Crete wedding venues sit in four areas, from Elounda in the east to Chania in the west. The right area depends on your guest count, your ceremony and the airport your guests land at. This Wedded Wonderland guide compares 15 venues, east to west, on the same details. For the wider picture, read our guide to Greece wedding venues or browse our curated Greece wedding collection.
The island divides neatly for planning. The east is resort country on Mirabello Bay. The central north coast puts large resorts close to Heraklion. Rethymno has a medieval town and its Fortezza. Chania, in the west, has its Venetian harbour and a more personal scale of venue.
The table runs east to west; it is not a ranking.
Venue | Area | Ceremony options | Largest published capacity | Rooms on site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas | Elounda | Private chapel; civil or religious | 430 banquet outdoors; 500 at Elounda Bay Palace | Yes, villas and suites |
Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel | Elounda | Civil, Greek Orthodox, symbolic | On request | Yes, suites |
Porto Elounda Golf & Spa Resort | Elounda | Civil, Greek Orthodox, symbolic (shared packages) | On request | Yes |
Elounda Mare Hotel | Elounda | Civil, Greek Orthodox, symbolic (shared packages) | On request | Yes |
St. Nicolas Bay Resort Hotel & Villas | Agios Nikolaos | Beachside chapel deck | On request | Yes, suites and villas |
Minos Beach Art Hotel | Agios Nikolaos area | Weddings and vow renewals | On request | Yes, bungalows and villas |
Minos Palace Resort | Lasithi | Weddings and vow renewals | On request | Yes, adults only |
Nana Princess | Hersonissos | Civil, Greek Orthodox, symbolic, vow renewal | 120 poolside | On request |
Abaton Island Resort & Spa | Hersonissos | Nine venues to choose from | 300 guests | 152 rooms and villas |
Amirandes, Grecotel | Heraklion coast | VIP Beach or chapel | 300 guests | 204 accommodations |
Out of the Blue Resort & Spa | Agia Pelagia | Chapel, garden, peninsula-edge lawn | On request | Yes |
Caramel, Grecotel | Rethymno | Informal weddings and vow exchanges | On request | Yes |
Avra Imperial | Kolymvari | Private chapel of Saint Paul | 680 | Yes |
Euphoria Resort | Kolymvari | Informal wedding or vow renewal | Packages for up to 30 | 344 rooms and suites |
Sea View by En Kipo | Chania | Garden ceremony and reception | 120 | No |
Every venue on this list hosts weddings or vow renewals. That's just the starting line, however. From there, four elements them:
Most Crete venues are resorts that host weddings in named spaces: a chapel, a beach, a restaurant terrace, a ballroom. That suits a guest list that wants to stay in one place and treat the wedding as a holiday.
Sea View by En Kipo works the other way. It is a hilltop garden with no guest rooms, so you bring your own caterer and suppliers and house guests nearby. It gives you a blank canvas and a longer to-do list.
Exclusive use needs a careful read. At Nana Princess it means the chosen room or venue for a symbolic wedding, not the whole resort. At Sea View, the whole garden is yours for the day. Ask every venue which of the two it is quoting.
Crete gives you real variety here: chapels at Elounda Beach, St. Nicolas Bay, Nana Princess, Amirandes, Out of the Blue and Avra Imperial, beach ceremonies at Nana Princess and Amirandes, and garden or lawn ceremonies at Out of the Blue and Sea View.
What matters is which ceremony each space hosts. A chapel in the grounds does not by itself mean a Greek Orthodox wedding, and a beach does not by itself mean a legal one. Where a venue states its ceremony types, each entry below gives them in the venue's terms.
Published capacity ranges from packages built for 10 to 30 guests at Euphoria to an events hall for up to 680 at Avra Imperial. Many venues publish no figure at all, which is not a reason to rule them out, only a reason to ask.
Rooms matter more than usual when most guests fly long-haul from Australia. Housing them where you marry takes a transfer out of every day of the trip. Some venues also set minimums: Abaton's wedding packages ask for at least 10 rooms for at least two nights, depending on guest numbers.
East Crete venues state their drives from Heraklion Airport. Minos Beach Art Hotel and Minos Palace both put it at about 50 minutes, and both put Chania Airport at about three hours. Closer to the city, Amirandes is 18 km from Heraklion International Airport. For the west, Chania Airport is the natural arrival point. More on both airports below.
