Civil - Greek and Catholic weddings

CERTIFICATE OF NO IMPEDIMENT TO MARRIAGE
This document certifies that both parties are free to get married and can be obtained from your local Superintendent Registrar Office. It may take up to 1 month to obtain and the certificate must not be issued more than 3 months before the wedding day.

APOSTLE STAMP (APOSTILLE) - Click for explanation of an Apostille
An apostille is a special seal applied by an authority to certify that a document is a true copy of an original. Apostilles are available in countries, which signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, popularly known as The Hague Convention. This convention, created in 1961, replaces the time consuming chain certification process used so far, where you had to go to four different authorities to get a document certified.

DECREE ABSOLUTE
If any of the parties is divorced, a Certified Copy of the Decree Absolute must be obtained.

DEATH CERTIFICATE
If any of the parties is a widower, a Death Certificate must be obtained.

DEED POLL CERTIFICATE
If any of the parties has changed his/her name by Deed Poll, written proof must be obtained.

ADOPTION CERTIFICATE
This certificate is necessary if any of the parties was adopted.

BAPTISM CERTIFICATE
This certificate is necessary for Catholic Church & Orthodox Church weddings.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENTS
All the above documents have to be translated in Greek at the Greek Embassy or Consulate and sent to our office four weeks before the wedding. If the documents are not translated then have to be sent eight weeks before the ceremony and there will be an extra cost for the official translation.

CIVIL WEDDINGS IN SANTORINI
The documents listed above must be obtained by the bride and groom then be translated and forwarded to our office at least four weeks before the wedding.

CATHOLIC CHURCH WEDDINGS IN SANTORINI
Catholic Church wedding can only be arranged if the bride and groom have not been previously married, if either the bride or groom is Catholic and that both have been baptized. They must inform the Catholic priest of their local parish of their intent to marry abroad. He will then need to view both parties’ Birth Certificate and Baptism Certificate and confirm to them what further documentation is required. After they obtain all the necessary documents they must forward them to our office. We will then give the documents to the Catholic priest of the Church where the ceremony will be performed.

ORTHODOX CHURCH WEDDINGS IN SANTORINI
Orthodox Church weddings can only be arranged if either the bride or groom is Orthodox and that both have been baptized. The couple must inform the Orthodox priest of their local parish of their intention to marry abroad. He will then need to view both parties’ Birth Certificate and Baptism Certificate and confirm to them what further documentation is required. After they obtain all the necessary documents they must forward them to our office. We will than give the documents to the Orthodox priest of the Church where the ceremony will be performed.

WITNESSES AT CEREMONY
Two witnesses are required for all types of weddings. If the groom and bride travel on their own, our Wedding Coordinators will be glad to act as witnesses

DAY/TIME OF THE CEREMONY
- Registry Office Ceremony
(Fira Town Hall or other Community Office): Monday to Sunday, any time
- Civil Ceremony at Hotel: Monday to Sunday, any time
- Catholic Church Ceremony (Fira): Monday to Saturday, any time
- Orthodox Church Ceremony (Fira or other village): Monday to Sunday, any time.

LANGUAGE OF THE CEREMONY
Civil ceremony in Greek or English, Catholic Church Ceremony in Greek or French, Orthodox Church Ceremony in Greek.

CIVIL MARRIAGE VALIDITY
In order for the marriage to be valid, after the wedding the couple must declare, at the Registry Office of Thira Community within forty days that the wedding has been performed.

OFFICIAL WEDDING CERTIFICATE
The official certificate is issued within 3 working days after the wedding and forwarded to the married couple’s home address by the Wedding coordinator.