Ahhh Santorini…that stunning island in Greece…with pretty stone houses on the cliffs overlooking the picturesque caldera…where sunset casts a spell…where the breeze smells romance... Before Keith and I met, we both heard about all these mesmerizing things about Santorini and fueled the romantic in us to visit that dreamy island someday. We both had opportunities to do so – friends going there wanted us to tag along – but we both held off. We felt it was an extraordinary place that we had to save for something special. After we got engaged in Marrakesh, we both realized what we were saving Santorini for — our wedding.
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Arriving in Santorini
Mama Mia! We gasped at our first glimpse of the spectacular view of the caldera as we arrived at our hotel, the beautiful Anastasis Apartments in the village of Imerovigli.
We got excited as we caught sight of the lovely deck — the venue for our wedding!
We climbed to the deck and checked out the breathtaking view.
The sight of the of the cobalt-blue water of the caldera from the deck took our breath away.
The honeymoon suite at Anastasis, our home for our week stay in Santorini.
The sunset came not long after we arrived. We had the best seat in the house as we watched the best free show on earth – right on our balcony!
They said that the sunset in Santorini was beyond spectacular. They were not kidding!
The infinity pool at Anastasis lit up at twilight. The cluster of lights in the upper right is the village of Oia.
For our first evening in Santorini, we enjoyed a lovely dinner at To Steki tou Nikou, a traditional Greek taverna recommended by our wonderful hostess, Despina. The restaurant sent a car to pick us up from the hotel and drop us off:) The food was simple but fresh and delicious. And we indulged ourselves a bit (ok, more than a bit) with cold ouzo, a Greek digestif similar to sambuca. It gave us a good night sleep!
The day before the wedding.
The day before our wedding, we set out for what became our favorite activity in Santorini – hiking! It’s a great way to see and experience the island. It was also a great way to get some tan before our wedding:) There’s a spectacular hiking trail that hugs the caldera side and stretches from the villages of Fira to Oia. Imerovigli, our home base, is in between these two villages. On this day, we hiked to the direction of Oia on the north side of the island.
We were surprised to see a lot of chapels along the trail. This chapel hanging on the cliff was dedicated for the safety of sailors.
The dramatic view of the volcanic landscape along the trail, a relic of one the biggest recorded volcanic eruption in history.
A crevice on a cliff.
Another chapel on the trail. The village of Oia can be seen on the background.
We took a break on the terrace of the chapel and enjoyed the scenic view of Oia and the sea.
We finally reached Oia and this was the view of the whitewashed houses on the cliff as we looked back on the trail behind us.
Pretty cluster of homes that sit on the steep cliff of Oia.
One of the many traditional churches in Oia.
This deep-blue domed church dominates the skyline of Oia.
Exploring the charming narrow streets of Oia.
We stopped for lunch and a beer at one of the tavernas overlooking the caldera. I looked at Keith’s hand and realized that it was his last day without a ring on his finger!
Most doors in Oia come in different shades of blue.
A bougainvillea vine clinging on a whitewashed wall is a typical sight in Oia.
View of the village on the cliff from the tip of Oia.
The Bay of Armeni.
Boats on the tiny port of Ammoudi that lies 300 steps below Oia.
Donkeys and a boat resting on the steps that lead from Oia to the port of Ammoudi.
Colorful boats docked on the port of Ammoudi.
Excellent traditional tavernas lined the port of Ammoudi.
Stunning view of the port village of Ammoudi and the village of Oia on top of the hill.
We followed a path on the left side of the port that led to a swimming hole teeming with bathers.
Bathers resting on top of a rock.
We climbed back up to Oia from Ammoudi and waited for the sunset at one of the outdoor bars.
While waiting for sunset, we witnessed a wedding taking place just below the bar. It looked romantic! We were happy for them. It would be our turn the following day – only ours would be more private, with no hundreds of tourist gawking at us from different directions. Such was the advantage of our rather private location in Imerovigli.
The golden hour in Oia.
Sunset finally came. (Tourists flock to Oia to see the sunset, but as the locals know, and we agree, the best Santorini sunset view is back in our home base of Imerovigli.)
Sunset and twilight in Oia.
Our Wedding Day!
How did we spend the morning of our wedding day? We hiked! This time we head to the direction of Fira on the west side of the island.
The stunning view of the caldera with its cobalt-blue water as we look back from the trail.
The view of Oia from the trail.
We were thrilled to finally see the view of Fira from the trail.
Perched on an impressive cliff, Fira is the capital of Santorini and is the largest among the villages.
We walked around Oia exploring its charming narrow streets lined with cafes and cozy shops.
