There’s a kind of magic in Santorini that you just can’t find anywhere else. Maybe it’s the way the sun sets in blazing orange over the caldera, or how the whitewashed buildings and blue domes feel like something out of a dream. When I first imagined my wedding, I wanted it to feel timeless, intimate, and full of soul—and Santorini delivered all of that and more. But planning a wedding on a Greek island? That’s a whole story in itself.
Why Santorini?
I’d always been drawn to Santorini for its natural beauty and romantic atmosphere. The idea of exchanging vows with the Aegean Sea as our backdrop felt surreal. We didn’t want a massive wedding; we wanted something personal, where every guest felt part of our love story. Santorini felt like the perfect blend of elegance and escape.
The Planning Process: What I Wish I Knew
Planning a destination wedding isn’t for the faint of heart—especially when you’re doing it across time zones. Here are some things I learned along the way:
Hire a Local Wedding Planner
Many of the venues in Santorini will require you to have a wedding planner regardless. We hired one before we flew out to scout out the venues in July 2024. This was a practical decision decision as we knew that on the day we would be thankful to have someone else who wasn't emotinally involved steering our ship.
Our planner knew the ins and outs of the island—what paperwork we needed, which vendors were reliable, and even the best time of day to schedule the ceremony based on lighting (yes, that’s a thing!). Communication was key, and having someone on the ground saved us from so many logistical headaches.
That being said, yes our planner had a great wealth of knowledge that was incredibly valuable to us as a couple booking a wedding abroad, but don't be fooled into thinking that they will give you prefrential rates when it comes to booking suppliers. When I recieved those very first quotes detailing how much the lighting would cost and how much decorations would be, I grew very worried. I worried we had bitten off more than we could chew.
Don't be Afraid to Get Independant Quotes
With the wedding planners quotes in hand, I took to Instagram to see if I could obtain some independent quotes. I spoke to companies providing flowers, Musicians, Wedding Cakes, DJ set ups, Fireworks... You name it, I had it quoted.
With the independent quotes in hand, I could see that there was a very substantial mark up on many of the services which catagorically ruled them out. In some instances, delivery fees were added for items that just didn't need it... For example Greek dancers coming to perform and provide plate smashing. Dancers who were coming to our wedding anyway wanted €80 to deliver the plates to the wedding venue, after we were already being charged €6 a person for the plate smashing.
My own research found me the most fantastic company, Santorini Entertainment and the owner Dimitris Diamantis. He has sourced our DJ set up, Lighing, Greek dancing - with complimentary plates and NO delivery fee, fireworks, ground fireworks and big Mr and Mrs Carter letters. He was incredibly priced and his personal, friendly service on the run up to the wedding has been absolutely fabulous. I highly recommend Dimitris and will provide a full review once we are married!
This additonal bang for buck popped up a number of times during the planning process, and I very quickly booked up everything myself. With the suppliers booked with a deposit, I then provided all of the details back to our wedding planner so that she could communicate with them and finalise the details.
Initially we were concerened this may be an issue, but we have got on very well with our wedding planner and she has been super. We just had to accept that she would be adding a % on to the hire fee.
Start Early—But Be Flexible
Things in Santorini run on “island time.” Venues book up fast, especially during peak wedding season (May to September), so by the time we started planning our wedding in July 2024... We were already behind the curve. Our wedding has come together in 11 months, when many people plan for years ahead of their date!
We were lucky in regards to available dates, as we opted for a new venue that had not yet done it's first season. This gave us the pick of the dates. I talk more about the venues in this post - How to choose a Wedding Venue in Santorini.
Trust the Local Aesthetic
When it came to planning our wedding in Santorini, we knew one thing for sure: the island itself would be the main character. With the breathtaking caldera views, whitewashed buildings, and that endless blue sea, it didn’t take much to make the setting feel magical. But we still wanted to add personal touches—something that felt like “us.”
So we struck a balance: minimal but meaningful, romantic but unfussy. Here’s how we approached our wedding décor in Santorini and why we wouldn’t change a thing.
As the sun dips and the sky turns pink and gold on May 27th 2025, our fairy lights will begin to glow. We will have them strung across the reception space, creating a canopy of twinkling light that make the evening feel intimate and almost otherworldly. There’s something about warm lights swaying gently in the breeze that makes everything feel a little softer, a little slower, a little more special.
At night, those lights will transform the space. It won't just be pretty—it will feel enchanted.
A Few Practical Tips
Legal Ceremony or Symbolic? We opted for a legal ceremony in Santorini and handled the legal paperwork at home on the run up to the big day. Considerations that must be allowed for are needing to go to your local registry office to obtain a CNI (Certificate of No Impediment) which costs around £42.00. This has to be dated within 3 months of your wedding date.
Once you obtain the CNI, which will take around a month due to the 'cooling off period' where the document is kept in the public domain, should someone wish to object to your marriage. After this period you will have another appointment to collect your document. With your CNI in hand, you must now send it off to be Apostille Stamped.
Apostille Stamps legalise documents, and we had to have a birth certificate each and a CNI each. If you allow enough time, you can use the goverments standard service. However with our wedding at the end of May, and only getting our CNI's back at the begining of May... We were running out of time. We opted to spend £410 to have a next day service with a company called 2E Apostille.
We sent our documents off on Wednesday 7th May 2025 and had them back Apostille Stamped and ready to be sent to our wedding planner for translation into Greek on Saturday 10th May 2025.
Accommodations: Our wedding planner advised us to instruct all of our guests to book accomadation in Kamari. That plan quickly went out of the window, with both of our families booking Pygros and Vourvoulos, while we were heading to Akrotiri. It became clear that we would need our guests to organise their own transport to and from the wedding venue. We laid this out ahead of time, to allow everyone time to get transport organised.
Don’t Skip the Food Tasting: Greek cuisine is amazing, and most venues will let you sample ahead of time. We did however skip the food tasting, as we didn't make it back out to Santorini as we hoped to taste the cake and the food choices we had made. However we have read very good things about both of our selections, Marios Catering and Petranart. I will update post wedding!
Would I Do It Again?
Absolutely. Planning a wedding in Santorini took patience, flexibility, and trust—but it also gives us a celebration beyond our wildest dreams. There’s nothing quite like watching the people you love fall under the island’s spell right alongside you.
If you’re considering a Santorini wedding, take a deep breath, embrace the adventure, and prepare for a celebration that’s every bit as magical as the island itself.