Destination wedding in Greece: the invitation timeline and etiquette

For a wedding in Greece with guests flying in, send the save the date 9 to 12 months before the day and the invitation 10 to 12 weeks before. Set the RSVP deadline about four weeks before the wedding, or earlier if your hotel needs names first. Below you will find the full timeline, what changes for an island wedding in high summer, what to put on the invitation so guests can plan their trip, and the Greek customs that are worth explaining to friends who have never been to a Greek wedding.

These are common practice, not rules. Your own timing depends on how far your guests travel, the month you marry and when your venue and hotel want final numbers.

The timeline at a glance

The table counts back from the wedding date. The middle column is for a destination wedding where most guests travel from abroad; the right column is for a wedding in Greece where most guests already live there.

When to send the save the date

A save the date is a short notice: the date, the island or town, and a line saying the invitation will follow. It does not need the church time, maps or an RSVP form. Its only job is to let people book leave, flights and a room while prices are still reasonable.

For a destination wedding in Greece, 9 to 12 months is the usual window. Go towards 12 months if any of these apply:

• The wedding is on an island. Guests may need a flight to Athens and then a ferry or a domestic flight, and island rooms for July to September book up early.
• Guests are coming from Australia, Canada or the US. Long-haul guests often turn the wedding into a longer holiday and plan it many months ahead.
• The date falls in school holidays or on a bank holiday weekend in the countries your guests live in.

Send it only to people who will definitely be invited. A save the date cannot be taken back, and anyone who receives one will assume they are on the guest list, plus-one included if you named one.

It does not need a separate design. A personal message with the date, the place and a photo of the two of you does the job:

Hi Sophie. We have a date. We are getting married on Naxos on Saturday 11 September 2027 and we would love you to be there. The invitation will follow in early summer, with all the travel details. For now, please keep the weekend free.

When to send the invitation

For guests who travel, 10 to 12 weeks before the wedding works well. Earlier than three months and the details may still change after it goes out; later than eight weeks and guests are left with expensive flights and few rooms. If most of your guests live in Greece, the usual 6 to 8 weeks is enough.

Before you press send, check one last time:

• the date and the day of the week, which must match,
• the ceremony time and the full name of the church,
• the reception venue, its address and its start time,
• the RSVP deadline, written as a date,
• the spelling of every name, including the koumbaros or koumbara.

If the church is not booked yet, make sure the date is allowed for a wedding in the Orthodox Church. See Greek Orthodox wedding and christening dates for 2027.

What a destination wedding invitation should include

Guests who travel need more than a time and a place. The invitation, or the page it links to, should answer the questions they would otherwise send you one by one:

• The nearest airport and port, and whether a ferry or a domestic flight is needed.
• How to reach the church. Island chapels are often up a hill or at the end of a dirt road. Say if there is a shuttle, or if taxis need to be booked in advance.
• Where to stay: your room block, its booking code and its release date, plus one or two other options at different prices.
• The schedule of the day, including the fact that the reception starts late and runs well past midnight.
• Dress code and practical notes: heels on cobbles, sun at a 6 pm ceremony, a light layer for a windy evening by the sea.
• Whether children are invited, said kindly and clearly.
• Welcome drinks or a day-after lunch, if you are hosting either.

Keep the invitation itself short and put the practical detail on the page behind it. A printed card has room for a few lines; a digital invitation can hold the maps, the schedule and the travel notes without looking crowded.

Etiquette for guests who travel

Asking people to fly to a wedding is a bigger request than asking them to drive across town. A few habits make it easier for everyone:

1. Give them time. The save the date at 9 to 12 months is the single most helpful thing you can do.
2. Be clear about who pays for what. Guests normally pay their own travel and accommodation at a destination wedding. If you are covering a shuttle, a welcome dinner or a boat to the reception, say so.
3. Expect more declines, and take them kindly. Some people cannot travel, and that is not a comment on you.
4. Make gifts optional. The trip is already a gift. If you share bank details, do it discreetly at the end of the invitation. See how to word bank details on a wedding invitation.
5. Send messages at a sensible hour for them, not only for Greece. Athens is two hours ahead of London and seven to nine hours behind Sydney, depending on the time of year.

The RSVP deadline

Ask your venue on which exact date it needs final numbers, and set your RSVP deadline one week earlier. With a destination wedding there is often a second date: the hotel may want the names on its room block six to eight weeks ahead. If so, the RSVP deadline moves to match the earlier of the two.

Write the deadline as a date, not as "three weeks before". "Kindly reply by Friday 13 August" leaves no room for doubt. Ask how many adults and how many children are coming, and whether anyone has dietary needs. Children change the menu and the seating more than most couples expect.