We explored the shopping streets of Oia as we searched for…a lipstick! I realized I was getting married and didn’t have a lipstick. I don’t normally wear one and didn’t own one but I thought it would be nice to wear one for the wedding pictures:)
At about 3:00 pm, we hiked back to Imerovigli. Our hotel is the one on the farthest left with a pool.
Thie view of our hotel as we approached from the trail.
We refreshed and relaxed at the pool upon arrival from the hike. We took a nap at 4:30 pm, showered by 6 pm…
…and at 7:15 pm, with the sunset as our guest of honor, we got married.
A town official officiated our wedding. He conducted the touching ceremony in both Greek and English. He took his time and made the ceremony really special.
We’re married!
Our wedding was as special as we wanted, it was just Keith and I, just all about the two of us. It was not about the wedding dress, or the flower arrangements, or the guest list and seating arrangements, etc. It was all about us getting married and not about having a wedding. A month after we got home from Greece, we had a very intimate and fun wedding celebration with close family and friends. We ate glorious food, we drank fine wine, we danced and danced and laughed until we dropped. No stiff ceremonial stuff. Our wedding in Greece and wedding celebration back home were both very meaningful, memorable and stress–free. We wouldn’t have done it any other way.
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How to get married in Greece: Wedding in Greece is universally accepted. Both civil and religious ceremonies are considered legal by the state. According to U.S. Statutes, marriages performed abroad, which are valid under the laws of that country, are generally accepted as valid by any state in the U.S. We found the requirements for non-Greek nationals pretty reasonable. The following are the required documents for a civil wedding (note that religious weddings require additional documents):
- Copy of passport
- Certificate of no impediment (proof that you’re free to marry and can be obtained from city hall)
- Original birth certificate
The certificate of no-impediment and birth certificate should be notarized and affixed with Apostille stamp (in the U.S. this stamp is obtained from city hall or local state department).
All the documents must be translated in Greek. In our case, we sent all the documents to our hostess Despina, the owner of Anastasis Apartments, and she took care of the translation for additional fee outside of the wedding package. Once they were translated and as part of the package, she then took care of the other requirements such as obtaining the marriage certificate, posting the announcement in the local newspaper, scheduling the ceremony with the mayoral office, and arranging for witnesses (herself and her sister). Despina also took care of the photographer, flowers, music, cake and champagne. Really, we just showed up at our wedding!
If you’re interested to get married in Greece and have a lovely and stress-free wedding, we recommend that you contact Despina at Anastasis Apartments.
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Feel free to leave your comments below.
Hi Marisol! Thank you for sharing your tiny, skinny Greek wedding photo story. I love the unique non traditional wedding – just you & Keith.
Regards,
Micay
Hi Micay, our pleasure. We’re glad you enjoyed it.
Awww……I love it!! That would be my ideal wedding—beautiful, romantic and stress free!!! I wished I had that kind of wedding instead of the conventional one I had. Oh well, next time. Ha! Ha! Wonderful photos and the two of you look terrific.
Thanks Kira. Well, you can consider it for your renewal of vow:)
Sweeeet! Oh, what a wonderful wedding. You guys are maverick! Who would hike on their wedding day, shower at 6 pm and get married at 7:15 pm? I love it! Santorini is breathtakingly beautiful and your photos are incredible. Someday I’ll go there, too! And maybe on a special occasion, too:)
HI Dani, we’ll keep our fingers cross for you:)
Love Santorini and love your wedding story. If and when I get married, thta’s the way I’ll do it:) Wonderful photos, as usual.
Thanks Jan. Hey, you’ll never know:) Wishing you all the best.
Your wedding photos teared me up a bit. Thanks for sharing therm. What a beautiful wedding you had. Thanks also for sharing you photos of the beautiful sceneries of Santorini. I felt I’d been there. Looking forward to the Part 2.
Hi Carrie, our pleasure. We’re glad you enjoyed the photos.
Sweet romantic adventurous wedding you got there! Perfect sunset to accompany the biggest event in your lives as a couple.
I walked from Fira to Oia so I’m pretty sure I passed by your resort.
Hi Dennis, I guess that’s a good way to describe it. If you walked the entire trail, yo surely passed our hotel.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and looking at all the amazing pictures Marisol. The views are beyond beautiful and you captured them perfectly.
Thanks Mitch! Glad you enjoyed the sceneries and the photos. Coming from you, it’s a huge compliment:) Can’t imagine anyone who will be able to capture those landscapes better than you.
Nice article! Thank you for sharing those amazing pictures.
Christine recently posted..Things To Do Around Lake Achensee in Austria
Hi Christine, our pleasure:)
What a beautiful place to get married!! Santorini is one of those places we can’t wait to visit – but we want to do it right, so it’s worth waiting.
