As promised this is the part 2 of the first blog post of “5 Romantic Locations of Greece”. I have chosen locations according to their place in my heart and not based on popularity. We all know that many Greek destination weddings take place in the most popular locations of the country such as Santorini (capital of destination weddings), Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Corfu, Rhodes, Crete etc.
As a Greek wedding planner but also as a proud Greek, I take this advantage of this post to shed light on less popular locations that help you create unique to yourselves weddings, somewhere where no one of your family and friends have been before. Not to mention that planning a wedding in less popular locations has it’s benefits of better prices and more intimate feeling to your Greek wedding.
So let’s continue our locations.
3. Parga
I will take you a bit down memory lane again as this location holds The Most Precious Memory of our life!
Back in 2014 when my fiancé proposed to me under the Acropolis in Athens, we started thinking of possible locations for our big day just as all of you lovely newly engaged couples do (CONGRATULATIONS!). As you already have noticed I am Greek but my fiancé is English, so in our mind we wanted somewhere in Greece to combine holiday for our English guests part of the family as well as somewhere with easy access for my family to come having in consideration our disabled guests. I personally at the time had seen Parga through Greek TV shows and loved it but never been there. My mother suggested it as a location and we both flattered the thought. So when we returned to England we told our family and friends of the location and everyone seemed to be amazed of Pargas natural beauty and that’s how we said “YES” to Parga and followed with our “I DO” on the Island of Panagitsa church opposite of the harbour in 2016.
One thing I recall from our first visit to Parga is how beautifully located on the edge of the Western side of the mainland hidden within its green surrounding mountains it took my breath away! As soon as we got to our hotel we dropped everything and headed to the balcony and there is was! The island of Panagitsa the very spot on which my fiancé and I will become MR. & MRS. forever (heart melt). So we took a stroll down to the harbour to see the island up close. Oh how beautifully lit it was lit looked so peaceful and magical we knew we had made the perfect choice for us. Behind us on the front row of the harbour were endless cafes and restaurants all welcoming you and inviting you to sit and have a drink or a meal. The people of Parga are so warm and welcoming we instantly felt as if we knew them many years ago. Pargas charm didn’t stop there… as we continued our tour the next day we walked up to the Castle where as you walk in you see on your right hand side THE AMAZING VIEW!! That view that we all have seen on Google search and other sites. Just like the one below.
In the Castle there is also a café called Castello where you can have a drink or a snack as you catch your breath of the uphill. Pargas alleys are ever so graphical with the old tiny souvenir shops, small mini markets, small cellars selling different traditional alcoholic liquors and drinks, the small Greek cafes, tavernas and restaurants it had everything.
Parga is a location where it keeps its residence during the winter. It’s an alive town during the winter and a very popular winter Greek destination for the Greeks. We walked all of it and saw all its beautiful old alley ways, we loved it that much that we are considering owning a house there.
Parga has beautiful half sandy half pebbly beaches. It has a large variety of accommodation options, from 5* beach resorts to small BNB and rooms to let.
Parga is ideal for a destination wedding if you are on a tight budget. It has 5* quality service wherever you go and it has the ability to accommodate all budgets. You never feel board while staying in Parga. There are many activities that you and your guests can attend to. Here are just a few: Sea sports, touristic tours tow the two Castles, hiking and walking paths, mini golf, daily cruises to Paxos and Anti Paxos etc.
Parga to my opinion is an ideal wedding/holiday destination why for the reasons mentioned above but also because it is near to Preveza airport that now EasyJet and other companies fly to which makes it easy access, it’s beautiful, it’s quiet, it’s family friendly, It’s disability friendly, it accommodated both budget and expensive taste, it has a pharmacy, it has it all!
I can go on and on about Parga but it’s best to let you go and visit the pearl of Epirus yourselves.
4. Spetses, Hydra & Poros
I will cheat with this one as all three Saronic islands have are very special and remind me of beautiful childhood memories.
All three of these islands are between the east shore of Peloponnese and the west shore of Athens. They are 1 and a half hour away from the main port of Athens Piraeus with the fast ferries.
Why have I chosen to talk about these three islands? I chose them because they all have significant characteristics that will remain with you throughout the years. Each one of them has it’s own beauty and history. Each island is unique if you are searching for an intimate Greek destination wedding somewhere not so popular for weddings these three beautiful gems are your answer. I also would like to add that the reason I chose them has also to do with my personal beautiful childhood memories. I remember ever since we were kids my parents would take us for a full month during the summer holidays to these islands. We would stop in Spetses for a night or two and then continue our journey to Poros where the hotel that we used to stay at is still in hosting guests until this day. I remember the port of Poros with all it’s cafes where we would get off the fairy and my parents would order omelettes for us where they used to serve them in their pans! Oh they most delicious ham and cheese omelettes ever!
All three islands are green islands with pine trees right up till the beach. They all preserve the old style of their building especially Hydra where there are no cars on the island instead you can take donkey ride to go around. They all are small islands where you can do the around the island tour in one day. They all have many cafes, bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, 5* resorts and hotels with excellent service and good quality of food wherever you go.
But what makes these 3 islands romantic is their cosy warm feel with their beautiful sunsets. Their alleys and streets their white steps and building architecture gives you the feel of Romeo & Juliet scenery. All the candle lit harbour front cafes as the sunsets over looking the sea just takes your breath away! I mean it’s not a coincidence that our Greek Royal Family had their sons Prince Nikolaos and Tatiana’s wedding on Spetses island in 2010. It was a beautiful breathtaking Greek Royal wedding where all the island got to whitnss it and be part of it.
Last but definitely not least
5. Skiathos & Skopelos
Of course, the first thing we all think of once we hear one of these islands name is “Mamma Mia” one of UK’s favourite all time films. So how could I leave such an iconic, very popular, very beautiful and famous romantic location out of the top 5 eh?
Both Skopelos and Skiathos Islands have rugged scenery beautiful rocky cliffs over looking the great blue of the Aegean Sea. Skopelos is got very famous after the making of the film “Mamma Mia” but still it preserves its authentic beauty and is definitely less developed then its next-door neighbour Skiathos where it has an airport and many resorts to pick form. Skiathos is known for its sandy beaches meanwhile Skopelos for its picturesque cliff of Agios Ioannis (the chapel captured in the film). I am totally not comparing one island to another they are both equally stunning and ideal for your holiday/wedding combination. They can accommodate all needs with a very reasonable price too. Every year the wedding industry flourishes by more & more couples choosing Skopelos as their Greek destination wedding.
Well by now you might have noticed that I am a big fan of Green Islands and maybe that’s why I love England so much for it’s natural stunning beauty. I do feel blessed to have the opportunity to live and work in two countries that I really love. Of course, as a Greek wedding planner I do not discriminate against any of our hundreds of breathtaking locations. This post was based on my personal opinion.
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