Happy Holidays Corfu Magazine
Articles and Features (published quarterly) about Corfu and its many attractions
Vol. 1, No. 4; June 15, 2005
I'd Love To Get Married In Corfu by Clifford Owen
I believe that for some time a number of travel companies have offered 'wedding packages' and so have one or two entrepreneurs. (Do we call it 'matrimonial tourism'?) The packages on offer seem to cover a range of options, including everything from the civil legal preliminaries to arranging a florist and fixing a priest! So I write from the Anglican priest's point of view with the entrepreneurs and couples equally in mind.
Blessings only: the first thing to note is that all wedding services at Holy Trinity Corfu have the status of a Blessing not a legal marriage; even if I am using the full English wedding service. So legally speaking you can't get married at our church! The Church of England is empowered to marry legally (i.e. issue a wedding certificate) as well as solemnize (bless) the marriage, but only in England. In another country that generally cannot happen; and certainly not in Greece. Here in Corfu there must be a prior civil legal ceremony before the church service. (The Blessing service should be as close in time as possible to the civil ceremony)
The Civil ceremony can take place in Corfu but a certain minimum amount of notice is required and in all cases I refer couples to the British Vice-Consulate to initiate the procedure. So if you are on holiday and one day on the beach you are overcome with desire to get married before going home, unless you are here for three weeks I would forget it!
I met an English wedding couple the other week getting out of their wedding car at the Park Hotel. The bride and groom were resplendent in their kit. When I enquired where they had come from they replied that they had just married at the Palaeocastritsa registry office and were going home to Grantham to have a Blessing Service in their local church. The couple hadn't realized that I was the local Anglican minister so they asked if I could give them a blessing on the spot! I suggested it would be better to say a few prayers with them around the swimming pool the next day! But the important point is that they had fixed their date well in advance from England and so there were no hitches.
My advice is that unless the Corfu Civil Ceremony is fixed well in advance from England (or another country) it is better to have the civil ceremony conducted in the home country first. This has worked well so far. Martijn and Stella were married in a civil registry in Amsterdam in April this year a few days before their Dutch /Greek wedding blessing at HTC, and reception at the Corfu Palace Hotel. Two other couples had civil ceremonies in England and one in Wales. The Welsh couple then had a blessing service in a private Orthodox church in Lefkimi, which I had the pleasure of conducting.
Which Service? Although the service only has blessing status, the actual service rules of the Church of England still apply, and couples will normally have the full English wedding service offered. This means that although they walk in as 'Mr.and Mrs.' They may still come in separately, be given away, take the full vows, have the usual range of music etc. There is an exception: if either party has a former partner still living then the service of Blessing after civil marriage must be used. This brings me to say that one of the weaknesses of the system as I experience it here is that there is so little time in advance to meet with the couple, get to know them and prepare them pastorally. Entrepreneurs please note: this is such an important part of the job, that it is so easily pushed into the background in the face of the urgency to make all the preparations. At very least one party must be baptized, and in England we normally required couples to try and worship once a month in the church where they are going to be married. This isn't possible here, but strongly encouraged both before and after coming out for the service.
Holy Trinity Corfu can cater for about 85 guests seated. The courtyard garden is a most attractive place for after service gathering for the photographs on the steps. If the numbers greatly exceed this I have to approach other churches. Last year the Roman Catholic Cathedral kindly allowed us its use for a service with 250 guests.
Can I have a blessing on the beach? No you can't! I am only allowed to conduct a blessing in a consecrated Christian place of worship. As there is only one Anglican church on the island, that normally means Holy Trinity.
Clifford Owen - Pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Corfu, Greece
However I could use other churches, including the Orthodox (though their own rules do not allow other churches to use theirs) Neither can I bless marriages in tavernas! In exceptional circumstances other places can be used but the Archdeacon's permission is needed. For example: I was granted permission to conduct a wedding blessing on Paxos in a private house, but the couple later cancelled. I cannot do that in Corfu.
The fee for a wedding blessing is 240 Euros for 2006 + 60 (SIXTY) Euros for the Organist (reduced to 30 (THIRTY) euros if we use the CD for entance and exit music) A 40 (FORTY) euro deposit is paid at the time of booking.
Renewal of Vows: A number of people have enquired about renewal of vows some years after their weddings. This can be appropriate at a particular chronological point, silver, ruby, gold etc. but some just want to do it in Corfu. This can be arranged at quite short notice; and may be just a solemn private moment for two + the minister or can include friends and family. (There is no fee but a donation is invited)
It is a joy and privilege to get to know couples as they prepare for a
lifetime together. All of them have their hopes and dreams, and to support them we have always tried to make sure that their wedding days are days to remember.
Sposa Bianca
Christina Avloniti
Sposa Bianca is a full service, head-to-toe wedding design studio and salon serving brides on Corfu and throughout Europe.
Click here to preview Spring Wedding Fashions
© 2005-2006 Happy Holidays Corfu
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