Santorini wedding packages are the bundles of services a couple chooses for a civil or church ceremony on the island. For other routes, see our tours in Greece page.
This page covers what Santorini wedding packages are, what they include, the ceremony types and settings, how couples compare them and when they are planned.
What are Santorini wedding packages?
Santorini wedding packages bundle the services for a ceremony on the island and sell them together. Wikipedia calls the package holiday a form of product bundling. The wedding version applies that idea to a ceremony instead of a flight.
Wikipedia says a package holiday comprises transport and accommodation, advertised and sold together by one vendor called a tour operator. It adds that extra services, like car hire or day outings, can also join the bundle. Santorini wedding packages take that idea and build the bundle around a wedding day.
Wikipedia says wedding planners offer one or more packages of services. It names three kinds: a comprehensive package, a partial package and a package of day-of services only. On Santorini, the pages we read come from wedding planners, venues and agencies. They arrange the ceremony for visiting couples. One planner’s page says its weddings include a full documentation service.
Wikipedia says planners are popular with couples planning a destination wedding, where the documents can be complicated. It also says couples who work long hours use planners. They have little spare time to source venues and suppliers. Santorini wedding packages are one way to hand those tasks to a single provider.
Small weddings sit inside the same idea. Wikipedia notes that the word elopement is sometimes applied to any small wedding, even one the parents know about. One page on Santorini describes elopements for two people and micro weddings for a small group of closest loved ones. More background sits on our weddings in Greece page.
One planner’s page says its Santorini wedding packages are ideas that show what is available. Each can be tailored to the couple’s wishes and number of guests. Another page offers a build-your-own option under the words “make your own wedding package.” A third page quotes a client. The client wrote that planning from abroad was “so easy.”
What do Santorini wedding packages include?
The pages list a ceremony site, witnesses, a photographer, flowers, a cake and a reception in Santorini wedding packages. No two pages list exactly the same items, so a couple reads each package item by item.
One page for a wedding for two lists a ceremony at a set venue and a meeting on arrival. It also lists a visit to the venue before the wedding date. The same page lists a celebrant and two witnesses if needed. A second page says its packages cover the ceremony, the location and the reception.
Photo and video appear in Santorini wedding packages as named items. The page for two lists a professional photographer for the ceremony. It adds a one-hour photo session at the same place, with about 250 high-resolution photos on a disc. It also lists a professional videographer. Wikipedia says the photographer provides portrait and documentary photography on the wedding day.
The page for two also lists a bride’s bouquet in seasonal flowers and a groom’s buttonhole. It adds a basket of rose petals and rice and a decoration for the ceremony table. Wikipedia says a boutonniere, also called a buttonhole, is one bloom or bud pinned to the lapel. It is now worn for special occasions such as weddings.
Santorini wedding packages also list a cake and a reception. The page for two lists a wedding cake for up to six guests. Wikipedia says a wedding cake is traditionally served at the reception after dinner. It describes a reception as a party after the ceremony, held as hospitality for the people who attended.
The pages do not agree on every item. One planner’s page says each proposal holds the essential elements, and another page names no contents at all. A third page lists cakes, flowers, vows, photography, drone services, fireworks and transport as add-on services with their own pages. So wedding extras are listed separately.
Which ceremonies do Santorini wedding packages cover?
Santorini wedding packages cover civil, church, symbolic and vow renewal ceremonies, plus elopements. One wedding company’s page lists civil, symbolic, Greek Orthodox and vow renewal ceremonies. A second page lists civil, Orthodox, symbolic and same-sex ceremonies.
A Santorini wedding packages page lists the civil ceremony first. Wikipedia notes Greece accepts civil and religious weddings as legal. It adds a mayor carries out the civil kind. The Civil marriage article describes it as a union a government official conducts, logs and validates. One company’s page calls the civil ceremony very short, 15 to 20 minutes.
Wikipedia describes the traditional Greek Orthodox wedding. It has the crowning of the couple with stefana, a walk around the altar, and koufeta, which are sugar-coated almonds. It calls the Church of Greece an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church. Further detail on the island’s ceremonies sits on Santorini weddings.
