The idea of getting married, or hosting your wedding reception, on the premises of a luxurious, elegant and stylish hotel against the backdrop of a magnificent Greek island, is rapidly becoming more popular and there many reasons for this craze for the destination wedding.
Tailor-made services, comfort, luxury, amazing pictures, literally and mentally, and moments to cherish forever with your partner and your friends – that is what you get for a destination wedding.
Nowadays, the options are limitless – a glance at the numerous packages of various wedding specialists will surely persuade you – and are clearly guided by the personal desires of each couple, including the party and honeymoon!
Having a big circle of friends who are around the age when many people get married means just one thing: you get invited to their weddings! And when those weddings happen to be organised in magnificent venues around the world and in amazing, sumptuous hotels, the pleasure for them – and for me – is all the greater!
Through this post we are going to travel to the Greek islands, as well as one more stop in Athens – all places I have personal experience of – to discover some amazing venues for a destination wedding in Greece.
A Wedding on Corfu
Our first stop is the gorgeous Ionian Islands in the western part of Greece, and more specifically the emerald island of Corfu. I found myself strolling around the famous “kantounia” – the narrow pebbled streets in the centre of the town of Corfu – as a guest of a friend who invited me to be part of her wedding celebration.
The reception was held in a gorgeous venue: a great city hotel on Corfu called Mon Repos Palace (see the photo at top), which combines harmoniously breath-taking panoramic sea views over the region’s gulf with an excellent location, technically considered in the city centre.
Every detail seemed carefully arranged; the wedding cake was delicious both in taste and aesthetics; and as a guest I found myself feeling a bit jealous. The greatest part, though, was the ability of the couple (and me of course) to explore the island’s culture, nightlife and special points of interest during the days following, or even before the wedding, so creating a unique amalgam of vivid memories to carefully guard in your heart and in your mind.
A Santorini Wedding
To get straight to the point, I recently found myself travelling once again to the unique Santorini (I have visited the island before on vacation) as one of the 50 guests of a some friends who were to be married and host their wedding reception at the Astarte Suites hotel in Akrotiri (they got married on the balcony of their suite).
The breath-taking views over the volcanic caldera, the “discussion” with the rising sun every single day, and the luxury of the hotel, comprised a divine context both for the couple and for the guests. Those events create moments to people’s lives that are not easily forgotten.
Every single minute of it was worth its weight in gold and, of course, it is a superb way to combine a wedding with a honeymoon and with a vacation.
Or a Wedding in Athens
Lastly, there is always the possibility of a wedding in Athens. I’ve witnessed more than one wedding in Athens, whether with the view of the Acropolis or by a pool, in one of the numerous luxurious estates that offer exclusive venues for weddings.
The one I enjoyed the most was a simple wedding at Civitel Attik. Taking place by the pool, the bride and groom looked ravishing against the blue of the water, the green from the garden and the off-white of the hotel. The setting was beautifully decorated with a series of lanterns and after the ceremony took place, the party started right there!
The feeling of being in the same venue, easily accessible for everyone through public or private transportation, and knowing you’re being looked after by experts really makes your memories from the day of your wedding worth remembering!
So why not consider a wedding in Greece. Apart from all the advantages described above, most of these hotels retain their very own wedding planning professionals, ready to assist you in creating the wedding of your dreams in their hotel/venue.
