Planning, Dining & Events

For July and August in the Cyclades, six to nine months; the better yachts and estates are committed early. For May, June, September, and October, three months is usually enough. Last-minute briefs are taken when feasible, but the choice narrows quickly.

For private weddings or large gatherings on a specific island, allow twelve months — at that horizon, the choice of estate is often the difference between a yes and a near-miss.

A typical Cycladic route covers three to five islands over seven to ten days, by yacht, by helicopter, or both; Ionian and Sporades routes run to similar lengths. Where a brief spans more than one field, the house looks first for the one advisor who can carry all of it; only where a part falls outside what any one advisor can properly cover does it make a second introduction, standing separately.

Each island is chosen for what it offers you, never for what fills a week.

For a first visit to Greece, advisors often suggest two islands and the mainland — one famous, one quiet, with a few days in Athens or the Peloponnese to bookend.

Selectively, and with permission. A considered set of private and protected venues across Greece opens to private dinners under arrangements that respect their conservation rules. These are not bookings; the advisor negotiates each one, often months in advance, and not every brief receives a yes.

Examples include the gardens of historic estates, working monasteries, the courtyards of restored mansions, and — under exceptional circumstances — a very small set of archaeological sites.

The advisor introduced to you holds the relationship with the site and puts the case for the evening — to the family that owns the estate, to the abbot, or to the regional ephorate of antiquities. The answer comes back on their terms, and the advisor works within them.

For weddings and significant celebrations, your advisor opens the conversation nine to twelve months ahead.

Yes — from intimate ceremonies of twelve to gatherings of three hundred or more, across the islands, the Peloponnese, and the mainland. The house names the wedding advisor in its network it judges right for the venue and the family, and introduces you directly; that advisor runs the day, on their own terms. Where the day also asks for an estate or a charter, they carry that too wherever they can.

The remit covers the venue, the ceremony, civil and religious paperwork, photography and film, and accommodation for guests. Civil weddings between non-residents require six to eight weeks of paperwork; symbolic ceremonies can be held more quickly.

For larger weddings, twelve months’ notice is the difference between a comfortable plan and a tight one.