Events · Destination weddings
Planning a destination wedding in Greece from Copenhagen
Whitewash, sea light, long tables
Planning a destination wedding in Greece from Copenhagen usually means choosing a region and a date 12 to 18 months ahead, deciding early whether the legal ceremony happens in Greece or at home in Denmark, and organising guest travel around flights and ferries. May, June and September tend to offer the best balance of weather, prices and availability.
Planning notes
Why Greece works for couples from the Nordics
Greece is one of the most popular destination wedding countries for couples from Denmark and the rest of the Nordics, and the reasons are practical as well as romantic. The season is long, the light is reliable for photographs, the food culture suits long celebrations, and there are flights from Copenhagen to Athens all year, with seasonal routes to many islands in summer.
It is also a country of very different landscapes. A wedding on a Cycladic island, in a Cretan olive grove, on the green Ionian coast or in a villa on the Athens Riviera will feel, cost and run differently. Choosing the region is the first real decision, and it shapes everything that follows.
Choosing a region and a season
Each area has its own character and logistics. The table is a broad orientation, not a ranking.
| Region | Character | Things to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Athens and the Riviera | City culture, coastal villas, easy access | Year-round flights, less of an island feel |
| Cyclades (Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos) | White villages, sea views, iconic sunsets | Busy in high season, strong summer winds, ferries or short flights from Athens |
| Crete | Large island, mountains, villages, great food | Two airports, long distances between areas |
| Ionian (Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos) | Green hills, Venetian architecture, calm sea | Seasonal direct flights, softer landscape |
| Dodecanese (Rhodes, Kos) | Medieval towns, beaches, long season | Good seasonal connections, close to Turkey’s coast |
The season matters as much as the place. July and August bring the most heat, the fullest ferries and the highest prices, and in the Cyclades the summer meltemi wind can make outdoor ceremonies challenging. Late May, June, September and early October are often the sweet spot: warm evenings, sea warm enough for a swim, and more choice of venues and suppliers. Flight schedules from Copenhagen to the islands change each season, so check them before you fix a date.
The legal side: marry in Greece or at home
The first legal decision is where the marriage itself becomes official. Couples generally choose between two routes.
A legal ceremony in Greece
A civil wedding in Greece is usually conducted by the mayor or a deputy at the town hall, or at an approved location, and then registered at the local registry office. Foreign couples are typically asked for valid passports, birth certificates, a certificate showing they are free to marry, and sometimes further documents, with an apostille and an official Greek translation. Some municipalities have also required a marriage notice to be published in a local newspaper before the ceremony. A religious ceremony in a Greek Orthodox church has its own conditions, generally including that at least one partner is Orthodox.
Requirements differ between municipalities and change over time, so treat this as a general outline. Always confirm the current list, deadlines and fees directly with the local municipality or registry office, and check with the Danish authorities how a marriage contracted abroad is registered and recognised once you are home.
A legal wedding in Denmark, a celebration in Greece
Many couples sign the legal paperwork in Denmark, with a short civil ceremony at home, and then hold a symbolic ceremony in Greece. It removes the document deadlines and translations from the planning, gives full freedom over the location and the celebrant, and lets the Greek day focus entirely on the celebration.
Working with a destination wedding planner
Planning a wedding in another country, in another language, from more than 2,000 kilometres away is possible, but most couples find a planner with local knowledge saves time and mistakes. A good planner knows which venues allow music late into the evening, which caterers work well on a particular island, how ferries affect delivery times, and how long the paperwork really takes.
Within our group, Artisti Weddings is the division for this: a boutique destination wedding design and planning studio based in Copenhagen, working across 78 destinations in 14 countries, Greece among them. A+A Media & Events does not plan weddings itself. Our work is on the media and event side, which is useful when a couple wants the celebration to have a strong visual identity or a specific sound.
Whoever you work with, ask the same questions:
- which venues and suppliers in your chosen region they have worked with before;
- how they handle legal paperwork, or whether they advise the Danish route;
- what happens if the weather turns on the day;
- how payments to local suppliers are made and in which currency.
Looking after guests who travel
At a destination wedding, guests give up holiday days and pay for their own travel. Respecting that is the most important part of the planning. A few principles help:
- Give notice early. A save-the-date nine to twelve months ahead lets people book flights and holiday time. Summer flights from Copenhagen to the islands can rise in price as the season approaches.