Crete is Greece's largest island, and it is usually spoken of in three parts: east, centre and west. Each suits a different kind of wedding.
The east (Lasithi). Agios Nikolaos sits on Mirabello Bay, and Elounda is the resort coast with views of the lagoon and Spinalonga. This is resort country, with chapels, bay views and villas with private pools. Guests fly into Heraklion: Minos Beach and Minos Palace both state about 50 minutes by car.
The centre (Heraklion). Heraklion is the largest urban centre, the gateway to Knossos, with resorts along the northern coast. Venues here are the quickest from the airport. Amirandes sits 18 km from it, a short drive from the Palace of Knossos.
Rethymno. Grouped with Chania as part of western Crete, Rethymno has a medieval town and the Fortezza. Caramel sits on the north coast minutes from the old town.
The west (Chania). Chania has its Venetian harbour and old town. The venues here run from the 680-person hall at Avra Imperial to Euphoria's packages for up to 30, with a hilltop garden for 120 in between, which makes the west the place for both the largest and the most personal weddings on this list.
A simple rule: if most guests arrive through Heraklion, look east or central. If you want Chania's old town for the welcome drinks, look west and book flights into Chania. Read more about the island on Visit Greece.
The east is where Crete does scale and polish. Elounda faces the lagoon and Spinalonga, and Agios Nikolaos wraps around Mirabello Bay. Seven venues here, from banquet spaces for several hundred to an adults-only peninsula.
Three of them, Elounda Peninsula, Porto Elounda and Elounda Mare, share one weddings team and one set of packages, so you can mix a ceremony at one with rooms at another.
Elounda Beach hosts weddings, vow exchanges and private celebrations together with its sister resort next door, Elounda Bay Palace. Its waterfront villas and suites have their own decks and pools.
Setting: Two neighbouring resorts on the Elounda shore, with banquet spaces indoors and out.
Ceremony: A private chapel in the grounds. The wedding package covers a dedicated consultant, legal and licence paperwork, a civil or religious ceremony, and an escorted transfer to the authorities to register the marriage.
Capacity: For a banquet, Artemis takes 180 indoors and 430 outdoors, Dionysos 100 and 300, and Blue Lagoon 70 and 120. At Elounda Bay Palace, Aretoussa takes 300 indoors and 500 outdoors.
Standout: Traditional Cretan lyre music during the ceremony, with a fireworks show and limousine transfers for guests on the list of extras.
The largest figures are outdoor ones, so plan a wet-weather fallback around the indoor number for the space you choose.
Elounda Peninsula presents itself as a gateway to eastern Crete from the Elounda shore, near Plaka and the boat trips to Spinalonga. Sailing and motor yachts are available to guests.
Setting: An all-suite hotel on the shore, with party and photo locations that include secluded beaches and historic sites around the group's hotels, arranged with advance notice.
Ceremony: Separate civil, Greek Orthodox and symbolic packages. The hotel states that symbolic weddings and vow renewals are not legally recognised in Greece.
Planning: The team handles flowers with preferred designers, menus from a family brunch to a full reception banquet, table styling, and cakes from the in-house pastry chef.
Standout: The civil package covers the licence paperwork with the local municipality, two witnesses if needed, and a round trip to the Registry Office.
Minimum stay: Packages apply only when the couple stays at least three nights in one of the group's hotels.
Porto Elounda sits on the shore of Mirabello Bay and offers spaces for ceremonies and parties around the group's hotels, with planning, flowers, menus, table styling and wedding cakes from its in-house pastry chef.
Setting: A golf resort on the bay. Its Elies restaurant sits beneath an ancient olive grove by the beach.
Ceremony: Civil, Greek Orthodox or symbolic, through the shared Elounda weddings team.
Rooms: The resort added 74 new suites in 2025, with work on the main veranda, lobby and reception planned for 2026.
Standout: The resort says it has the largest seafront pool on Crete.
Ask how the 2026 works affect your date if you are marrying next season.
Elounda Mare is a Relais & Chateaux hotel on the Elounda shore, overlooking the bay. It offers the same group wedding services: ceremony settings that include secluded beaches and historic sites, planning, floristry, menus and cakes.
Setting: Sea view rooms and suites in the main hotel, bungalows with private pools, and Minoan Royalty villas with private pools.
