I'd proposed on February 29th in the last leap year, so after we'd settled in Greece we thought it would be a lovely idea to tie the knot here. Just imagine a romantic scene on a beach, at sunset, with the Med gently lapping on the shore.......... well, our wedding was a little different, but it was lots of fun and, most importantly, we all had a great time.



Getting married in Greece involves lots of red tape (and can be quite costly, see below), so if you are planning to organise it yourself you need to start early - at least 6 months before the wedding date.  We wanted to get married at the beginning of August 2006 and started the process in March, which cut it a bit fine as it turned out!

There are companies who will organise your wedding in Greece including acquiring the documentation, accommodation, the service, the flowers and reception.  We decided to do it ourselves and, as we wanted a civil ceremony, began by going to the local Mayor's office to book the wedding date, but of course couldn't as we had to have the paperwork first!

One of the documents we needed was a Certificate of No Impediment.  So, after contacting the British Consulate in Athens (who listed all the documentation we needed) we travelled to Athens. Each of us had to swear in front of the Vice Consul that there was no reason why we should not be married.  Notices of our intended marriage were put in local papers and

our certificates arrived in the post about 3 weeks later.  We were now officially certified (and about time too some said!).  It was now the middle of April and part 1 of the paper trail was complete.

As we were British nationals getting married in a foreign country, our birth certificates and divorce decrees had to be legalised (given an "Apostile" seal) by the Foreign & Commonwealth office in London.   We sent the documents off to London and waited. Three of the documents were returned, but there was a problem with the fourth as it had been issued in Scotland and the signature on it was not recognised by the FCO.  So, this paper had to be returned to a solicitor in Scotland to be authenticated and then to the FCO again for legalisation. 

It was now the beginning of June (8 weeks before the wedding date) and a little panic was starting to set in.   Our friends and family had all booked their flights and accommodation, but we didn't have a wedding date yet!

Finally, at the end of June (about 4 weeks before the big day), the last bit of red tape arrived from London.  Now all we had to do was get everything translated into Greek!

It took a week for the translations to be completed, so on a Friday morning (3 weeks before the planned wedding date) off to the Mayor's office we went, clutching the prized paperwork.  (We enlisted the help of Fani, a clerk who worked in the town hall.) The Mayor's clerk took the papers and a note of the date and said that he had some documents to prepare and confirm who would be marrying us.  He assured us that it should be no problem and that he would ring us on Monday.

Monday came, and no phone call.  Friday and still no phone call.  We tried to contact the clerk on the telephone, but without success, so decided to go in person to find out what was happening.  It was now just 2 weeks before the wedding!   Of course, the clerk was nowhere to be seen.  So, off we went to see the wonderful Fani to beg her to help us. 

Fani, in typically laid-back Greek fashion, said  not to worry and that she was sure everything would be fine. She would speak to the Mayor's clerk and phone us on Monday.   We left feeling relieved that Fani would sort everything out for us. 

Alas, Monday came and there was no phone call from Fani.  We tried to keep calm, but when the end of the week came (only 1 week before the big day) we could bear it no longer and went to see her again.  She seemed surprised by the fraught look on our faces. She hadn't rung because there was no problem.   Ah, of course!

We had a great time in the week leading up to the wedding with our family and friends. I am generally a calm person and was trying not to get stressed by the whole thing, but when we had not heard anything by Thursday (the day before), it was getting too much even for me!  

That evening we went to the Mayor's office and it was confirmed that the Mayor could marry us at 7.30pm - at last!   We were also told that it would be better if our witnesses were Greek, so we dashed round to see our Greek friends, Anna and Stavros.  They looked a bit puzzled that we had waited until the evening before the wedding to ask them, but we explained the situation and they were only too happy to help.

There was a flurry of phone calls and text messages as we arranged to meet everyone the next evening in a local bar by the beach before going on to the Mayor's office for the ceremony.  It was a gorgeous evening, the sun was setting behind the castle - lovely! We walked around to the Mayor's office to find our witnesses waiting for us, but no Mayor.  A phone call and 15 minutes later he arrived.  Our guests had trooped upstairs to the appointed room, only to file back down again as the room was too small for us all to fit in.  No problem said the Mayor; we have another room just across the road.  It was a short walk and they were just finishing painting it as we arrived!

The ceremony was interesting.  The Mayor asked us if we promised to love and take care of each other and then pronounced us married!   The wedding ring was hastily produced and put on my finger and then it was smiles and kisses all round.   It had taken almost six months to organise and was over in about 2 minutes!

The party afterwards at the taverna in our village was wonderful, with heaps of food and wine and Greek dancing.  Some of our Greek friends brought extra guests with them - apparently it is good luck to have strangers at your wedding.

Whilst this may not have been your typical Greek wedding, everyone agreed that it was certainly the quickest and perhaps the most unusual they had been to, a complete success and a totally big, fun Greek wedding!