- Put everything in one place. A simple wedding website with dates, travel routes, accommodation, dress code and a schedule for the whole stay answers most questions before they are asked. The same thinking we bring to event branding, invitations and a clear guest site applies here.
- Plan the transfers. Ferries, island roads and hotel locations can make a 20 kilometre journey take an hour. Shared transport to the ceremony and back after the party avoids late-night taxi queues.
- Offer a range of accommodation. Not every guest can afford the same villa. A list with options at different price levels is appreciated.
- Think beyond the wedding day. A welcome evening and a relaxed beach day afterwards turn the trip into a holiday, and give guests who only know the couple time to meet.
Music, light and capturing the night
Greek celebrations traditionally run late, and many couples want the party to match. Check each venue’s rules on music and finish times early, as they vary with location and local regulations, and outdoor venues near homes or hotels may have strict limits.
Sound and light are where the evening comes together. A small outdoor venue needs a discreet system that covers speeches without reaching the neighbours, then a fuller set-up when the dancing starts. Many couples bring a DJ they know from home, which works well when the DJ is briefed on the venue’s power and equipment. Our DJ and entertainment work covers this side for events, and the same applies to film and photography: a crew who understands both the ceremony and the party will plan for sunset light, candlelit dinners and a dance floor in near darkness.
A realistic planning outline
Every wedding is different, but a common sequence for a Greek destination wedding from Copenhagen looks like this:
- 18 to 12 months before: choose region and season, decide the legal route, book planner and venue.
- 12 to 9 months: send save-the-dates and launch the guest website, book photographer, film crew and music.
- 9 to 6 months: arrange accommodation blocks and transfers, and if marrying in Greece, start gathering and translating documents.
- 6 to 3 months: send formal invitations, design printed material, plan the menu and the timeline for the day.
- Final months: confirm guests, submit legal documents within the municipality’s deadlines, share a final schedule with every supplier.
Start with the region and the legal route, and the rest of the decisions fall into a clearer order.
Greek wedding questions
What couples ask before
booking a Greek island
Generally yes: a marriage that is legally concluded in Greece is normally recognised in Denmark, provided it was valid under Greek law and you meet the Danish conditions for marriage. You will usually need an official Greek marriage certificate, often with an apostille, to have it registered at home.
The exact steps for registering a foreign marriage with the Danish authorities can change, so check the current guidance from Familieretshuset or your kommune before the wedding, not after. A symbolic ceremony in Greece without a civil or recognised religious wedding has no legal effect. That is why many couples sign the papers at a Danish town hall first and keep the Greek ceremony purely celebratory, which avoids translations and document deadlines abroad.
June and September are the months most couples and planners favour for Greek island weddings. Evenings are warm, the sea is pleasant, days are long, and prices and crowds are lower than in the peak weeks of July and August.
Late May and early October can work well too, with milder temperatures and good availability, though the chance of a cooler or windier day is higher and some seasonal venues and flights may not yet be running. In July and August, heat during the afternoon can be hard on older guests, ferries and hotels are at their busiest, and in the Cyclades the meltemi wind can be strong. If you have a specific island in mind, check its flight connections from Copenhagen for your month before deciding.
Give guests at least nine to twelve months’ notice with a save-the-date, followed by a formal invitation around three to six months before the wedding. Travelling guests need time to request holiday, compare flights and book accommodation.
For Danish guests, summer holiday planning often starts early in the year, and many workplaces settle the main holiday weeks well in advance. If the wedding falls in July or August, earlier notice helps even more. Send practical information with the save-the-date, or a link to a wedding website, including the location, nearest airport, suggested arrival and departure days, and a rough idea of accommodation costs. Guests decide whether they can come based on this information, so the clearer it is, the more accurate your guest numbers will be.
Usually yes, and many couples do, but it takes some planning. The performer needs flights and accommodation, and either equipment hired locally or carried as baggage, which airlines may charge for or limit.
Check the venue’s rules first. Some venues work only with approved suppliers or require that music stops at a set time, and outdoor locations can have strict volume limits. Share the venue’s technical details with the DJ or band early: power supply, available sound system, where they will set up and how far the speakers are from neighbours. A local sound supplier can often provide the equipment, so the performer only brings their own controller or instruments. Agree who handles setup and who is responsible if something fails on the night.