Ceremony: The same three options as Porto Elounda.
Rooms: The four-bedroom Minoan Palace villa has its own pool and direct beach access, a natural base for the couple and immediate family.
Standout: Guests share Blue Flag sandy beaches and restaurants across the three hotels, including the Old Mill and the Yacht Club here.
St. Nicolas Bay is a five-star resort at Thessi Nissi on Mirabello Bay, on a secluded beach about a mile from the centre of Agios Nikolaos.
Setting: Seafront suites and villas with private pools.
Ceremony: On the deck of the resort's beachside chapel, with the Cretan Sea behind.
Reception: In one of the resort's restaurants and bars, with a guest service team for the couple. A photographer, fireworks, music, florist and table styling can be arranged on request.
Standout: A guaranteed upgrade to the Honeymoon Private Pool Suite for the wedding night, subject to its terms.
Being a short drive from town makes it easy for guests who want to stay elsewhere and come in for the day.
Minos Beach Art Hotel calls itself Crete's original waterfront hideaway: a five-star resort of bungalows and villas with private pools on the water's edge, two private sandy beaches and about 2 km of coastline, in operation for more than 60 years.
Setting: Bungalows and villas on the water's edge, along two private sandy beaches.
Ceremony: The hotel's team plans weddings, vow renewals and other celebrations at its waterfront setting.
Getting there: About 50 minutes by car from Heraklion Airport, and the hotel can help arrange car transfers.
Standout: Art. The Sculpture Garden and grounds hold more than 55 works from the G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation collection, and in summer there are live Cretan nights at the Adeste Kafenio.
A Cretan night at the kafenio makes a welcome evening that guests remember.
Minos Palace is an adults-only resort in Lasithi whose team plans weddings, vow renewals and other celebrations by the sea.
Setting: A near-private peninsula with 360-degree views, a private sandy cove, gardens, and an infinity pool with 180-degree sea views.
Ceremony: Weddings and vow renewals.
Getting there: About 50 minutes by car from Heraklion Airport.
Standout: The Waterfall Suite, with its own private pool, for the wedding night.
Adults only is a decision, not a detail. If nieces, nephews or godchildren are on the list, this one is out.
The central north coast is the most practical part of Crete for a large guest list: resorts on open sea, and the shortest drives from Heraklion. Four venues here, from Hersonissos west to Agia Pelagia.
Nana Princess sits on the Aegean coast at Chersonissos and describes itself as suited to small and medium-sized events.
Setting: A private sandy beach, a chapel in the grounds and a bay view from the Eternal Blue terrace.
Ceremony: Civil weddings on the beach, Greek Orthodox weddings in the private Chapel of St. George, symbolic weddings led by the hotel's event coordinator, and vow renewals.
Reception and capacity: The Eternal Blue terrace over the bay of Stalis, a poolside reception at Meat-In-Point for up to 120, or the Conference Hall for a fully covered reception.
Exclusive use: The chosen room or venue, for symbolic weddings and vow renewals.
Standout: A dedicated event coordinator guides couples through local registry office requirements, with three named packages or a tailored one.
Three ceremony types on one property suit families who want a religious rite without moving guests between towns.
Abaton has a wedding and honeymoon team offering set packages or a custom wedding at the Abaton venue of your choice. Ceremony, music, flowers, decor, beauty, a cocktail bar, gala dinner, photography and video can all be tailored.
Setting: 152 rooms and villas along the coastline, 71 with private pools.
Ceremony: Nine venues: Elemes, Bony Fish, F-Zin, WOW, Ladies & Gentlemen, Buddha Bar, the Open Air Theatre, the Ballroom and the Beach.
Capacity: Elemes 80, Bony Fish 70, F-Zin 100 indoors or 200 outdoors, WOW 80, Ladies & Gentlemen 200 for ceremony and cocktails only, Buddha Bar 200, the Open Air Theatre 200 and the Ballroom 150. No figure is given for the Beach.
Minimums: Packages need a reception of at least 20 guests, up to a maximum of 300, and at least 10 rooms for at least two nights, depending on guest numbers.
Standout: The range. Nine named spaces means the welcome drinks, ceremony and dinner can each happen somewhere different without leaving the resort.
Abaton sets these terms for 2025 and 2026, so have them confirmed for a 2027 date.
