Short answer
A legal wedding on either island is a civil ceremony before the municipality: on Mykonos the Municipality of Mykonos, on Santorini the Municipality of Thira. Neither publishes its procedure online, so ask them directly. The nearest published example is the Municipality of Heraklion on Crete. For couples who do not live in Greece it asks for a document from your own country confirming you are free to marry and a birth certificate, both with an apostille and translated into Greek, plus one adult witness each. The notice in a local newspaper applies to residents only. Mykonos suits a beach and an evening that carries on, Santorini a smaller party on the caldera. On both, the meltemi wind is strongest from mid-June to early September, so hold the ceremony in the evening or outside that window.
What our figures are
Of the 22 couples who have written to us about Greece, six named Mykonos or Santorini in their brief: four Mykonos and two Santorini, none both. The briefs were sent between 15 March and 27 September 2026. Test and demo rows are removed, and each email address counts once. Three came through our Swedish site, two through the Danish one and one through the Latvian one. Six is a very small number, so we give medians only for the six together, never per island.
A brief states a budget, written before a single quote has been requested. It is not a cost. Add ten to twenty per cent to get closer to what a wedding actually ends up at.
| Six briefs naming Mykonos or Santorini, March to September 2026 | Median |
|---|---|
| Budget | 24,790 EUR |
| Guests | 55 |
| Budget per guest | 479 EUR |
The parties range from ten to ninety guests. How budgets spread across the whole of Greece, Crete included, is set out in what a wedding in Greece costs.
Legal or symbolic
Civil weddings in Greece are performed by the municipalities, and each sets its own procedure for foreign couples. We went through the websites of the Municipality of Mykonos (mykonos.gr) and the Municipality of Thira (thira.gov.gr), which covers Santorini, on 16 October 2026. Neither has a page on civil marriage. Ask them directly for the document list, the fee, the days and times they marry, and where the ceremony can be held, before you fix a date or a venue.
The nearest published example is the Municipality of Heraklion on Crete. Its list for foreigners who do not live permanently in Greece asks for:
- a document from your own country confirming that you are free to marry, translated into Greek,
- a birth certificate, translated into Greek,
- a residence permit or visa that has not expired,
- an apostille on the documents if your country is party to the Hague Convention, otherwise legalisation by the Greek embassy in your country,
- one adult witness each, who may be a relative and must bring a passport or identity card.
The translations must come from the translation service of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Greek consular officer, a Greek lawyer or a graduate translator of the Ionian University. Heraklion charges 100 or 150 EUR depending on the day and time. Mykonos and Thira set their own fees.
The newspaper notice is for residents. Heraklion asks for a notice in a local daily newspaper only in its list for permanent residents. The national register of procedures, mitos.gov.gr, describes the same notice as part of the marriage licence for foreigners who live in Greece, issued by the municipality where they live. If neither of you lives in Greece, it is not part of the published procedure for you. Confirm it with the municipality.
A symbolic ceremony has no legal effect. You marry legally at home, before or after the trip, and the day on the island is the celebration. No Greek documents are needed, and the ceremony can be held where and when you and your planner choose, on a terrace at sunset or on a beach. The differences are explained in symbolic or legal wedding abroad.
Two of our six briefs raise the legal question in their own words. The other four say nothing about it, and it is the single most useful line you can add.
How the two islands differ
What follows is what the Greek National Tourism Organisation says on its official site, visitgreece.gr, and what it means for a wedding.
Mykonos lies in the heart of the Cyclades and, in the tourism organisation's own words, is also known as the island of the winds. Its main town, Hora, has narrow paved streets and whitewashed houses. In Little Venice the houses with wooden balconies are built right against the sea, next to the windmills that are the island's trademark. Its beaches are described as among the most beautiful in the Aegean, with beach bars and clubs. For a wedding, that points to a beach or seafront venue and an evening that carries on after dinner, with a wind plan for every moment outdoors.
Santorini lies at the southernmost point of the Cyclades and is a group of islands, Thera, Thirasia, Aspronisi, Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni, around the caldera of an active volcano. Steep cliffs, sunsets and the historic settlements of Oia and Fira are what it is known for, and its beaches have black, red and white sand. For a wedding, that points to a ceremony timed to the light over the caldera, on a terrace at the cliff edge, which is also the most exposed place to stand when the wind is up. Our page on the island notes that many caldera-view venues are small, so ask early how many guests they take.
Our briefs follow the same line. Three of the four Mykonos couples describe a festive evening or a party, and two mention the beach. Both Santorini couples mention the view, and one of them the sunset. None of the six mentions the wind.
Season and the meltemi
The meltemi, which Greek meteorologists call the etesians, is the north wind of the Aegean summer. According to Meteopedia, the encyclopedia of meteo.gr at the National Observatory of Athens, it blows in the warm part of the year and is strongest from mid-June to early September. It reaches 6 to 7 on the Beaufort scale and sometimes 8 to 9 in the central Aegean. It is usually strongest around midday and in the afternoon, and it weakens in the evening and at night.
That gives two plans. Marry in May, early June or from mid-September, or hold the ceremony in the evening in high summer, and have a sheltered alternative at the venue whatever the month. Four of our six couples name May, September or October, one names August and one only a year.
Getting guests there
Both islands have their own airport and are also reached by ferry. The whole chain, from choosing the airport to a day plan that gets everyone onto the island the day before, is in getting guests to an island wedding in Greece or Croatia, with links to the official timetables. The one rule worth repeating: guests travel the day before, never on the day.
What to put in your brief
All six couples wrote something in the free-text field, a median of about 360 characters, so a short paragraph. Dinner comes up most often (four), then a party, the beach and the view (three each). This is what lets a supplier give you a real answer:
- Legal or symbolic. And if legal: whether either of you lives in Greece, and whether you have already asked the municipality.
- Which island, or that both are open. And what matters more: the beach and the evening, or the caldera and the sunset.
- Number of guests, and whether they sleep on site. Only one of the six couples answered the accommodation question, and it moves the budget most. Read who pays for the guests' accommodation before you answer.
- Date or window, and time of day. Say whether you can marry outside mid-June to early September, or in the evening.
- A plan for the wind. Ask for the sheltered alternative in the reply, not on the day.
- Budget as a figure, and what it should cover.