In order to get married in Greece, certain documents are required..

FULL BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Both parties must obtain a ‘full’ Birth Certificate as the ‘shorter’ version of the Birth Certificate will not be acceptable

CERTIFICATE OF IMPEDIMENTS TO MARRIAGE

This document certifies that both parties are free to get married and can be obtained from their 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.

DECREE ABSOLUTE

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

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

CATHOLIC CHURCH WEDDINGS

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 forward them to our offices who will forward to the Catholic priest of the Church where the ceremony will be performed.

ORTHODOX CHURCH WEDDINGS

Orthodox church weddings can only be arranged if either the bride or groom is Orthodox and that both have been baptized. They must inform the Orthodox 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 forward them to our offices who will forward them to the Orthodox priest of the Church where the ceremony will be performed.

WITNESSES AT CEREMONY

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

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 that the wedding has been performed at the Registry Office of Thira Community within forty days.

OFFICIAL WEDDING CERTIFICATE

Civil marriage: the official certificate is issued within 3 working days after the wedding and is sent for official translation and then forwarded to the married couple’s home address by the Wedding Co-coordinator.

Catholic & Orthodox Church marriage:  the priest who performed the ceremony issues the wedding certificate and forward it to the priest of the local parish of the couple where the couple may receive it.