Christy @ Technosyncratic recently posted..Dublin’s Medieval Architecture
Hi Christy,
Oh, I can’t wait for you guys to get there. You will love it there. Yes, it’s nice to do it right and it will be worth the wait:)
Oh wooow !! Fabulous pictures ! And Congrats on your wedding !! You both make a cute couple !!
Santorini is my dream destination and is talked about almost everyday in our house. We havent made it thinking it would be better to visit when our daughter is a little bigger so that we all enjoy the place equally…But I can hardly wait..The beautiful blue and white keeps beckoning me..Thanks for sharing these lovely pictures !! I have bookmarked this page for future reference !
Hi Saji, thank you! Yes, Santorini is such a dream destination. It will be worth your wait. I hope your daughter grows up quick!
I’m sure your family will have a wonderful time. Thanks for dropping by. –Marisol
I had second thoughts about visiting Santorini during my backpacking trip, thinking it would be so much nicer to go there as a couple. I did go, and I really enjoyed my time there, but seeing you two makes me want to go back there for my wedding too! haha Thanks for dropping by my blog!
Hi Aleah, I’m glad you did go on your own and had a great time. I hope you get to go back in a more romantic situation:)
Incredible photos! I love the photos of the sunset. If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of camera do you use? I was in Greece/Santorini about 6 years ago and my photos didn’t turn out as beautiful as yours.
Natalie C. recently posted..Humboldt Park – Chicago, IL
Hi Nathalie, Thanks, glad you enjoyed the photos! For most of these photos, we used our old Canon EOS 40D with 24-105 mmm f/4L lens.
A perfect place for a perfect wedding! Simple and yet very elegant! I totally enjoyed viewing your travel photography…just amazing how you can capture awesome images of every corner of the world.
The LaQueen
Well, hello Your Highness, nice to see you here:) We’re glad you enjoyed the photos and really appreciate your kind words. Hope to see you soon!
Marisol and Keith, words cannot describe!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely love Santorini, and your wedding day looks absolutely MAGNIFICENT. I just cannot get over having that island as your wedding venue, your simple (yet rockstar!), ceremony at sunset in one of the most magical places on earth with just the two of you. Thanks you so much for sharing this!!!
Sarah recently posted..April in Playa – Taking What Comes
HI Sarah,
Aww, you’re so sweet. Glad you loved Santorini and enjoyed our wedding day. It was truly a special place and occasion fpr us. Its our pleasure to share our special memories with you:)
I just saw this in the Popular Posts on your sidebar – what an incredible place to get married! We visited Santorini for one day on a cruise and I can’t wait to return. Beautiful photos and you were a beautiful bride, Marisol!!
Lisa Goodmurphy recently posted..The Man With Two Hats – A Monument to Peace
HI Lisa,
Thank you! It truluy was a special place to get married. It still bringsa big smile to our faces when we remember our wedding day.
I hope you can return soon and hope you can stay for more than a day next time so you can feel its magic more:)
What an absolutely stunning location for your wedding. The colours and the depth of colours is incredible – as you say, the sea is ‘cobalt’. How wonderful, in an age of excessive spending, to choose to have a simple and meaningful ceremony about the two of you. I heart your decision for that. And then to include family and friends in a fantastic celebration afterwards – much more meaningful than pomp, ceremony and thousands of dollars. I hope you are both still very happy – certainly seems that way from your lovely travel blogs
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Thanks Jo. Yes, we’re still very happy. It was indeed a stunning, special setting for our wedding. We couldn’t be any happier with the decisions we made.
What an awesome account of your special day! We are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Santorini and we were wondering if you booked the Anastasia Apartments directly with the hotel or used a travel agency? We haven’t been able to found an online travel agency that books that hotel and from all the good reviews online, I got a feeling we need to book soon for next summer.
Thanks in advance for any advice with this!
Hi Marion, yes we booked directly with Anastasia Apartments. I suggest you book as early as possible. We book almost a year in advance. Despina, the owner is very responsive. Shoot her an email right away to learn about availabilities.
Hi! I realize I am 4 years late in congratulating both of you but after seeing this, I absolutely felt the need to – so CONGRATULATIONS!!! Such a stunning wedding… I think of where I would like to get married and this is surely quite perfect. Came by your website only yesterday, while searching for blogs on Bhutan – I will be doing a trip in two weeks time #Super Excited – and I have been hooked ever since. Beautiful photos and it is so wonderful reading about each of your experiences. Kudos to that! Can’t wait to read more – so inspired
Absolutely amazing pictures! Santorini looks like perfect place for couples and I really want to visit it again. We made our wedding in Santorini http://7.agency/destination/santorini/package/sky-wedding. Hope we can go back for summer holidays in 2017. Thanks for your article!