Dreamy Weddings in Santorini

If you're someone in love with the idea of beach weddings, then surely Santorini weddings have crossed your mind. Sitting in the southern portions of the Aegean Sea, Santorini is an island southeast of Greece's mainland, one of the largest of the archipelago that is the remains of a volcanic caldera. The municipality of Santorini itself is made up of the islands of Therasia and Santorini, along with the uninhabited islands of Christiana, Aspronisi, Palaia, and Nea Kameni. Surrounded by steep cliffs on nearly all sides, Santorini enjoys great views of the Aegean Sea, making weddings in Santorini one of the most beautiful you'll ever see. It also helps that the island is one of two locations in the continent of Europe to have a hot climate perfect for sunny weddings, with rains so rare that you never have to worry about being rained on during your special day. The most moisture you'll get in fact during your stay there is probably the morning fog.

What to enjoy in Santorini

• It may be small but the island of Santorini is home to a flourishing wine industry. In particular, the island is proud of the Vinsanto, a sweet yet strong dessert wine made out of the best-picked, sun-dried Aidani, Athiri, and Assyrtiko grapes aged for 20 to 25 years in cuvees. When it matures, the Vinsanto comes out as a dark amber-orange dessert wine that is sweet, with hints of citrus and minders with overtones of tea, honey, figs, raisins, and nuts. As for white wine, the wedding party will get a taste of extremely dry wines with strong citrus scents and iodide salt and mineral aromas due to the volcanic soil in which the grapes are grown. The industry remains small because it is very hard to grow grapes in the hot, arid climate of Santorini. Whatever wines are produced though are more remarkable because of that. Wines from the island are standardized and protected using the Santorini and Vinsanto OPAP origin designations.
• Since the island has a unique climate and terrain, Santorini produces some of the most renowned vegetables around, like the Santorini tomatoes, cherry tomatoes that are particularly sweet and flavorful featuring an intense red coloring that stains. From the unique produce, the wedding party can enjoy unique dishes that is not only filling but immensely satisfying as well.
• Also notable around the island is the architecture as characterized by low-lying houses made out of stone limewashed or whitewashed with volcanic ash to lend color. The houses also feature what is known as the hyposkapha or the extensions in houses that go down or around the surrounding pumice. These extensions are heavily favored by locals because they remain cool in the summer and warm up when the winter months roll in. Since there is excellent cooling in these extension rooms, a lot of people also use them for storing wine. The wedding party can also check out what is known then as the Knava wineries of the island.

Getting to Santorini

To make your wedding in Santorini a reality, of course you will have to get to the island first. Fortunately, the island is one of the few islands of the Cyclades that is blessed to have a major airport of its own. Situated less than 10 minutes away by car from downtown Fira, the Santorini National Airport accommodates scheduled flights from Athens Airways, Aegean Airlines, and Olympic Air, as well as charters during the summer from other airlines. Once at the airport, it is easy to get to the rest of the island since taxis, buses, rental cars, and hotel pick-ups abound.