Most couples who dream of a Greek wedding picture an island. We understand — we plan weddings in Corfu too. But when people ask us where in Greece they can marry with the fewest compromises, the honest answer is often the capital. Athens gives you the Acropolis at sunset, the sea forty minutes away and a flight from almost anywhere.
Why Athens, and not an island?
An island wedding is shaped by ferries, winds and the size of the island. An Athens wedding is shaped by what you actually want. After years of planning celebrations in both, these are the reasons we find ourselves recommending the city more and more often:
- Everyone can get there. Athens International Airport has direct flights from across Europe, the Middle East and North America all year round. Guests fly once — no second flight, no ferry, no transfer that depends on the weather.
- The city and the sea on the same day. The Athens Riviera begins about forty minutes from the centre. You can marry in a neoclassical courtyard in the afternoon and dine beside the water that evening.
- A longer season. Islands really work from late May to early October. Athens works from April to November — and a candlelit winter wedding in a nineteenth-century mansion is one of the most Athenian things there is.
- Everything is local. The best florists, caterers, musicians, lighting designers and rental houses in Greece are based here. Nothing has to be shipped or flown in, so the budget goes into the day, not into logistics.
- Your guests get a holiday. The Acropolis Museum, the tavernas of Plaka, a day on Hydra or Aegina — both under two hours by fast ferry from Piraeus. A wedding weekend in Athens becomes a trip people talk about for years.
The Acropolis at golden hour
There is no wedding backdrop in the world quite like it. In the last hour of daylight the marble of the Parthenon turns the colour of honey, then pink, and after dark it is floodlit — so a dinner that begins at sunset ends under a glowing temple. Dozens of terraces in Plaka, Monastiraki, Thissio and Makrygianni look straight at it.
The ceremony hour is the single decision that shapes the photographs and the mood. In late June the sun sets in Athens at around 8:50pm; by mid-September, closer to 7:30pm. We usually place the ceremony about ninety minutes before sunset, so vows happen in warm side-light, portraits fall into the golden hour and dinner starts as the city lights come on.
“Athens is the only capital where you can say your vows facing a 2,500-year-old temple, and be at the sea before dessert.”
Where to get married in Athens: four kinds of place
Rooftops with a view of the Parthenon
Hotel terraces and private rooftops in the historic centre. They suit intimate weddings, from twenty to around eighty guests, and are perfect for a ceremony and cocktail hour even when dinner happens elsewhere. Capacities are strict and there are curfews on amplified music, so they reward couples who want something elegant rather than a late dance party.
Neoclassical mansions and gardens
Nineteenth-century houses in the centre and in the green northern suburbs — Kifisia, Ekali, Politeia — with courtyards, high ceilings, bitter-orange trees and old stone. These are our favourites for long seated dinners, and they work in every season.
The Athens Riviera
Glyfada, Vouliagmeni, Lagonisi and on towards Cape Sounion: seaside estates, private villas and beach clubs with the Saronic Gulf in front of them. At the very tip of Attica, about an hour’s drive from the centre, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion offers one of the most beautiful sunsets in Greece — ideal for portraits or a sunset toast on the way to dinner.
The vineyards of Mesogeia
East of the city, close to the airport, lies the Attica wine country: family estates, lawns among the Savatiano vines and long views to the mountains. It is the relaxed, countryside version of an Athens wedding, thirty minutes from the centre.
Church, civil or symbolic ceremony
Athens is full of small Byzantine churches — in Plaka, beneath the Acropolis, on the summit of Lycabettus hill and along the coast. An Orthodox wedding requires at least one partner to be Orthodox and documents from your parish; Catholic ceremonies take place in the city’s Catholic churches, including the Cathedral of St Dionysius on Panepistimiou Street.
A civil wedding is performed by the municipality. Couples who do not live in Greece will need apostilled and officially translated documents, so we start that paperwork about three months ahead. And a symbolic ceremony can take place anywhere at all — a rooftop, a garden, a terrace above the sea.
Make it a wedding weekend
Because everyone arrives through the same airport, Athens is made for a three-day celebration: welcome drinks on a rooftop on Friday, the wedding on Saturday, a long lunch by the sea or a boat to Aegina on Sunday. The welcome dinner can be as considered as the wedding itself — Olive & Pomegranate, a private villa dinner we designed in Athens, is a good example of the tone.
Guests who arrive early can walk from the Acropolis to Plaka and Anafiotika, the tiny island-style neighbourhood hidden beneath the rock, eat at a taverna under the vines and still be at their hotel in ten minutes.
When to get married in Athens
- April and May — spring flowers, jasmine and temperatures in the low twenties. Lovely for garden weddings.
- June — the longest evenings of the year and warm nights. Popular, so book early.
- July and August — hot, often above 35°C, and many Athenians leave the city. Choose the Riviera, start late and plan shade and water carefully.
- September and October — our favourite months. The sea is at its warmest, the light is soft and the heat has gone.
- November to March — the season of mansions, fireplaces and candlelit dinners. Fewer weddings, more flexible venues.
What an Athens wedding costs compared with an island
The finest rooftops and seaside estates in Athens are priced like the finest venues anywhere in Greece. The difference is everything around them: no ferries, no flying in vendors, no housing for the production team, and hotels in every budget for your guests. For the same guest experience, a wedding in Athens usually asks for less spent on logistics and allows more on the things people remember — food, music, flowers and light.
We do not publish prices, because every celebration is different. Write to us with a date, a guest count and a feeling, and we will reply with honest figures.
Planning a wedding in Athens with La Memoirette
Our studio is in Athens, so we meet you at the venues, walk the rooftops at the ceremony hour and know which florist has the best garden roses in May. We offer full planning and creative direction, wedding-day direction, or styling and stationery on their own. If you are still choosing between the city and an island, read our essay on Corfu too — and then tell us about the day you have in mind.
Is Athens a good place for a destination wedding?
Yes. Athens has direct flights from across Europe, the Middle East and North America all year, hotels in every budget, the best wedding suppliers in Greece and the sea within forty minutes. Guests fly once, with no ferries or second flights, and the city turns the wedding into a holiday.
What is the best month to get married in Athens?
September and early October are the best months: the sea is warm, the light is soft and the summer heat has gone. Late May and June are also lovely. July and August are very hot, so summer weddings are best on the Athens Riviera with a late start.
Can we get married with a view of the Acropolis?
Yes. Several hotel rooftops and private terraces in Plaka, Monastiraki, Thissio and Makrygianni look directly at the Acropolis. They suit intimate weddings of roughly 20 to 80 guests, or a ceremony and cocktail hour followed by dinner at a second venue.
How far is the Athens Riviera from the city centre?
Glyfada and Vouliagmeni are about 30 to 45 minutes from the centre by car, and Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon is about an hour away.
Can foreign couples have a civil wedding in Athens?
Yes. Civil weddings are performed by the municipality. Couples who live abroad need apostilled and officially translated documents, so the paperwork should start about three months before the wedding. We coordinate it with you.
How far in advance should we book a wedding planner in Athens?
About twelve months ahead for a Saturday wedding between May and October, and six to nine months ahead for a smaller wedding or an off-season date.
