Getting married in Oia

1. 1

   A civil wedding at the place you choose

   The mayor’s decision 106/2012, in force until revoked, lets the Municipality of Thira marry couples outside the town hall, on the days and at the hours they wish, because, it says, the town has no suitable room. Two municipal officials are named to handle the weddings; the Civil Weddings Office in Fira takes the paperwork, and the municipality charges one fee for the licence and another for the ceremony. The national tourism board notes that ceremonies are bilingual, in Greek and English.

2. 2

   Oia’s Orthodox churches

   In the middle of the village stands the Panagia Akathistou, known as the Platsani; Agios Georgios is another of Oia’s churches. The official guide notes that Orthodox weddings are often held in the churches of Oia and Imerovigli. The Metropolis of Thira does not publish its rules for couples from abroad: ask the parish priest early, through your own parish if you are Orthodox.

3. 3

   Imerovigli’s monastery and churches

   On the highest stretch of the rim, Imerovigli has the monastery of Agios Nikolaos and the church of the Presentation of the Virgin, known as the Panagia Malteza — and, below the village on the side of Skaros, the small white chapel of Theoskepasti.

4. 4

   The Catholic cathedral in Fira

   Santorini has a single Catholic parish, St John the Baptist in Fira: a cathedral built in 1823, damaged in the 1956 earthquake and reopened for worship in 1975. The island’s guide says Catholic couples usually marry there; write to the parish well ahead, as its rules for visitors are not published.

5. 5

   Terraces over the caldera

   A terrace with the caldera behind the vows is what most couples come for — for a civil wedding, by the municipality’s rule above, or for a symbolic ceremony, which has no legal weight and can be held wherever a host allows, in your own words.

May, June and September are the months to aim for; the island’s guide calls July and August the peak. Greece’s weather service has no station on Santorini: at Naxos, the nearest in its tables, average highs are 22.1 °C in May, 25.9 °C in June, 27.1 °C in July and 25.1 °C in September, with almost no rain from June to August, while the National Observatory of Athens’ station on the island (2013–2025) puts July and August highs at about 30 °C. The meltemi, the dry north wind, blows most in July and August, strongest in the afternoon. Cruise ships set the island’s busiest days: Santorini’s port fund capped them at 8,000 passengers a day for 2025 and 2026, and its 2027 schedule puts Mondays and Tuesdays from May to August near that figure, Wednesdays and Fridays near half — and more than half of the ships listed so far sail at 20:00 or later, keeping their passengers on the island at sunset.