Reminders that do not nag

One reminder is enough. Send it three to five days before the deadline, only to the people who have not answered, and give the reason: "we need to give the venue our final numbers" is something everyone understands. If someone still has not replied, a phone call is kinder than a second message.

In the last week, a short practical message helps everyone: the ceremony time, where to park or meet the shuttle, the weather forecast for the evening, and anything that has changed. Save the date, invitation, one reminder and one practical message, spread over many months, will not tire anyone. More than that probably will.

Summer and island weddings

June, July and September are some of the busiest wedding months in Greece, and the same months your guests take their holidays. For a summer wedding, aim to send the save the date by January or February.

August needs extra care. From 1 to 15 August most Orthodox parishes do not hold weddings, because of the fast before the Dormition of the Virgin Mary on 15 August. The days left in August are few and book up first. In July and August the meltemi, a strong northerly wind in the Aegean, can delay or cancel ferries; suggest that guests arrive a day early rather than on the morning of the wedding.

Greek wedding customs worth explaining to guests

Friends who have never been to a Greek wedding enjoy it more when they know what to expect. A few lines on the invitation page, or in the message that goes with it, are enough:

• The ceremony is usually in the late afternoon or early evening and lasts about 45 minutes. Guests often wait outside the church for the bride to arrive.
• The koumbaros or koumbara is the sponsor of the wedding, the person who exchanges the rings and the stefana (the crowns joined by a ribbon) over the couple's heads three times. It is a role of honour, often given to a close friend or a relative, and in many families the koumbaros later becomes godparent to the couple's first child. There can be more than one.
• Rice and koufeta. Guests may throw rice and rose petals as the couple walk around the table during the ceremony, and leave with koufeta, sugared almonds wrapped in tulle or a small box.
• The reception starts late and goes on late. Dinner may not begin until 10 pm, and the dancing often runs to the early hours.
• Money is a common gift. In Greece many guests give money in an envelope or by bank transfer rather than choosing from a gift list.

Christenings and weddings with a christening

For a christening, invitations usually go out 4 to 6 weeks before, with the RSVP deadline about two weeks before. A save the date is rarely needed, unless the godparents or close family are flying in, in which case give them the same 9 to 12 months as wedding guests. The christening invitation wording guide has examples to copy, and the christening invitation designs include ones for boys, girls and twins.

When a wedding and a christening take place on the same day, follow the wedding timeline: the guests are the same and the reception is the size of a wedding. See the wedding and christening invitations.

Printed, digital or both

Printed invitations sent abroad need design, proofs, printing, envelopes and international post, so allow several extra weeks and expect a few to arrive late. A digital invitation arrives the moment you send it, and a correction after sending shows up for everyone at once. That does not mean you send it earlier because it is ready: the 10 to 12 weeks still apply.

Many couples combine the two: a few printed cards for grandparents and older relatives, a digital invitation for everyone else, sent in the same week so nobody feels they heard second. For the costs and the differences, see digital or printed wedding invitations.

Your invitation with Day2Remember

With Day2Remember, your invitation is a page with your names, such as eleni-james.day2remember.gr, that you send in a message. A countdown shows how many days are left. The RSVP form asks how many adults and children are coming and sends every reply to your email, so the reminder only goes to those who need it. The order form suggests an RSVP deadline three weeks before the day, and you can move it earlier for a destination wedding.

Gold adds maps for the church and the reception, a button that puts the wedding in your guests' calendars, the IBAN for gifts, a QR code for printed cards and all the replies in Excel. The bilingual extra, English and Greek on the same invitation, costs €19 and is included with Atelier, so your Greek family and your friends from abroad each read it in their own language. See the wedding invitation designs and the prices: Silver €59, Gold €89 and Atelier from €290. When you are ready, you can order online.

Questions couples ask

How far in advance should you send a save the date for a wedding in Greece? 9 to 12 months before, for guests who fly in. For an island wedding in July, August or September, or for guests coming from Australia or North America, lean towards 12 months.

When should destination wedding invitations go out? About 10 to 12 weeks before the wedding, with the RSVP deadline around four weeks before. If your hotel needs names earlier, set the deadline to match.

Do guests pay for their own travel to a destination wedding? Usually, yes: guests pay for flights and accommodation. Couples often cover local transport on the day, a welcome drink or a day-after lunch, and should say clearly on the invitation what is included.

Can we get married in Greece in August? Yes, but most Orthodox parishes hold no weddings from 1 to 15 August. The second half of the month is open, apart from a few dates some parishes avoid. Check with the parish before you book anything.