Greece has long been favored by couples who want to get married in a destination wedding with particularly beautiful and memorable surroundings. Now, the number of couples who would love to get married in Greece can be substantiated with data from a report released on May 24 based on data from the social network Pinterest.
For many engaged couples, planning a wedding takes careful consideration for months on end; often they end up choosing Greece and its many stunning locales for the site for the big day.
Greece: destination wedding hotspot
On the image-based site Pinterest, brides and grooms-to-be can create “boards” to “pin” their favorite images from other weddings and wedding planners in order to gain inspiration for their own weddings. Using the data from these boards, analysts were able to determine the figures behind Greece’s popularity as a wedding destination.
Greece emerged as the second most sought-after country in which to get married, according to Pinterest. Surpassed only by Morocco, the newly affianced are most likely to spend hours swooning over Greece’s cliffside beach weddings.
Although the last year has been difficult for many engaged couples, with many being forced to cancel or postpone their weddings due to coronavirus, nothing could stop couples from imagining what their wedding could look like in dream destinations like Greece.
The top five global dream destinations for weddings, according to a Money.co.uk report, are Morocco, Greece, France, Italy, and Mexico. Closely following those destinations are Bali, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.
Admittedly, the report is likely more accurate in recording which countries people wish to become married, rather than necessarily where these weddings end up actually occurring in real life. But the numbers are impressive.
Why is Greece such a popular destination?
In an interview with Greek Reporter, Sarah Hatjipavlis of Grecian Ceremonies spoke about why people might want to travel and get married in Greece.
A multiple award-nominated wedding planner, Hatjipavlis resides on the island of Rhodes. Her job has taken her across the country, accumulating a great deal of expertise on destination weddings in Greece over the years.
“The experience of traveling to Greece, the culture, the food, the beautiful country, the islands, the blue waters — those are the number one reasons,” Hatjipavlis explains, making it obvious why Greece has almost universal appeal for engaged couples.
“So yes, they choose it for the weather, they choose it for the beautiful sea, and also some of them choose it because it’s cheaper to get married abroad than it is to get married in their own country.
“It’s very expensive to have a wedding in the US and the UK, so some couples choose Greece because they can have a nicer experience. They come to Greece and have their wedding so it often does work out cheaper, even with the flights,” she continues.
There are multiple reasons why just about anyone would love to get married in such a breathtaking country. However, individuals may also specifically choose Greece because it holds sentimental and familial value for them.
“Another reason is that they have heritage in Greece. The couple may come from the States, but they may have a Yiayia in a village in Northern Greece, and they want to come back to the country of their descent and enjoy their wedding there,” says Hatjipavlis.
Getting married… in a pandemic
Last year was very difficult for the wedding industry, with the majority of weddings being cancelled or postponed. Unfortunately, much of 2021 is looking quite the same, with most large weddings having been postponed to 2022.
“The majority of the larger weddings have been moved to 2022. So I have something like 35 weddings next year already all around Greece.”
The pandemic has meant smaller, intimate weddings for most. Especially when choosing to do a destination wedding during this period, couples are likely to opt for weddings that are specially held between the two of them and a celebrant.
The coronavirus situation has also led to perhaps longer-lasting or irreversible changes to the wedding industry in Greece. Because of the pandemic, people have become more likely to explore getting married in other locations beyond the big four locations of Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Crete.
“I would say that there is a definitely a trending change towards smaller islands. Smaller islands — a bit more like “Mamma Mia” the movie. So people are obviously looking for little places post-COVID. Recently, people are also not necessarily looking for an all inclusive hotel, because it seems that the all-inclusive hotel is maybe something that’s fading into our past,” confessed Hatjipavlis about recent trends in the wedding industry which may have been influenced by COVID-19.
Due to its stunning beaches, beautiful venues and rich culture, it is no wonder that Greece attracts so many couples who want to have a dream destination wedding!
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