Orthodox Wedding Documents

1. Certificates of No Impediment to marriage from the Municipality where the applicant is registered.
2. Certificates of No Previous Marriage officially certified by the Archbishop of the area of residence.
3. Full birth certificates from your local registry (Certified copies including the names of the parents; shorter versions will not be accepted).
4. Family Status Certificates from your local registry.
5. Baptism registration act/certificate.
6. If either the bride or the groom is not baptized a Christian Orthodox, a Public Notary’s act is required where it is stated that the children will be baptized Christian Orthodox.
7. Copies of the Passports.
8. Divorce certificate (if any, from Civil and Church Authorities).
9. Family Status Certificate and baptism certificate for the best man Koubaros/Koumbara from the Municipality where he is registered. In case the best man has been married with a civil wedding or has stipulated a civil partnership, he will not be accepted by the church as best man. The documents for the koumbari DO NOT need an Apostille Stamp.
10. A copy of the newspaper in which the wedding notices were posted, if required by the local church and priest.

Civil Wedding Documents

1. Passport Copies of both parties (Photocopy of original).
2. Full Birth certificate of Bride and Groom, with both parent’s names inside(one for each of you) certified by Apostille stamp required
3. Certificate of non-impediment to marriage from the municipality, where you are registered, or county office, or Town hall certified by Apostille stamp required. This document certifies that there are no any impediment to the coming marriage
4. If one or both parties have been in previous marriages, you need to get a Divorce Certificate, or a certified copy of the Decree Absolute, from Civil Authorities. (Please contact us for more information) certified by Apostille stamp required
5. Official document from the Court, if you have changed your name.
6. Certificate of adoption, Deed poll certificate, or death certificate(Contact us if applicable).
7. Apostille Stamp. This stamp refers to the legalization and validity of your documents for international use. (1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents). The Apostille Stamp is necessary for birth certificates and Certificates of Non-Impediment to marry issued by the Municipality where the person is registered.
8. Passport copies of 2 witness

Catholic Wedding Documents

1. Passport Copies for both parties
2. Birth Certificates. Both parties are obliged to provide a full birth certificate with printed names of their parents.
3. Baptism Certificates of both parties
4. If one or both parties have been previous married, they need to present a Divorce Certificate or a certified copy of the Decree Absolute from the appropriate Civil and Church Authorities bearing an Apostile stamp.
5. Confirmation certificate. This document proves that there are no impediments for your wedding, must be obtained from the parish priest who baptized you and must be dated within 3 months of your wedding ceremony.
6. Freedom to marry certificate. You must obtain in writing your bishop’s permission to have your Catholic wedding Ceremony out of your Parish.
7. Certificate stating that you have completed the “Pre-Cana”.

Mixed Religious Wedding Documents

1. Between a Christian Orthodox & a Catholic
Although a Religious wedding between a Cristian Orthodox and a Catholic is allowed, the non-orthodox party, bride or groom, must present a certificate of Christian Baptism and an official statement that the children from that marriage will be baptized Orthodox.
2. Between a Christian Orthodox & a non-baptized party.
It is not possible to have a Religious wedding between a Christian Orthodox and a non-baptized party. The Greek Orthodox Church only performs wedding ceremonies if both parties are baptized Christian.

General Notes

1. All of the above documents (except passports) have to be legalized with an Apostille Stamp by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. They need also to be translated in Greek at the Greek Embassy or Consulate and sent to us at least one month before the wedding day.
2. Take care of all the names on passports and all documents must be exactly the same and match together.
3. All the documents, must not be dated more than 3 months prior to your wedding day. This is especially for a Certificate of non-impediment
4. We have to confirm that the documents are in order. After that, you just need to bring the originals, with translations and Apostille with you.
5. After the Wedding ceremony, you have to go to the office of vital statistics, to have your wedding registered. This means, that if your wedding is Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you have to wait until Monday, to complete the registration in the Registry office. You have to stay in Greece, at least 1 working day after your wedding, in order to go to the Town Hall to sign your Marriage Certificate.
6. The original wedding certificate, Apostille stamped, will be sent to you by our company to your physical address in your Country, approximately 20 days after your wedding in Greece.
7. Original documents will be kept at the local Town Hall.
8. Few Town halls require a wedding notice published in a local newspaper for each party. This will be in Greek language and the names will also be translated into Greek. One notice must be published for the bride, and one notice must be published for the groom, in Greek characters.
9. Few Town Halls require a Wedding License from the country in which the couple resides. This has also to be translated officially and Apostille stamped. In most cases, we will be able to use this marriage license issued in your Country, if the license does not indicate that is exclusively valid in the issuing jurisdiction.
10.Since each Church, Priest, Town Hall, Mayor, and Registry office has its own specific restrictions and requirements in order to perform weddings, we will provide you with all the detailed information in question.

Apostille Stamp

• Any foreign legal documents which are to be used in Greece must be officially legalized with the Hague Convention Apostille. Apostille is a stamp, certifying that this document is original and legal
• If your country has signed the 1961 Hague Convention, then you can have Apostille stamps on your documents. If your country has not signed the 1961 Hague Convention, then you can verify all legal documents with Foreign Ministry or Greek Embassy.

Registration Of The Marriage

• All marriages in Greece, whether civil or religious, must be registered at the local Registrar’s Office/Office of Vital Statistics (Lixiarhio) within 40 days following the ceremony.
• Registration can be done by the bride or groom, or by any individual who is in possession of a power of attorney signed before a Notary Public giving them the authority to register the marriage.
• Once registered, a Marriage Certificate (lixiarchiki praxi gamou) will be issued within three days and can be picked up or sent via the mail.
• Note: Marriages not registered have no legal validity. After 90 days, marriages can only be registered with the District Attorney’s authorization and the payment of fines.