Amirandes is on the north coast near Heraklion. Couples exchange vows on its VIP Beach or in its chapel, choose from a range of dining venues, and plan with dedicated wedding specialists.
Setting: Architecture drawn from Minoan palace design, with lagoons, arches, large handmade pitharia jars, a 960 square metre seawater pool and 58 private pools.
Ceremony: The VIP Beach for up to 80 guests, or the chapel.
Capacity: Celebrations of up to 300 across its venues, and private gatherings on the Events Patio for 20 to 160.
Rooms: 204 in total: 147 rooms, 19 bungalows, 6 duplex suites, 14 suites and 18 private villas, some on the beach with infinity pools.
Standout: The Minotaur restaurant, set among original Pablo Picasso ceramics.
At 18 km from Heraklion International Airport, it is an easy arrival for guests flying in.
Out of the Blue spreads across its own green peninsula beside the fishing village of Agia Pelagia, with Aegean views and a dedicated events team.
Setting: Three accommodation collections, including an art-inspired boutique hotel, bungalows, an all-suite hotel, maisonettes and villas with private pools.
Ceremony: Aghios Athanasios Chapel, a small privately owned traditional chapel in the heart of the resort, with a garden and sea views; Emelia's Secret Garden among the palms; and Plateau Safran, a lawn on the edge of the peninsula. Restaurants with indoor and outdoor areas host ceremonies and receptions.
Standout: Plateau Safran, a lawn on the very edge of the resort's own peninsula, with the Aegean beyond.
Rethymno has a medieval town and the Fortezza. It suits a smaller, relaxed wedding with the old town for an evening out.
Caramel is a boutique resort at Adelianos Kampos, minutes from Rethymno, set among gardens above a golden-sand beach.
Setting: Retro glamour, with individually designed rooms and suites, bungalows, maisonettes and villas, some with private pools.
Ceremony: Informal weddings and exchange-of-vows packages are the most popular ceremony at the hotel, and couples do not need to handle paperwork or legal requirements for these.
Standout: Caretta caretta sea turtles nest on the beach below the gardens, and the seawater pool covers 700 square metres.
If you want a legal ceremony as well, ask Caramel whether one can be held on site, or plan a civil ceremony separately.
West Crete gives you Chania's Venetian harbour and old town for the days around the wedding. Three venues here, two at Kolymvari on the coast west of Chania and one hilltop garden.
Avra Imperial is a five-star hotel next to Kolymvari beach, with views of the Rodopou peninsula and a specialised wedding and group events team.
Setting: Beachside, with banqueting rooms and a large glass pool.
Ceremony: The private chapel of Saint Paul, within the hotel grounds.
Capacity: The Maistro events hall takes up to 680 people. For a small reception, a private space beside the 1,500 square metre infinity-style glass pool is set for alfresco dining.
Rooms: Guests can stay in the hotel and use its spa.
Standout: Menus are built with the Executive Chef and F&B Manager.
The largest published capacity on this list, with a chapel on site, makes Avra Imperial the first call for a big family wedding in the west.
Euphoria Resort is a five-star family beach resort on the seashore at Kolymvari, west of Chania, on a 65,000 square metre seafront property.
Setting: 344 rooms and suites, including a 70-key Signature Collection, a 3,500 square metre pool area and a 1,500 square metre spa.
Ceremony: An informal wedding or vow renewal overlooking the Mediterranean, with a choice of hotel settings including beaches and poolside spaces, two witnesses and the hotel's official representative, and a certificate of informal marriage from the hotel.
Capacity: Packages are sized for up to 10, 20 or 30 guests.
Standout: The extras run wide for a small wedding: buffet, seated and cocktail receptions, menu tastings, hens and bucks parties and bridal treatments.
As a family beach resort with packages for up to 30, it suits a small wedding where children are central to the guest list.
Sea View by En Kipo is a wedding venue in Chania: a hilltop garden with panoramic sea and sunset views, for weddings, vow renewals and proposals.
Setting: 4,200 square metres of open space, planted with seasonal blooms and Mediterranean greenery cared for by the venue's own florists.
Ceremony and capacity: Up to 120 guests for the ceremony and 120 for the reception.
Exclusive use: The venue is yours alone from 10am until midnight, with the option to extend to 2am.
Rooms: None on site. The team arranges accommodation through hotels, villas and boutique stays in Chania and across Crete.
