Required Documents for a civil ceremony

· Valid ten year British passports – No need to be translated or legalized.
· Full birth certificates of bride and groom showing parents’ details. (These can be applied for at your local Registrar for Births, Deaths & Marriages).
· If divorced – Decree absolute.
· If widowed – Death certificate & previous marriage certificate.
· If adopted – Adoption certificate (in this case a short birth certificate will be accepted).
· If either of you have had a change of name – proof is required, stamped and signed by a solicitor on headed paper (a photocopy will not be accepted).
· If either of you is under 18 years of age, proof of parental consent in the form of a Statutory Declaration – stamped and signed by a solicitor is required.
· A certificate of no-impediment from each one of you is required, issued by the Registrar at your local Registry Office/Town Hall. It takes approximately 21 days for the document to be issued and it has a three month expiry date here in Greece.
Please note! For UK citizens Originals of the above documents (except passports) need to be sent to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for legalization with Apostille stamps.
Legalisation Office
The Legalisation Office
Norfolk House
437 Silbury Boulevard
Milton Keynes
MK7 2AH
Telephone: 01908 295 111 fax: 01908 295 122 Website :www.fco.gov.uk/legalisation
For Irish citizens Originals of the above documents (except passports) need to be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs for Ireland.
Department of Foreign Affairs for Ireland 
Consular Section
Department of Foreign Affairs
69-71 St. Stephen’s Green
Dublin 2 Ireland
Authentications and Legalisations
Telephone: 00353 1 408 2174
Website:http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/
Email: legal@iveagh.irlgov.ie

 For citizens of all other countries your local Registry Office will direct you to the appropriate authority to have your documents legalized with Apostille stamps.
An Apostille stamp is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a public document is genuine. It is required by the Greek Authorities before they will allow a document to be used for official purposes in this country.
All your legal documents together with their Apostilles need to be translated into Greek by an official translator and then these translations need to be legalized before they are submitted to the Greek authorities for your marriage license.
The Greek Embassy or Consulate in your country will provide you with a list of legal translators and get your documents translated and then the Greek Embassy or Consulate will legalise the translations.
If you prefer to avoid all this extra trouble of getting the documents translated and the translations legalised your chosen wedding planner will do this for you in Greece.

Required Documents for a Catholic Ceremony

· Catholic Church weddings can only be arranged between people who have not been previously married (Contact your local priest for more information)
· At least one of you must be Catholic and you both need to have been baptized.
· Baptism certificates issued within 6 months of wedding date
· Confirmation certificates
· Letters of freedom to marry from parish where you have lived at least for 6 months
· If you are under 21 then a letter of parental consent is needed.
· Certificate stating the catechetical instruction class has been completed.
· Written permission from your Bishop to have your marriage performed out of your parish.
· A certificate of no-impediment from each one of you is required, issued by the Registrar at your local Registry Office/Town Hall. It takes approximately 21 days for the document to be issued and it has a three month expiry date here in Greece.
· Valid ten year Passports
· It is not necessary for the paperwork to be legalized or translated but the originals must be posted to the Catholic priest of the Catholic Church where you are getting married well in advance of the wedding.

Required Documents for a Baptist Ceremony

· Full Birth Certificates showing your parent’s details.
· If widowed-Death Certificate and previous Marriage Certificate.
· If either of you has had a name change (including reverting back to maiden name) a change of name document on headed paper stamped and signed by a solicitor is required.
· If either of you is under 18, proof of parental consent in the form of a Statutory Declaration is required.
· It needs to be stamped and signed by a solicitor.
· A certificate of no-impediment from each one of you is required, issued by the Registrar at your local Registry Office/Town Hall. It takes approximately 21 days for the document to be issued and it has a three month expiry date here in Greece.
· Christening / baptism certificate. Letter of freedom to marry from your church.
· Valid ten year Passports (no need to be translated).
Please note! Originals of the above documents (except passports) need to be sent for legalization with Apostille stamps.

Required Documents for an Orthodox Ceremony

· Valid passports – No need to be translated or legalized.
· Full birth certificates of bride and groom showing parents’ details. (These can be applied for at your local Registrar for Births, Deaths & Marriages)
· Certificate of no previous marriage, officially certified by the archbishop of the area of residence.
· A certificate of no-impediment from each one of you is required, issued by the Registrar at your local Registry Office/Town Hall. It takes. Approximately 21 days for the document to be issued and it has a three month expiry date here in Greece.
· If one of the two people, who intend to get married, is of another dogma (not Christian Orthodox, but still Christian) , a Public Notary’s act is required, where it is stated that the children will be baptized Christian Orthodox.
· If divorced – Decree absolute
· If either of you have had a change of name – proof is required, stamped and signed by a solicitor on headed paper (a photocopy will not be accepted)
Please note! Originals of the above documents (except passports) need to be sent to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for legalization with Apostille stamps.
Please note! The originals of your documents must be brought with you when you travel to Greece to be submitted to the Greek Authorities prior to the wedding. No ceremony can take place without submitting the original documents to the Greek Authorities.