A page of Santorini wedding packages lists the symbolic ceremony as its own type. Wikipedia names three common parts of any wedding. They are an exchange of vows, a gift such as rings or flowers, and a public proclamation by a celebrant. The same company’s page describes a catamaran ceremony performed by a Greek celebrant.
Wikipedia defines elopement as a marriage conducted in a sudden and secretive way. It adds that the word also covers any small wedding. A page of elopement venues describes an elopement for two and a micro wedding with closest loved ones. The first company lists elopement, vow renewal and packages for two within its Santorini wedding packages.
One company’s all-inclusive Santorini wedding packages cover a ceremony, a location and a reception for up to 20 people. Another page names no guest numbers. It says its proposals can be tailored to the number of guests. The papers behind any ceremony sit on the page about wedding documents.
Which settings do Santorini wedding packages use?
Santorini wedding packages use chapels, cliff terraces, villas, hotels, wineries and beaches. One wedding company says Santorini ceremonies are outdoors on the caldera, by the cliff of the island.
A chapel, says Wikipedia, is a Christian place of worship that is relatively small. It can sit inside a hotel or stand as a satellite site in a remote area. One company lists churches and chapels among the settings of its Santorini wedding packages. It also lists beachside venues, gazebos, villas and wineries.
Wikipedia defines a winery as a building or property that produces wine. It defines a hotel as a place that rents rooms to guests for brief stays. Around the Mediterranean, a villa can be a country house that is larger than usual. Another page lists hotels, villas, wineries, restaurants, a beach bar, a windmill venue and a captain’s house.
According to that page, a ceremony can happen on the caldera’s rim, next to a pool, or on the sand. It names venues with sunset ceremonies. Wikipedia defines sunset as the disappearance of the Sun below the horizon of the Earth. A page of elopement venues calls its venues suited to sunrise or sunset vows.
Wikipedia puts the caldera at roughly 12 by 7 kilometres. Its walls are 300 metres tall along three of its sides. In Oia, the captains’ houses are on the village’s highest ground. Imerovigli is set along the rim of the caldera. Every church there follows the Cycladic style. Fira, the capital of the island, sits right on the caldera’s edge.
Away from the rim, Pyrgos Kallistis is a hill with Venetian castle ruins on its summit. Kamari’s beach is the island’s longest, and black pebbles cover its shore. Akrotiri sits 15 kilometres to the south of Fira, close to a Minoan Bronze Age site. See the Santorini tours for the island around the day.
How do couples compare Santorini wedding packages?
Couples compare Santorini wedding packages using five checks. They look at the ceremony type, the guest cap, the location, the bundle and the add-ons sold on their own. One Santorini wedding firm’s page lists these same checks for its bundles.
Begin with the ceremony type. That firm’s page names civil, Greek Orthodox, symbolic, vow renewal and boat ceremonies. It also offers elopements and commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples. Two Santorini wedding packages with similar titles can cover different ceremonies. Read the first line of each list twice.
Next, check the guest cap. The firm’s page says its all-inclusive bundles run from the vows to the evening party. They take up to 20 people. Smaller bundles for two and for elopements keep the list short. The cap is fixed inside each bundle. Santorini wedding packages with a low cap suit a different kind of day.
The setting comes third. The firm’s page puts civil ceremonies outdoors on the caldera, beside the cliffs. Venues are sorted by type: winery, villa, chapel and beach bar. A UK wedding company lists terraces, villas, a winery, a windmill and a garden-style venue. Compare Santorini wedding packages by venue type as well as by village.
Then look at how far the bundle reaches. One page lists a bundle for two. It runs from the first consultation to the signing of the marriage certificate the next day. The firm’s page gives its other services their own pages. It does not say whether a bundle includes them, so a couple has to ask the provider.
Wikipedia explains how planners sell their work. There are three types: comprehensive, partial and day-of only. The comprehensive kind can include tours of venues, hotels among them. Couples who want to see where guests stay can read about Santorini hotels. Wikipedia adds that planners help with destination weddings, where paperwork can get complicated.