Suppliers: You rent the furniture and decor you want and choose your own caterer and suppliers; the venue works with wedding planners.
Standout: The practical details are covered: a private air-conditioned dressing room, an accessible WC, a 4.5 m by 4.5 m dance floor, private parking and an emergency generator.
This is the only venue on the list that publishes whole-venue exclusive use for the day, and it leaves every supplier to your choice.
The airport your guests land at in Crete shapes the whole trip, so settle it before anyone books a flight.
Australians entering the Schengen area for a short stay now have fingerprints and a photo taken under the European Entry/Exit System. It is free and needs nothing done before arrival, but border crossings can be slow, so allow plenty of time for connections.
For the east and central venues, Heraklion is the arrival point. The venues state their own drives: about 50 minutes to Minos Beach Art Hotel and Minos Palace, and 18 km to Amirandes. Minos Beach can help arrange car transfers.
Chania Airport, Ioannis Daskalogiannis (CHQ), serves the west, with a direct public bus, taxis and 24-hour parking on site. See the airport's travel information. Sea View by En Kipo lists Chania Airport, Heraklion Airport and Souda Port as ways to reach it.
Booking guests into the wrong airport adds hours to their trip. Minos Beach and Minos Palace both put Chania Airport about three hours away.
In peak season, traffic on the islands can be heavily congested. Use licensed taxis only, and arrange coach or taxi pick-ups in advance. For a guest list, that means one booked coach per flight wave rather than a taxi queue. See Smartraveller Greece for current advice.
Greece has a Mediterranean climate, with plenty of sunshine, mild temperatures and little rain. In summer, the dry hot days are cooled by the seasonal meltemi winds.
For eastern Crete, Minos Palace describes the weather as pleasant from April to November, with early autumn around 20 to 27°C.
Heat sets the timing of the ceremony itself. High-summer temperatures can reach 35°C, and Nana Princess recommends evening ceremonies to match the month:
Month | Recommended ceremony time |
|---|---|
April, May and October | 4pm to 6pm |
June and September | 6pm to 8pm |
July and August | 6.30pm to 8pm |
Summer also brings two risks to plan around. Smartraveller notes that wildfires occur in Greece in the extended summer period from June to September, including near tourist areas on the islands, and can prompt evacuations, and that heatwaves are frequent over the summer months. Greece is also in an active seismic zone, and earthquakes have occurred near Crete.
None of this rules out a summer wedding. It means shade for the ceremony, an indoor fallback for every outdoor space, and travel insurance that every guest has read.
Crete venues offer three kinds of ceremony: civil, Greek Orthodox and symbolic. Symbolic weddings and vow renewals are not legally recognised in Greece, so if the legal marriage matters to you, it has to be a civil or religious ceremony with the paperwork behind it.
Expect paperwork on both sides of the date. Elounda Peninsula asks for documents by email at least four weeks before the wedding and by courier at least three weeks before. It states that the marriage must then be registered at the Registry Office in Aghios Nikolaos within 40 days, and its civil package includes a round trip to the Registry Office.
Ask your venue whether you need to be there in person, and keep a weekday free in the itinerary until you know.
Some countries ask for a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (CNI) and certificates from a registry of births, deaths and marriages. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) can issue a CNI in Australia.
Some local authorities only accept CNIs issued in their own country, so ask the Greek embassy or consulate three things: whether you need one, whether you can get it in Australia, and whether it needs an authentication or apostille.
As at November 2026, the Australian Embassy in Athens witnesses CNI applications, issues CNIs and witnesses notices of intended marriage, by appointment, with CNIs ready for collection within two working days. See the Embassy's notarial services.
An overseas marriage cannot be registered in Australia, but in most cases it is legally recognised if it was valid where it took place and would have been valid under Australian law. A foreign marriage certificate may not be accepted as proof of a name change, so check with your state registry. Read Smartraveller's guide to getting married overseas.
Elounda Peninsula has a Greek Orthodox package, and Nana Princess holds Orthodox weddings in its Chapel of St. George. For what the ceremony involves, read our piece on Greek wedding traditions.
The full legal steps for Greece are in our guide to Greece wedding venues. Requirements change, so check the current rules with the Embassy before you book flights.
For more of Greece, browse our curated Greece wedding collection, or find ideas for the days around the wedding in the Wedded Wonderland magazine.
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