES & COSTS
- Cost of various documents: around 300-400 euros
- Cost of translating documents: 80-120 euros
- Affidavit of marriage: 10 euros
4. THE PROCESS
Yes, depending on the exact location within Greece. An average waiting period for a marriage application in Greece can be between some weeks to a few months. Note that civil marriage has a much shorter application waiting period of around seven days.
Generally speaking, for getting married in Greece, the following process takes place. The interested parties (bride and groom) state their intent to marry either at the town hall or local newspaper. This process needs to take place around 10 working days in advance.
Afterwards, all gathered documentation mentioned above needs to be taken to the town hall. Ten working days later the authorities will issue the marriage license. This will remain valid for six months.
ONE STEP CLOSER
Once the authorities issue a marriage license, you have to submit a joint application to the mayor confirming your wedding ceremony date and stating the location of your marriage.
If you have a civil ceremony, you will probably need a translator since civil ceremonies are made in the Greek language. Two witnesses must also be present at your marriage, and they must have to identify documents with them.
To sum up, once you get married in Greece, you need to file a registration form with the Office of Vital Statistics in the local community you got married in. This is because the Greek government considers marriages valid only after registering.
While the previous sections dealt with giving you important considerations for getting married in Greece, this is where the actual planning takes place. Now that you have a solid understanding of “The Great Influencers”, budget estimation, guest size estimation, and other factors its time to focus our efforts.
ZERO IN ON VENDORS
You’ve spent time researching vendor choices. You have a rough idea of how much each vendor will cost you, and you have a budget analysis to work with.
Great vendors in high demand will quickly dry out. Postponing this process wedding may lose out on a crucial component. This is the ideal timeframe to start booking. If you’re still having doubts, consult with your Greek wedding planner.
FINALIZE GUESTLIST
You’ve almost decided on a wedding location, the venue, and the vendors that will serve you on your special day. This means you now have a more representative idea of the number of guests you’re going to invite.
Take some time to finalize the guest list. Chances are that a portion of invited guests won’t be able to see you getting married in Greece. A destination wedding is, after all, a great time commitment.
To sum up, at this point, you care about having an approximate number to send your save the dates and at a later stage have your guests RSVP when the time comes for your wedding in Greece.
BRAINSTORM WEDDING THEME
After spending some hours google searching and reading different blog posts for ideas, chances are that you probably already have a rough idea of the theme or themes you are interested in.