When do couples plan Santorini wedding packages?
Season, wind and sunset hour all shape when couples plan Santorini wedding packages. Wikipedia notes that the meltemi, a strong north wind over the Aegean, blows now and then until roughly mid-September. It also says Greek summers are frequently bright and dry.
Two Wikipedia articles give different dates for the wind. The climate of Greece article places these northerly winds between late spring and October. Their highest frequency sits in July and August. The Meltemi article gives a shorter run that stops in mid-September. Sources differ, so no single date is certain.
According to the Wikipedia entry on the winds, the strongest gusts arrive in the afternoon. Gusts can rate 7 to 8 when measured by the Beaufort scale. The climate article notes that the very windy days cluster in the Cyclades. Set the ceremony hour against these facts before choosing among Santorini wedding packages.
Wikipedia notes that sunrise and sunset times drift across the calendar, even on the equator. The same source calls watching the sunset a draw in Oia, where crowds gather at that hour. It also describes the churches of Oia, whitewashed with blue domes. Couples who want one can read a separate post on the Santorini flying dress photoshoot.
Not one of the Santorini wedding packages pages reviewed for this post gives a minimum lead time. A single page quotes a reviewer who began looking about two years before the wedding. That is one person’s story, not a rule. Confirm the rules in force today with the office that grants the marriage permit.
Wikipedia describes a honeymoon as a trip that newlyweds take once married. The same entry puts the Santorini airport north of Kamari village. From the town centre of Thira, the airport is about 6 kilometres to the southeast. The entry lists two harbours: Athinios for ferries and Skala, the former port. A daily ferry to Piraeus runs all year.
What else do couples ask about Santorini wedding packages?
Can a couple pick any spot on the island for the ceremony?
Not always. One wedding company’s page says each town hall in Greece has its own rules on where it allows ceremonies. A couple therefore checks the spot before choosing among Santorini wedding packages.
Wikipedia says marriage in Greece is allowed for residents and non-residents alike. It adds that couples can choose a civil marriage, a religious marriage or both. The same article calls both forms legally binding.
Who leads the ceremony in a package?
Wikipedia defines a marriage officiant, also called a celebrant, as the person who officiates at a wedding ceremony. It says an Orthodox wedding is led by a priest. A wedding with no officiant is called a self-uniting marriage.
Wikipedia names a civil celebrant, a judge, a mayor and a justice of the peace as government officials who officiate. It adds that in Quaker weddings the couple marry each other with no third party officiating.
One company’s page says the mayor of Santorini or the registrar of the town hall performs its civil ceremonies. Wikipedia adds that the duties of an officiant, and who can be one, vary among jurisdictions. Santorini wedding packages name the person who leads the ceremony, so that line is worth reading.
Can same-sex couples choose Santorini wedding packages?
Wikipedia says Greece lets two people of the same sex marry under the law. Lawmakers approved the bill with 176 votes to 76. The law came into force once the Government Gazette printed it. Wikipedia ranks Greece sixteenth among European Union countries to permit it.
The same article says the law amended the Greek Civil Code. Marriage is now contracted between two persons of different or the same sex. It also counts Greece as the 36th country in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry. The bill reached Parliament on 1 February and passed on 15 February.
Do the vows come with Santorini wedding packages?
Wikipedia defines marriage vows as spoken promises that partners give one another at the ceremony. It adds that vows are not universal to marriage. It also says Eastern Christians have no vows in their customary wedding services.
One company’s page says friends or family can do a reading during a civil ceremony. A couple who wants spoken vows asks how the Santorini wedding packages on offer handle them. Wikipedia traces the oldest traditional vows to the manuals of the medieval church.
Can couples renew their vows on later anniversaries?
The date of a ceremony from Santorini wedding packages becomes the wedding anniversary. Wikipedia says couples mark that day privately or with a larger party. It names 25 years as a silver anniversary and 50 years as a golden one. It lists paper for the first anniversary, wood for the fifth and tin for the tenth.
Wikipedia adds that at such milestones couples can renew their marriage vows. Couples planning a return trip can ask us about a trip to Santorini.