This volcanic island, in places offering the tang of sulfur on the breeze and volcanic hot springs, once believed the haunt of vampires, is now the premier romantic destination in Greece, attracting thousands of couples each year for weddings and honeymoons.
First, of course, is the location - the mysterious, ominous, and compelling island of Santorini, possibly the site of lost Atlantis, possibly nurturing a new volcano. This background of perplexity could be a perfect symbol for the marital landscape. It also fits with the American bridal chant, "Something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new" all of which are items supposed to be worn by the bride. These are easily adaptable to the Santorini wedding. The "borrowed" part is easy -part of the wedding package includes rented donkeys. "Something blue" is your choice of the Aegean sea or sky, while "Something old" can be the entire island, or at least the buried city of Akrotiri. "Something new"? Santorini as an international wedding destination.
More and more hotels are offering inclusive wedding and/or honeymoon packages. One of them is the Aressana Hotel, a first-class hotel in Fira, the capital, which is presently offering three different Greek Wedding packages incorporating local marriage customs. These wedding packages are legally binding Greek civil weddings, but for a bride and groom with a taste for the unusual, this sounds hard to resist.
The three packages offered vary in price, and be cautious - there are other government paperwork fees that are not included. All of the packages include the traditional decoration of the honeymoon suite in handmade tapestries by unmarried women, who also are available to assist the bride in dressing for the ceremony. After the crucial adornment of the bed, money is thrown onto it, followed by a small child (also borrowed for the ceremony) who is meant to ensure that the couple will be blessed with healthy babies. Koufeta, a white almond candy, is also provided.
The "Basic Civil Ceremony" is offered from around US $1250, and includes flowers for the bride and groom, a photographer for 50 photos, one bottle of Champagne, the filing of all documents and related fees, two witnesses, a gift to the mayor for officiating at the ceremony, and the services of a wedding coordinator. The upgraded "Traditional" ceremony, while not as complex as ancient Greek weddings, still adds your choice of two horses or donkeys for the transport of the bride and groom to the church, three musicians, Greek dancers, sweets, champagne, and "traditional liquor" -likely to be pleasantly potent! -and handmade Greek wedding crowns for the lucky couple. All this from about $1500 US. The final offering is the "Deluxe Civil Ceremony" which skips the animals, musicians, and dancers, but does offer a sunset cruise and a wedding cake.
Where the actual ceremony takes place is open to negotiation - the venues available for civil weddings include the city hall, sunset-view hotel terraces, and scenic spots outdoors. Catholic couples may apply to use the Santorini Catholic Cathedral, a beautiful edifice with marvelous paintings and decoration. Greek Orthodox couples can opt to hold the ceremony in one of the charming little chapels on the cliff, overlooking the caldera itself, or in the main church itself.
If you have tied the knot in Greece, or plan to this year, please write to me about your experiences at gogreece.guide@about.com so I can include them in a future feature.
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